content: What happened to the Dutch East India Company?  By 1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private army of 10,000 soldiers, and a dividend payment of 40% on the original investment.[ The six chambers raised the start-up capital of the Dutch East India Company Formation (1602): Chamber	Capital (Guilders) Amsterdam	3,679,915 Middelburg	1,300,405 Enkhuizen	540,000 Delft	469,400 Hoorn	266,868 Rotterdam	173,000 Total:	6,424,588