Bezos and Gates celebrate. Not pictured is Steve Ballmer, who was thrown out for threatening a line judge.Microsoft may still be rolling out a Zune against an iPod for the personal entertainment device market market and a Photoshopped white guy for the Polish market, but at least it beats Apple in one measure: overall worth. With an estimated value of $56.6 billion, the “Soft is the 3rd most valuable brand in the world, according to BusinessWeek’s annual survey. Apple, by contrast, is at #20–though unlike Microsoft, which lost value last year, it keeps gaining. Also on the list is Amazon, which had the biggest jump in the rankings, moving up 13 spots to #43. The secret to its success? Methinks it’s the three-wolf moon.
More Stories From This Author
Foster youth guaranteed full-ride college tuition
OLYMPIA — A bill guaranteeing full‑ride college tuition for all foster youth and students who experienced homelessness passed both legislative…
By Annika Hauer, WNPA Foundation • March 10, 2026 10:53 am
Mercer Island School District faces $13.4M sex abuse claim
School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says.
By Moe K. Clark, InvestigateWest • March 5, 2026 3:08 pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts to pay $5.6M for employee discrimination
Missouri-based O’Reilly Auto Enterprises will pay $5.6 million for widespread denial of pregnancy and nursing accommodations to Washington workers under…
By
Steve Hunter • March 5, 2026 9:47 am
