All Ping

1. Google

The value of this brand is estimated at about 66 billion dollars and is certainly the most powerful brand in the world. This search engine was launched by Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1996. Google is famous for its exceptional new ideas and amazing growth rate. Google has turned out to be so large that the word is found in dictionary.

2. General Electric

The second most powerful brand in the world is said to be General Electric which has been valued at about 61 billion. GE looks into several fields which include industrial technology, information technology, financial services, oil, films and much more. GE is much admired in India also.

3. Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation earns about 44 billion dollars every year and its brand value is about 54 billion dollars. Bill Gates is the owner of this brand which was founded in 1975. Microsoft provides jobs to over 75,000 people across the globe and Gates is admired by business rivals.

4. Coca-Cola

This brand has been valued at about 44.134 billion dollars which constitutes it the fourth most powerful brand in the world. The company was established in 1892 by Asa Griggs Candler. It was later bought by Woodruff and Bradley. Though it may not be the most powerful in the world, yet it is certainly the most recognized.

5. China Mobile

This brand has been valued at about 41 billion dollars and is the largest mobile operator of the country. It has over 290 million subscribers and its gross value is almost as much as Vodafone every year. China Mobile is tremendously popular and the largest in Hong Kong.

6. Marlboro

Marlboro is estimated at 39 billion dollars and is certainly the most popular cigarette brand in the world. The brand has obtained exclusive control in the industry with its well-known commercial and publication advertisements.

7. Wal-Mart

The value of this brand is almost 36 billion dollars. Wal-Mart is the largest dealer in the United States of America and also disposes of the largest number of toys in the country. It was initiated in 1962 by Sam Walton and became a part of the stock exchange 10 years later. Now the owners of this company are his widow, his daughter and three sons.

8. Citi

Citi has a brand value of about 33 billion dollars and was established in 1998 after a 140 billion dollar merger. This company succeeded to its ownership by Primerica in 1993 and is famous in the world for being the first- automobile policy, space travel policy as well as commercial airline policy. The company’s name changed to Citibank during 1970s and Charles Prince is the CEO today.

9. IBM

IBM is operating in several countries and deals with computer technology. It has its headquarters in New York and has about 350,000 workers all over the world. IBM was launched during the latter half of the 1880’s and became a part of the stock exchange after 1915.

10. Toyota

Its value is about 33 billion dollars, which makes it the 10th most powerful in the world. It is a Japanese company and the world’s largest automobile manufacturer of buses, automobiles, robots and trucks. Its headquarter is in Aichi and produceded about 179 billion dollars revenue during the year 2006. The present chairman is Fujio Cho, and Katsuaki Watanabe is the CEO of this business.

1. Britney Spears

2. Beyonce

3. Miley Cyrus

4. Rihanna

5. Lady Gaga

6. Carrie Underwood

7. Shakira

8. Nicole Scherzinger

9. Taylor Swift

10. Katy Perry

On New Year’s Eve, in 2009, Masahito Yoshida, an average Joe from the city of Tottori, Japan, set out from Shanghai to explore the world on foot. He had always wanted to travel and see all the wonders of the globe, but knew that doing it by plane or train, he would miss the small, sometimes isolated towns of the world, and the people that live in them.

 So he decided to walk instead. His first destination was Cape Roca, on the Portuguese coast, where he arrived in August of 2010, after covering 16,000 kilometers through central Asia and Europe. He then hopped on a plane to America, where he spent another year walking 6,000 km from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Vancouver, Canada. By the end of 2011 he exhausted most of his travel funds, so he started taking part-time jobs to finance the rest of his trip. From Canada, he flew to Melbourne, Southern Australia, and made his way north, to Darwin, then Singapore and back to Shanghai, China. During his memorable journey, Masahito worn off seven pairs of walking shoes.

“There were times when I felt my life was in danger, but the journey also gave me the chance to experience people’s kindness,” Yoshida told Chinese reporters, on his triumphant return. ”I realized that there are certain things in life you just can’t achieve without taking risks.” Covering tens of kilometers a day, through the wild country, or on the side of busy roads wasn’t easy, but even after suffering a stroke in Vietnam, he continued to walk 30 kilometers daily, because his visa was about to expire.

 Now, after spending a few days in Shanghai, Masahito is ready to drag his 50-kg cart for an extra 500 km to Taiwan, before returning to Japan in August. The first thing he wants to do when he gets home is walk his dog. Then he plans to save up some money for a new walking adventure.

Photo: Zombie Hunters

The 32-year-old globetrotter already knows what his new challenge will be. ”My next goal is to walk from the southern tip of South America to the North Pole,” he said. ”Eventually, I’d like to cover every continent on Earth.”