Most companies today survive for about 15 years.

Many of the longest-lasting businesses produce food items, alcohol, or even guns — things people have evidently been interested in for centuries.

The oldest company in the world is a hotel called Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan, which opened in 705.

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Larger companies, like those listed on the S&P 500, tend to live about 15 years today. So there must be something special about the businesses that have persisted for 300, 500, or 1,300 years.

We looked into the data on the world's oldest companies, and a few themes became clear: People have wanted to eat, drink, learn things, or perhaps kill each other once in a while for a long time. That's why many of the businesses on this list are breweries, restaurants, or manufacturers. One of the longest-lasting, Beretta, is a gun manufacturer.

Here's a list of companies far older than most nations, including the United States.