An employee counts Renminbi banknotes at a Bank of China branch in Changzhi, Shanxi province November 13, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer US multinational companies are holding more than $2 trillion of their cash abroad, JP Morgan wrote in a recent report.

Among the S&P 500, roughly $589 billion, or 63% of their total cash, was tied in foreign countries, it said.

It makes sense for companies to leave their cash abroad because they would otherwise get taxed again on the money they bring into the US.

One thing that sticks out is that tech companies make up more than half of the top 25 companies with the most cash abroad, and nearly all of the top 10. This is partly because tech companies make a lot of sales overseas, and tend to have lower operational costs than (for instance) retailers or manufacturers, so they often keep a lot of cash on hand.