March 17, 2014 / Fortune Asia / Volume 169 / Number 4

30 SILICON VALLEY’S STEALTH POWER
Ben Horowitz is schooling tech’s young guns.
By Miguel Helft

38 Delta Takes Off
Led by CEO Richard Anderson, the airline is growing internationally, courting business travelers, and booking record profits.
By Shawn Tully

45 The World’s Most Admired Companies
Atop our annual ranking: innovators, disrupters, and companies that overcome adversity.

52 Taking On the Trolls
In the crossfire between so-called patent trolls and big companies, RPX looks to provide a market solution to the nation’s most pressing legal challenge.
By Roger Parloff

60 Big Coal’s Last Stand
As public opinion hardens on the ethics of burning the fuel, Peabody fights for West Coast terminals to expand exports to Asia.
By Richard Martin

8 MACRO
Closer Look
Steven Murphy, the first American to run Christie’s, has a three-part plan to keep the auction house on top.
By Ryan Bradley

12 MACRO
Briefing
A pricey social network helps the one percent meet the one percent.
By Caroline Fairchild

13 MACRO
Game Changers
How a Danish firm helped Lego find its fun.
By Ryan Bradley

16 PURSUITS
Road Warrior
Don’t book your next trip without reading these top tips from the world’s best travel sleuth.
By Peter Greenberg

19 TECH
Revivals
Sony jettisons PCs, shuns TVs, and redefines the meaning of ”tech company.”
By Andrew Nusca

22 TECH
The Fortune 500 Series
In pursuit of a younger clientele, Dockers gets smarter about social media.
By Sheila Marikar

24 TECH
Connected
John Thompson, Microsoft’s new board chairman, discusses his latest passion projects.
By Adam Lashinsky

26 INVEST
Advice From the Oracle
Why I like to think of stocks like farms. Lessons from a pair of real estate purchases.
By Warren Buffett

6 EDITOR’S DESK

7 LETTERS

68 BING!

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY NIGEL PARRY

[IMAGES]

PHOTO:
The underbelly of a Delta Airbus A320
JEFFREY MILSTEIN

PHOTO:
60 At Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming, giant trucks haul coal on the first leg of a journey that is increasingly ending in Asia.
WESTECH/CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE/AP

© Time Inc.