May 23, 2011 Vol. 163 No. 7 / Fortune Asia / FORTUNE 500

34 | INSIDE APPLE
How America's most successful窶蚤nd secretive窶巴ig company really works.
BY ADAM LASHINSKY

44 | CATERPILLAR IS ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING IT
Thanks to astute planning, the company came blazing out of the downturn.
BY GEOFF COLVIN

52 | J.P. MORGAN'S HUNT FOR AFGHAN GOLD
A team of bankers starts to tap the country's vast mineral riches, with help from
the Pentagon.
BY JAMES BANDLER

FORTUNE 500

64 | THE INSIDE MAN
Can onetime corporate executive Bill Daley restore President Obama's ties to
business?
BY NINA EASTON

70 | THE DIRECTORS
Our annual look, in pictures, at seven of the most photogenic boards in the U.S.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREGG SEGAL REPORTING BY JESSICA SHAMBORA

84 | GENERAL MILLS' GLOBAL SWEET SPOT
The food giant's key overseas brand isn't Cheerios. It's Hﾃ､agen-Dazs.
BY DAVID A. KAPLAN

92 | THE WAR OVER LIPITOR
Uncertainty over the rights to a generic version of the drug has resulted in market
mayhem.
BY KATHERINE EBAN

F--1 The 500 Largest U.S. Corporations | F--27 Arrivals and Departures | F--28
Definitions and Explanations

10 | EDITOR'S DESK

132 | BING!

FIRST

14 | BY THE NUMBERS
In Google data centers around the U.S., computer networks respond to millions
of commands instantaneously.
BY TARA MOORE

16 | CLOSER LOOK
While attention is focused on the Middle East, euroland's financial troubles are
worsening.
BY CHRIS REDMAN

18 | THE CHARTIST
Forty years ago, Harold Geneen put omnivorous conglomerate ITT into the top 10
of the 500. Then shrinkage begannd it's never stopped.
BY CAROL LOOMIS

20 | THE BRIEFING
Derivative cinema, Android on the rise, and more.

22 | EDUCATION
Forget politics. The big threat to teachers unions is the digital revolution and
distance learning, which will bury the AFT and NEA.
BY DAVID A. KAPLAN

TECH

25 | THE FUTURE IS NOW
Manufacturing 2.0: Three-dimensional printers are coming to a desktop near you.
Should designers and factories be worried?
BY JOHNNY RYAN

INVEST

29 | INVESTOR INTERVIEW
Anne Gudefin, Pimco's top stock picker, sees bargains in the consumer sector and
safety in precious metals.
BY MINA KIMES

ON THE COVER Illustration by Carl DeTorres

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ILLUSTRATION:ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL MYERS

THREE PHOTOS