The Colt .45 may have won the West, but it took a New York investment firm stepping in with some cash to keep the company from waving the white flag (during a post-Cold War decline in weapons sales and tough foreign competition). Through the company's subsidiaries, Colt's Manufacturing makes handguns (Cowboy, Pocket Nine, Defender) and semiautomatic rifles (M-4). Colt's Manufacturing boasts more than a dozen distributors throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. Founded in 1836 by Samuel Colt, the company is about 85%-owned by investment firm Zilkha & Co., which has been breathing new life into the company since 1994 when it bought the firm out of bankruptcy.