Tech companies have endured a PR nightmare, not that the business world cares

Tech companies, once a shining beacon of American innovation and optimism about the future of technology, have endured a brutal run of press in the past couple years.

Not that it's making much of a difference, at least in the business world.

Fortune magazine has released its list of the "World's Most Admired Companies" and, as expected, it's a who's who of mega-giants that dominate our every day life.

Just so we're all on the same page, here's the top 10:

1. Apple

2. Amazon

3. Alphabet

4. Berkshire Hathaway

5. Starbucks

6. Walt Disney

7. Microsoft

8. Southwest Airlines

9. FedEx

10. JPMorgan Chase

(And you can check out Fortune's full list along with their methodology here.)

Now, sure, the business community has good reasons to admire all of these companies. They are some of the highest-earning, most world-dominating companies. These are signals of 21st century success so, sure, it's hard not to be impressed by the way these companies have become such an integral part of our daily lives.

But, besides being a snapshot of the corporations that are slowly assimilating our world into a monoculture, most of these companies are dogged by ongoing controversies that they try to buff away with the sheen of good press -- and it works.

For instance, Apple has been in the news a lot lately regarding their decision to surreptitiously slow down older iPhones without telling anyone. And a lot of people were, rightfully, pretty damn steamed about that.

Other headlines have been about their taxes, particularly in Europe. The tech giant made a huge move a few days ago by announcing it would make a one-time payment of $38 billion for taxes on all that overseas cash and is going to make a big investment here in the United States.

The decision is an attempt to make up for all that money the company spent on manufacturing in China and, yeah, it reminds us that Apple, for years, has been battling stories about working conditions in Chinese factories.

In fact, while reports of poor working conditions and worker suicides have circulated for years, a new report hit the web this week about unsafe conditions at a factory in China supplying Apple with iPhone casings.

Then there's the number 3 company, Alphabet. In case you forgot, Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which runs YouTube. Oh, and, hey, YouTube has had a really rough few months.

There's the Logan Paul controversy, all of those bizarre videos slipping past filters in the kids section, and, more recently, the billboard for Darwinism that is the Tide Pod Challenge.

Oh, and YouTube had its own "fake news" controversy with regard to Russian ne'er-do-wells, Google dealt with Russian ads on its platforms, and there's been a problem with "fake news" being promoted in Google searches.

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This is a lot, I know, and we're just scratching the surface of two of the top three companies. When employees at a Plainfield, Indiana Amazon fulfillment center complained about having no heat — in the dead of a very cold winter — it was a startling reminder of reports of grueling working conditions and treatment at many of the commerce giants centers.

And if you really have to ask about JPMorgan Chase, just grab a cup of coffee, Google (I know) "JPMorgan Chase corruption," and settle in for some clicking.

That's not that these companies don't benefit us at all. Many of us use Apple products and Amazon has changed the way we buy things. Who among us hasn't made a stop at a Starbucks for a Unicorn Frappuccino?

And that's all that really matters in the business world. As long as Apple, Google, and the rest continue to boost their profits, the silly details like what they're doing to the world around them won't matter much.

And that's the bottom line.