The world’s top commodities traders have pocketed nearly $250bn over the past decade, highlighting how the individuals and families that control the largely privately owned sector have benefited from the rise of China and other emerging countries.

The net income of the largest trading houses since 2003 surpasses that of the combination of mighty Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, or that of an industrial giant such as General Electric. They made more money than Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford Motor, BMW and Renault put together.

A review by the Financial Times of thousands of pages of companies filings and non-public documents marks the first comprehensive account of the industry. The revelation of traders’ profitability will heighten calls for greater transparency from an industry that, although central to the global economy, is little understood and largely unregulated.