Many of the Native corporations have leveraged special access to federal contracting to build significant revenue this decade. They provide security at military bases across the country, provide technological assistance to federal agencies, and deliver engineering and construction services, among many other business lines.
Besides federal contracting, they hold ownership interest in hotels in many Alaska cities, in North Slope oil fields and in the largest mine in the state -- the huge Red Dog zinc and lead mine near Kotzebue. They also own office buildings across Anchorage and have retail holdings, including the Tikahtnu Commons mall in Northeast Anchorage.
"This year Arctic Slope Regional Corp. had 2008 gross revenues of more than $2 billion. We have never seen that kind of prosperity from any company in our 25 years of doing this listing," said Jim Martin, general manager of Alaska Business Monthly, the magazine that produces the list.
Native corporations comprise 11 of the 15 largest companies, and 21 of the top 40, based on annual revenue.
Because the annual list considers only those businesses that are headquartered in the state and owned by Alaskans, many large companies are left off, including ConocoPhillips Alaska, BP Exploration (Alaska), Providence Alaska Medical Center, Fred Meyer stores, Alaska Airlines, as well as the telecommunications giants GCI and ACS, which are based in Anchorage but owned by investors from all over the world.
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