The total value of the top 100 in this year's Kantar BrandZ ranking shows an increase of 42% which has set a new record: more than seven million dollars. According to Kantar, the accelerated growth of the World's most valuable brands reflects a strong recovery from the pandemic period.

Amazon is once again the world's most valuable brand, holding the lead thanks to a 64% ($684 billion) growth. With the increase over the past year, the e-commerce giant has even become the first brand valued at more than $500 billion.

Apple, with about $612 billion, comes second in the top, also earning a place in the $500 billion brands club. The podium is completed by Google, whose brand is valued at 458 billion euros.

The top 10 also includes Microsoft, Tencent, Facebook, Alibaba, Visa, McDonald's and Mastercard, which means that companies from the tech sector are in the spotlight when it comes to brand value.

This year's ranking also points to Tesla as the fastest growing brand, as well as being the most valuable in the automotive industry: $43 billion and a growth of 275% compared to 2020. The Elon Musk-led insignia has more than doubled in value over the past year, along with China's Moutai, Meituan, TikTok, and Pinduoduo.

Kantar also highlights the 13 new brands present in the top 100, including Nvidia, Zoom, AMD and Spotify - some of which will be a direct consequence of the confinements and the growth of remote work, for example.