Home › Business & Labor

Business & Labor

Founders and financiers on one side, organizers and union leaders on the other — and the fights between them.

94 people

Henry Ford 1863–1947Business, Finance & IndustryIndustrialist who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line and made automobiles affordable.John D. Rockefeller 1839–1937Business, Finance & IndustryEstablished the Rockefeller Foundation and funded medical research, education, and public health initiatives.J. P. Morgan 1837–1913Business, Finance & IndustryBanking titan who stabilized the economy during the Panic of 1907 and shaped modern finance.Jeff Bezos b. 1964Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Amazon who transformed e-commerce and cloud computing, becoming one of the wealthiest people in history.Warren Buffett b. 1930Business, Finance & IndustryValue investor whose disciplined approach built one of the largest personal fortunes in American history.Andrew Carnegie 1835–1919Business, Finance & IndustrySteel magnate who built one of the largest steel empires in history and later became a major philanthropist.Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794–1877Business, Finance & IndustryShipping and railroad magnate whose empire made him one of the wealthiest Americans in history.Sam Walton 1918–1992Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Walmart and Sam's Club who built the world's largest retail empire.Eugene V. Debs 1855–1926Labor & Workers' MovementsSocialist Party leader who ran for president five times from prison and championed labor rights.Michael Bloomberg b. 1942Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Bloomberg LP, three-term mayor of New York City, and major political donor.George Eastman 1854–1932Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Kodak who made photography affordable and created a model of mass consumer technology.George Soros b. 1930Business, Finance & IndustryInvestor and founder of the Open Society Foundations, supporting democracy and human rights worldwide.Frances Perkins 1880–1965Labor & Workers' MovementsFirst woman in a presidential cabinet and labor secretary who helped create Social Security, minimum-wage, and workplace protections.Samuel Gompers 1850–1924Labor & Workers' MovementsFounding leader of the American Federation of Labor who established durable craft-union organization.Jimmy Hoffa 1913–1975Labor & Workers' MovementsTeamsters president who won American truckers their first national contract, and disappeared in 1975Madam C. J. Walker 1867–1919Business, Finance & IndustryEntrepreneur who built a major Black hair-care company and used her wealth for philanthropy and civil-rights causes.Ray Kroc 1902–1984Business, Finance & IndustryBusinessman who transformed McDonald's from a single restaurant into the world's largest fast-food chain.Martha Stewart b. 1941Business, Finance & IndustryLifestyle entrepreneur who built a media and merchandising empire around domestic arts.Andrew W. Mellon 1855–1937Business, Finance & IndustryBanker and art collector whose foundation built the National Gallery of Art.Larry Ellison b. 1944Business, Finance & IndustryCo-founder of Oracle Corporation, a pioneer in database software and enterprise computing.Ralph Lauren b. 1939Business, Finance & IndustryFashion designer who created a global lifestyle brand synonymous with American style.Mother Jones 1837–1930Labor & Workers' MovementsOrganizer whose militant campaigns for miners and against child labor made her an icon of American labor.Levi Strauss 1829–1902Business, Finance & IndustryImmigrant entrepreneur whose company helped turn blue jeans into an enduring American product and symbol.Jack Welch 1935–2020Business, Finance & IndustryFormer CEO of General Electric who reshaped corporate management and became a business icon.Michael Dell b. 1965Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Dell Technologies who built one of the world's largest PC and IT infrastructure companies.Michael Milken b. 1946Business, Finance & IndustryFinancier who built the modern high-yield bond market at Drexel Burnham Lambert, pleaded guilty to six securities and tax felonies in 1990, and later funded medical research and an economic think tank.William Boeing 1881–1956Business, Finance & IndustryFounded the aircraft company that became the largest American commercial airplane manufacturer.John L. Lewis 1880–1969Labor & Workers' MovementsUnion leader who built the United Mine Workers and helped found the CIO, expanding industrial unionism and collective bargaining.John Jacob Astor 1763–1848Business, Finance & IndustryAmerica's first multimillionaire, made in furs, the China trade and Manhattan landHenry Clay Frick 1849–1919Business, Finance & IndustryDominated coke supply for steelmaking and ran Carnegie Steel during the Homestead strike.Carl Icahn b. 1936Business, Finance & IndustryCorporate raider and activist investorPhil Knight b. 1938Business, Finance & IndustryCo-founder of Nike whose sneaker empire made him one of the wealthiest people in America.Jamie Dimon b. 1956Business, Finance & IndustryBank executive whose leadership of JPMorgan Chase made him one of the most influential voices in American finance.John C. Bogle 1929–2019Business, Finance & IndustryFounded Vanguard and launched the first index mutual fund for retail investors.Jay Gould 1836–1892Business, Finance & IndustryControlled major railroad and telegraph systems through aggressive stock manipulation.Estée Lauder 1908–2004Business, Finance & IndustryCosmetics pioneer who built one of the world's largest beauty companies from her kitchen.Walter Reuther 1907–1970Labor & Workers' MovementsUnited Auto Workers leader who helped build organized labor into a major economic and political force.Thomas J. Watson Sr. 1874–1956Business, Finance & IndustryExecutive who built IBM into the dominant punched-card and business-machine company before the computer age.Howard Schultz b. 1953Business, Finance & IndustryFormer CEO of Starbucks who turned a Seattle coffee shop into a global coffeehouse phenomenon.Charles Koch b. 1935Business, Finance & IndustryIndustrialist and political donor who built Koch Industries into one of America's largest private companies.Alfred P. Sloan 1875–1966Business, Finance & IndustryGeneral Motors leader who established the multidivisional corporation and professional management systems copied across industry.Melinda French Gates b. 1964Business, Finance & IndustryPhilanthropist and former co-chair of the Gates Foundation focused on women's empowerment and global health.Eric Schmidt b. 1955Business, Finance & IndustryFormer Google CEO whose tenure saw the company's explosive growth into a tech giant.Fred Smith 1944–2025Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of FedEx who pioneered overnight delivery and transformed global logistics.Andrew Grove 1936–2016Business, Finance & IndustryLed Intel through its shift to microprocessors and shaped American technology management practice.MacKenzie Scott b. 1970Business, Finance & IndustryNovelist and philanthropist who has given away billions to hundreds of organizations with no strings attached.James J. Hill 1838–1916Business, Finance & IndustryBuilt the Great Northern Railway without federal land grants and shaped northern plains settlement.Steve Ballmer b. 1956Business, Finance & IndustryFormer CEO of Microsoft and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, with vast technology-derived wealth.David Rockefeller 1915–2017Business, Finance & IndustryBanker and philanthropist who directed the Rockefeller Foundation's global development efforts.George Meany 1894–1980Labor & Workers' MovementsNew York plumber who merged the AFL and the CIO in 1955 and ran the combined federation for 24 years, through the peak of American labor and the beginning of its decline.David Koch 1940–2019Business, Finance & IndustryIndustrialist and political donor who built Koch Industries into a massive conglomerate.Benjamin Graham 1894–1976Business, Finance & IndustryEstablished value investing and securities analysis as a professional discipline.Bill Haywood 1869–1928Labor & Workers' MovementsCo-founded the Industrial Workers of the World and led major mining and textile strikes.Sheldon Adelson 1933–2021Business, Finance & IndustryCasino magnate and political donor who built Las Vegas Sands into a global resort empire.Pierre Omidyar b. 1967Business, Finance & IndustryeBay founder whose Omidyar Network supports entrepreneurship, human rights, and governance reform.IBIvan Boesky 1937–2024Business, Finance & IndustryThe 1980s insider trading scandal and the cooperation that brought down Michael MilkenVera Wang b. 1949Business, Finance & IndustryFashion designer who revolutionized the bridal industry and built a global luxury brand.Julius Rosenwald 1862–1932Business, Finance & IndustrySears executive who funded thousands of schools for African American children in the segregated South.Amadeo Giannini 1870–1949Business, Finance & IndustryFounded Bank of Italy and grew it into Bank of America by lending to ordinary depositors.Charles Schwab b. 1937Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of the discount brokerage that democratized stock trading for ordinary investors.Solomon R. Guggenheim 1861–1949Business, Finance & IndustryIndustrialist whose foundation established the Guggenheim Museum of modern art.Stephen Schwarzman b. 1947Business, Finance & IndustryCo-founder of Blackstone, the world's largest alternative investment firm.Elizabeth Gurley Flynn 1890–1964Labor & Workers' MovementsOrganized IWW strikes and helped found the American Civil Liberties Union.Terence V. Powderly 1849–1924Labor & Workers' MovementsLed the Knights of Labor as it became the first mass national labor organization in the United States.Harry Bridges 1901–1990Labor & Workers' MovementsLed West Coast longshore workers through the 1934 strike and headed the ILWU for decades.Eli Broad 1933–2021Business, Finance & IndustryBusinessman and art collector whose foundation invested billions in education, science, and the arts.Ken Griffin b. 1968Business, Finance & IndustryHedge fund manager who founded Citadel and became one of the most successful investors in history.Sidney Hillman 1887–1946Labor & Workers' MovementsLabor leader who built the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and linked organized labor to New Deal politics.Kevin O'Leary b. 1954Business, Finance & IndustryCanadian-American businessman and Shark Tank investor known as Mr. Wonderful.Sara Blakely b. 1971Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of Spanx who became the youngest self-made female billionaire in America.Laurene Powell Jobs b. 1963Business, Finance & IndustryBusinesswoman and Emerson Collective founder investing in education, immigration, and social justice.Dustin Moskovitz b. 1984Business, Finance & IndustryFacebook co-founder who left to build Asana and became one of the youngest self-made billionaires.Barbara Corcoran b. 1949Business, Finance & IndustryReal estate entrepreneur who turned a $1,000 loan into a billion-dollar brokerage.TBTory Burch b. 1966Business, Finance & IndustryFashion designer and philanthropist whose eponymous brand became a billion-dollar empire.Lucy Parsons 1851–1942Labor & Workers' MovementsRadical labor organizer and writer who advocated for workers, free speech, and racial and gender equality over seven decades.Rose Schneiderman 1882–1972Labor & Workers' MovementsLabor organizer who championed women workers, workplace safety, and social reforms later incorporated into the New Deal.Alice Walton b. 1949Business, Finance & IndustryDaughter of Sam Walton and art patron who founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.CFChuck Feeney 1931–2023Business, Finance & IndustryDuty Free Shops founder who gave away his entire fortune anonymously through Atlantic Philanthropies.Len Blavatnik b. 1957Business, Finance & IndustryUkrainian-American industrialist and Warner Music owner whose Access Industries spans chemicals and media.LILarry Itliong 1913–1977Labor & Workers' MovementsFilipino American labor leader whose organizing initiated the Delano grape strike and helped build the United Farm Workers.Daymond John b. 1969Business, Finance & IndustryFounder of FUBU and Shark Tank investor who built a streetwear empire from a Queens home.John Paul DeJoria b. 1944Business, Finance & IndustryCo-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patrón tequila who rose from homelessness.Doris Duke 1912–1993Business, Finance & IndustryTobacco heiress whose foundation supports the arts, environment, and medical research.Jeff Skoll b. 1965Business, Finance & IndustryeBay's first president whose Skoll Foundation supports social entrepreneurs solving global problems.Joan Kroc 1928–2003Business, Finance & IndustryMcDonald's heiress whose bequests funded NPR, the Salvation Army, and peace studies.Priscilla Chan b. 1985Business, Finance & IndustryPediatrician and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative investing billions in science and education.Abigail Johnson b. 1961Business, Finance & IndustryCEO of Fidelity Investments who oversees one of the world's largest asset management firms.Rob Walton b. 1944Business, Finance & IndustryEldest son of Sam Walton who served as chairman of Walmart for over two decades.JMJacqueline Mars b. 1939Business, Finance & IndustryHeiress and board member of Mars Inc., one of the world's largest privately held confectionery companies.Jim Walton b. 1948Business, Finance & IndustryYoungest son of Sam Walton and major shareholder in Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers.BMBetty Moore 1928–2023Business, Finance & IndustryCo-founder of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, one of the largest environmental philanthropies.Nicolas Berggruen b. 1961Business, Finance & IndustryInvestor and philosopher whose Berggruen Institute fosters cross-cultural governance and philosophy.PBPeter Buffett b. 1958Business, Finance & IndustryMusician and philanthropist who directs the NoVo Foundation focused on girls' and women's rights.MCMargaret Cargill 1920–2006Business, Finance & IndustryHeiress whose anonymous foundation became one of America's largest charitable organizations after her death.