W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., was founded January 1, 1958, in Newark, Delaware, by Wilbert L. (Bill) and Genevieve (Vieve) Gore. Today, with $4.5 billion in annual revenues, the enterprise is privately owned. Our more than 12,000 employees (called Associates) worldwide are also part owners of the enterprise through the Associate stock ownership plan. Gore prefers this private ownership and believes this reinforces a key element of its culture to “take a long-term view” when assessing business situations. Gore has been recognized by Forbes as one of the 200 largest privately-held U.S. companies.