Wayne Enterprises (also known as Wayne Industries or WayneCorp) is an economical military defense and technology development company based in Gotham City and owned by the famous Wayne Family, which specializes in in various industrial aspects.
History
Founded in 1851 by Solomon and Zebidiah Wayne, Wayne Enterprises has become the most famous corporation in Gotham City for its prominence in the economy. When the city began falling in an economic downturn in 1983 due to a secret terrorist society called the League of Shadows infiltrating its infrastructure with the belief that Gotham has succumbed to decadence and corruption and its destruction was necessary to restore the world to balance, the Wayne Brothers' grandson Thomas Wayne nearly bankrupted the company by building a cheap public monorail system, restoring part of the city's peace. Following his and his wife Martha's murder at the hands of a mugger named Joe Chill, who blamed them for the driving the depression into causing him to lose his job, other wealthy corporations were inspired to do more help the city rebuild itself and share their works to the world. However, the League's prediction was proven correct when the depression held-back end left Gotham open for organized crime under mafia bosses like Carmine Falcone plague it and wreck everything the Wayne's stood for. When Chill, who shared a cell with Falcone while in prison, was released in exchange for testifying against their relationship, the Wayne's son Bruce intended tho kill him so Chill wouldn't become a reminder of disgrace to the company because of what the mugger did to his parents, one of Falcone's assassins did so first. This disappointed his childhood friend, the city's assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes, who told Bruce that undermining the justice system would make his father ashamed, but impressed Falcone, who demonstrated to the playboy is that the only power comes from being feared. Thus, both advises inspired Bruce to travel the world for seven years to seek the means of fighting injustice, eventually becoming mentored to such art by the League of Shadow's leader, Ra's al Ghul, but rejecting the League's cause on destroying Gotham. During this time, Wayne Enterprises was taken public by its CEO, William Earle, who unexpectedly did it by announcing Bruce dead and shieing away from "what Thomas Wayne would have done" to focus on heavy weapons manufacturing
Batman Begins
By the time Bruce finally returned to Gotham, he didn't show obvious interest in reclaiming the family business. Instead, he chose to work in the Applied Sciences division, using it and company chief activist Lucius Fox to provide him with high-tech equipment. He took gear originally made for the U.S. military, including body armor and a prototype armored vehicle, and used them to create the equipment needed for his war on crime as Batman. When the League of Shadows eventually followed him back to the city, they intended to finish their duty to destroy it by vaporizing its water supply with a microwave emitter they stole from Wayne Enterprises' shipment cargo after tainting it with a fear-inducing hallucinogenic drug provided by Arkham Asylum's corrupt chief administrator Jonathan Crane, then magnetize the vaporization to the central hub, located beneath Wayne Enterprises, via the monorail system to cause a chain reaction that would release the drug all over the city, making its population tear down their metropolitan home through mass panic in the process. Batman was able to stop them with the help of Police Det. Sgt. James Gordon by destroying a section of the monorail tracks in front of Wayne Station and causing the train, with Ra's still inside, crash beneath the tower, killing him and saving the city. Finally, at the film's end, the Enterprises came under Bruce control when managed to become a majority shareholder, at which point he installs Fox as the active CEO. Also, his heroism as Batman eventually earned him back respect from Rachel, who told him that taking justice into his own hands would make his father proud, but lost her since she decided not to be with him. As a result Bruce planned to rebuild his father's work just the way it was, brick from brick.
The Dark Knight
Nine months after Bruce takes ownership of the company, Wayne Enterprises's headquarters moved to the building where its Special Projects Division was located. However, because of his nights as Batman, Bruce would fall asleep during the board meetings, causing concern to some of the other members of the board, including the enterprises' M&A law accountant, Coleman Reese. The company's attention eventually drew to the success of some improvents on itself and the city. For example, when it approved the success of a foreign security investments company based in Hong Kong called LSI Holdings, the latter company's owner, Mr. Lau, suggested that a powerful joint business should venture between the two corporations. Fox eagerly embraced Lau's proposition, but although LSI indicated powerful economic potential at "8% annual growth", the numbers led him to suspect that much of it was off the charts and probably illegal. Bruce simply excepted it, having suspected that it was the case, and approached a business deal meant to "get a closer look at their books".
Staff
Solomon and Zebidiah Wayne - founders and owners from 1851 to 1900.
Thomas Wayne - owner from 1971 to 1984.
Bruce Wayne - owner from 2005 to 2014.
Lucius Fox - Chief Activist, C.E.O. and Executive President.
Douglas Fredericks - Executive Vice President.
Coleman Reese - M&A Law Accountant.
Jessica - Secretary.
William Earle - Former C.E.O. and owner from 1984 to 2005.
Talia al Ghul - Board Member from 2008 to 2014, under the alias Miranda Tate.