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Business, Finance & Industry
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Sheldon Adelson 1933–2021Business & LaborCasino magnate and political donor who built Las Vegas Sands into a global resort empire.Steve Ballmer b. 1956Business & LaborFormer CEO of Microsoft and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, with vast technology-derived wealth.Nicolas Berggruen b. 1961Business & LaborInvestor and philosopher whose Berggruen Institute fosters cross-cultural governance and philosophy.Jeff Bezos b. 1964Business & LaborFounder of Amazon who transformed e-commerce and cloud computing, becoming one of the wealthiest people in history.Sara Blakely b. 1971Business & LaborFounder of Spanx who became the youngest self-made female billionaire in America.Len Blavatnik b. 1957Business & LaborUkrainian-American industrialist and Warner Music owner whose Access Industries spans chemicals and media.Michael Bloomberg b. 1942Business & LaborFounder of Bloomberg LP, three-term mayor of New York City, and major political donor.William Boeing 1881–1956Business & LaborFounded the aircraft company that became the largest American commercial airplane manufacturer.John C. Bogle 1929–2019Business & LaborFounded Vanguard and launched the first index mutual fund for retail investors.Eli Broad 1933–2021Business & LaborBusinessman and art collector whose foundation invested billions in education, science, and the arts.Peter Buffett b. 1958Business & LaborMusician and philanthropist who directs the NoVo Foundation focused on girls' and women's rights.Warren Buffett b. 1930Business & LaborValue investor whose disciplined approach built one of the largest personal fortunes in American history.Tory Burch b. 1966Business & LaborFashion designer and philanthropist whose eponymous brand became a billion-dollar empire.Margaret Cargill 1920–2006Business & LaborHeiress whose anonymous foundation became one of America's largest charitable organizations after her death.Andrew Carnegie 1835–1919Business & LaborSteel magnate who built one of the largest steel empires in history and later became a major philanthropist.Priscilla Chan b. 1985Business & LaborPediatrician and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative investing billions in science and education.Barbara Corcoran b. 1949Business & LaborReal estate entrepreneur who turned a $1,000 loan into a billion-dollar brokerage.John Paul DeJoria b. 1944Business & LaborCo-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patrón tequila who rose from homelessness.Michael Dell b. 1965Business & LaborFounder of Dell Technologies who built one of the world's largest PC and IT infrastructure companies.Jamie Dimon b. 1956Business & LaborBank executive whose leadership of JPMorgan Chase made him one of the most influential voices in American finance.Doris Duke 1912–1993Business & LaborTobacco heiress whose foundation supports the arts, environment, and medical research.George Eastman 1854–1932Business & LaborFounder of Kodak who made photography affordable and created a model of mass consumer technology.Larry Ellison b. 1944Business & LaborCo-founder of Oracle Corporation, a pioneer in database software and enterprise computing.Chuck Feeney 1931–2023Business & LaborDuty Free Shops founder who gave away his entire fortune anonymously through Atlantic Philanthropies.Henry Ford 1863–1947Business & LaborIndustrialist who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line and made automobiles affordable.Henry Clay Frick 1849–1919Business & LaborDominated coke supply for steelmaking and ran Carnegie Steel during the Homestead strike.Melinda French Gates b. 1964Business & LaborPhilanthropist and former co-chair of the Gates Foundation focused on women's empowerment and global health.Amadeo Giannini 1870–1949Business & LaborFounded Bank of Italy and grew it into Bank of America by lending to ordinary depositors.Jay Gould 1836–1892Business & LaborControlled major railroad and telegraph systems through aggressive stock manipulation.Benjamin Graham 1894–1976Business & LaborEstablished value investing and securities analysis as a professional discipline.Ken Griffin b. 1968Business & LaborHedge fund manager who founded Citadel and became one of the most successful investors in history.Andrew Grove 1936–2016Business & LaborLed Intel through its shift to microprocessors and shaped American technology management practice.Andy Grove 1936–2016Business & LaborIntel leader who helped make microprocessors central to computing and shaped Silicon Valley management culture.Solomon R. Guggenheim 1861–1949Business & LaborIndustrialist whose foundation established the Guggenheim Museum of modern art.James J. Hill 1838–1916Business & LaborBuilt the Great Northern Railway without federal land grants and shaped northern plains settlement.Laurene Powell Jobs b. 1963Business & LaborBusinesswoman and Emerson Collective founder investing in education, immigration, and social justice.Daymond John b. 1969Business & LaborFounder of FUBU and Shark Tank investor who built a streetwear empire from a Queens home.Abigail Johnson b. 1961Business & LaborCEO of Fidelity Investments who oversees one of the world's largest asset management firms.Phil Knight b. 1938Business & LaborCo-founder of Nike whose sneaker empire made him one of the wealthiest people in America.Charles Koch b. 1935Business & LaborIndustrialist and political donor who built Koch Industries into one of America's largest private companies.David Koch 1940–2019Business & LaborIndustrialist and political donor who built Koch Industries into a massive conglomerate.Joan Kroc 1928–2003Business & LaborMcDonald's heiress whose bequests funded NPR, the Salvation Army, and peace studies.Ray Kroc 1902–1984Business & LaborBusinessman who transformed McDonald's from a single restaurant into the world's largest fast-food chain.Estée Lauder 1908–2004Business & LaborCosmetics pioneer who built one of the world's largest beauty companies from her kitchen.Ralph Lauren b. 1939Business & LaborFashion designer who created a global lifestyle brand synonymous with American style.Madam C. J. Walker 1867–1919Business & LaborEntrepreneur who built a major Black hair-care company and used her wealth for philanthropy and civil-rights causes.Jacqueline Mars b. 1939Business & LaborHeiress and board member of Mars Inc., one of the world's largest privately held confectionery companies.Andrew W. Mellon 1855–1937Business & LaborBanker and art collector whose foundation built the National Gallery of Art.Betty Moore 1929–2024Business & LaborCo-founder of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, one of the largest environmental philanthropies.J. P. Morgan 1837–1913Business & LaborBanking titan who stabilized the economy during the Panic of 1907 and shaped modern finance.Dustin Moskovitz b. 1984Business & LaborFacebook co-founder who left to build Asana and became one of the youngest self-made billionaires.Kevin O'Leary b. 1954Business & LaborCanadian-American businessman and Shark Tank investor known as Mr. Wonderful.Pierre Omidyar b. 1967Business & LaboreBay founder whose Omidyar Network supports entrepreneurship, human rights, and governance reform.David Rockefeller 1915–2017Business & LaborBanker and philanthropist who directed the Rockefeller Foundation's global development efforts.John D. Rockefeller 1839–1937Business & LaborEstablished the Rockefeller Foundation and funded medical research, education, and public health initiatives.Julius Rosenwald 1862–1932Business & LaborSears executive who funded thousands of schools for African American children in the segregated South.Eric Schmidt b. 1955Business & LaborFormer Google CEO whose tenure saw the company's explosive growth into a tech giant.Howard Schultz b. 1953Business & LaborFormer CEO of Starbucks who turned a Seattle coffee shop into a global coffeehouse phenomenon.Charles Schwab b. 1937Business & LaborFounder of the discount brokerage that democratized stock trading for ordinary investors.Stephen Schwarzman b. 1947Business & LaborCo-founder of Blackstone, the world's largest alternative investment firm.MacKenzie Scott b. 1970Business & LaborNovelist and philanthropist who has given away billions to hundreds of organizations with no strings attached.Jeff Skoll b. 1965Business & LaboreBay's first president whose Skoll Foundation supports social entrepreneurs solving global problems.Alfred P. Sloan 1875–1966Business & LaborGeneral Motors leader who established the multidivisional corporation and professional management systems copied across industry.Fred Smith 1944–2025Business & LaborFounder of FedEx who pioneered overnight delivery and transformed global logistics.George Soros b. 1930Business & LaborInvestor and founder of the Open Society Foundations, supporting democracy and human rights worldwide.Martha Stewart b. 1941Business & LaborLifestyle entrepreneur who built a media and merchandising empire around domestic arts.Levi Strauss 1829–1902Business & LaborImmigrant entrepreneur whose company helped turn blue jeans into an enduring American product and symbol.Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794–1877Business & LaborShipping and railroad magnate whose empire made him one of the wealthiest Americans in history.Alice Walton b. 1949Business & LaborDaughter of Sam Walton and art patron who founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.Jim Walton b. 1948Business & LaborYoungest son of Sam Walton and major shareholder in Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers.Rob Walton b. 1944Business & LaborEldest son of Sam Walton who served as chairman of Walmart for over two decades.Sam Walton 1918–1992Business & LaborFounder of Walmart and Sam's Club who built the world's largest retail empire.Vera Wang b. 1949Business & LaborFashion designer who revolutionized the bridal industry and built a global luxury brand.Thomas J. Watson Sr. 1874–1956Business & LaborExecutive who built IBM into the dominant punched-card and business-machine company before the computer age.Jack Welch 1935–2020Business & LaborFormer CEO of General Electric who reshaped corporate management and became a business icon.