Microsoft

Microsoft's ambitions are anything but small. The world's #1 software company provides a variety of products and services, including its Windows operating systems and Office software suite. The company has expanded into markets such as video game consoles, server and storage software, and digital music players. Microsoft has reached settlements to end a slew of antitrust investigations and lawsuits, including agreeing to uniformly license its operating systems and allowing manufacturers to include competing software with Windows. In 2008 Microsoft made repeated efforts to acquire Yahoo! but was rebuffed by that company's board of directors.

Ralph Lauren Polo

Polo Ralph Lauren is galloping at a faster clip than when founder Ralph Lauren first entered the arena 40 years ago. With golden mallet brands such as Polo by Ralph Lauren, RRL, Rugby, and Club Monaco, the firm designs and markets apparel and accessories, home furnishings, and fragrances. Its collections are available at some 10,800 locations worldwide, including many upscale and mid-tier department stores. (Macy's and Dillard's account for more than a third of all wholesale revenue.) The company also operates about 315 Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, and Rugby retail stores worldwide as well as the e-commerce sites RalphLauren.com and Polo.com. American style icon and CEO Lauren controls the company.