Most Influential CEOs

Steve Jobs, a visionary and innovator, was born February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California. Paul and Clara Jobs adopted him; he grew up in Mountain View, California, which later became Silicon Valley. Intense curiosity and a passion for technology shaped his early years, guided by his father in their garage. After dropping out of college, Jobs went to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, then traveled to India for spiritual enlightenment. There, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) built the Ford Motor Company. He sponsored the assembly line technique for mass production. Ford made the first car middle-class Americans could buy. This turned the automobile from an expensive item into a practical vehicle. This changed the 20th century.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He holds the title of wealthiest American and richest person in modern history. Rockefeller grew up in upstate New York. His father was a con man; his mother was religious. His family moved several times before settling in Cleveland, Ohio. Rockefeller started as a bookkeeper at sixteen. He joined business partnerships at twenty, focusing his work on oil refining. Rockefeller founded the St

Elon Musk has built a strong presence across technology, transportation, and space exploration. Born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk taught himself computer programming early due to his curiosity. His entrepreneurial start came when he sold his first software, Blastar, at age 12. Musk moved to the United States for more schooling, earning bachelor's degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania. In the late 1990s, Musk co-founded Zip2, a company that offered business directories and

Walt Disney, born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, pioneered animation. His creative vision and constant innovation changed the entertainment industry; he became a cultural icon. Starting as a cartoonist, he co-founded The Walt Disney Company with his brother Roy O. Disney, building a media empire that continues today. Disney's success began with his first venture, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, which failed. He moved to Hollywood, created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and lost the rights

Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. Carnegie drove the growth of the American steel industry in the late 1800s. He became one of America's richest people. Carnegie became a major philanthropist in the United States and the British Empire. In his final 18 years, he gave away $350 million (about $65 billion in 2019 dollars by GDP percentage) to charities, foundations, and universities. This amount covered almost 90 percent of his fortune. His 1889 article procl...

Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American businessman and entrepreneur. He founded Walmart and Sam's Club. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew into the world's largest corporation by revenue and the biggest private employer globally. At one time, Walton was the richest man in America.

William Henry Gates III, Bill Gates, was born October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. His upper-middle-class family stressed education. Gates was an excellent student. He showed early competitiveness and new ideas. His interest in computers started at Lakeside School at age 13. There, he met Paul Allen, his future business partner. The two explored computer potential, building a passion that shaped their future. In 1975, Gates left Harvard University.

John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and banker. He controlled corporate finance on Wall Street during the Gilded Age. As head of the firm J.P. Morgan and Co., he shaped industrial consolidation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1892, Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to create General Electric. Morgan also played key roles in forming the United States Steel Corporation, International Harvester, and AT&T.

Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha," is considered one of history's most successful investors. Born in Nebraska in 1930, Buffett showed an early business knack. He bought his first stock at age 11 and ran a successful pinball machine business while in high school. Buffett graduated from the University of Nebraska. He earned a master's in economics from Columbia University, studying under economist Benjamin Graham. Buffett's investing method rests on Graham's philosophy.

Sakichi Toyoda (豊田 佐吉), born February 14, 1867, died October 30, 1930, was a Japanese inventor and industrialist. He lived in Kosai, Shizuoka. He was the son of a farmer and carpenter. He started the Toyoda family companies. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, later built the world's largest automaker, Toyota. People call Toyoda the "King of Japanese Inventors".

Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) built an American fast-food empire. Kroc joined McDonald's in 1954. The McDonald brothers had already franchised six locations from their 1940 San Bernardino operation. Kroc drove national growth. He achieved a global franchise. This made McDonald's the world's most successful fast-food corporation. Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century listed Kroc. Kroc built wealth during his life. He owned the San Diego Padres baseball team.

Jeffrey Preston Bezos (born January 12, 1964) is an American technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He founded, runs, and presides over Amazon.com, Inc. Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew up in Houston, Texas. He earned degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1986. Bezos worked on Wall Street in various areas from 1986 until early 1994. Bezos founded Amazon in late 1994 during a road trip from New York City to Seattle. The company started as an online bookstore and has since expanded.

John Francis "Jack" Welch Jr. (born November 19, 1935) is an American business executive, author, and chemical engineer. Welch served as chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001. During his time at GE, the company's value increased by 4,000%. Welch's net worth was estimated at $720 million in 2006. When Welch left GE, he received a severance payment of $417 million, the largest of its kind in history.

Jack Warner may refer to:

Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877) was an American business magnate. He built his wealth through railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt moved into leadership roles in inland water trade and invested in the growing railroad industry. Nicknamed "The Commodore," he owned the New York Central Railroad. Biographer T. J. Stiles states, "He vastly improved and expanded the nation's transportation infrastructure, contributing to a transformation of the very geography of the United States. He embraced new techn"

Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca (October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American auto executive. He developed the Ford Mustang and Pinto cars at the Ford Motor Company during the 1960s. Later, he revived Chrysler Corporation as CEO in the 1980s. Iacocca served as Chrysler's President and CEO from 1978 and chairman from 1979 until he retired in late 1992. Iacocca was one of the few executives who ran two Big Three automakers during different times.

Conrad Nicholson Hilton (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American hotelier. He founded the Hilton Hotels chain.

Estée Lauder (July 1, 1906 – April 24, 2004) was an American businessperson. She co-founded her cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.

William Randolph Hearst Sr. (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician. He built the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. Hearst's flashy yellow journalism shaped popular media by focusing on sensational stories and human interest. Hearst began publishing in 1887 with Mitchell Trubitt after his rich father gave him control of The San Francisco Examiner. Hearst moved to New York City, bought the New York Journal, and fought a tough battle.

Feodor Ingvar Kamprad (Swedish: [ˈɪŋːvar ˈkamːprad] (listen); March 30, 1926 – January 27, 2018) was a Swedish business magnate. He founded IKEA, a global retail company making furniture. Kamprad lived in Switzerland from 1976 to 2014.

Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon. He founded the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1892. Candler served as the 41st Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919. Candler named Candler Field, the site of the current Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Candler Park in Atlanta after himself.

Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur. He co-founded Google with Sergey Brin. Page serves as the CEO of Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company). He stepped down as Google CEO in August 2001 for Eric Schmidt, then returned as CEO in April 2011. Page announced he would step aside again in July 2015 to lead Alphabet, reorganizing Google's assets. Under Page, Alphabet seeks major progress across many industries. As of June 2019, Page is the

Marjorie Merriweather Post (March 15, 1887 – September 12, 1973) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and owner of General Foods, Inc. She used much of her fortune to collect art, especially pre-revolutionary Russian art, much of which now shows at Hillwood, her estate museum. She also built Mar-a-Lago.

Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A.W., was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's wealthy Mellon family, he built a business empire before entering politics. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9, 1921, to February 12, 1932, overseeing the 1920s boom and the 1929 Wall Street crash. A conservative Republican, Mellon favored policies that lowered taxes and the national debt after Wor

James D. Sinegal (born January 1, 1936), also called Jim Sinegal, is a retired American billionaire businessman. He co-founded and was former CEO of the Costco Wholesale Corporation, an international retail chain.

Ted Turner, born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an American media mogul and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel, in 1980. His approach to broadcasting changed television news. Before CNN, Turner gained prominence in broadcasting by taking over his father's Turner Advertising Company in 1963, turning it into the global Turner Broadcasting System. Turner's influence extends be

Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and multi-billionaire. He served as Chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2017, and Executive Chairman from 2017 to 2018. He owned the Seattle SuperSonics and sat on the Board of Directors at Square, Inc. In 1998, Schultz co-founded Maveron, an investment group, with Dan Levitan. Forbes named him the 232nd richest person in the United States in 2016, with a net worth of $3.7 billion as of April 2019. Schultz resigned as CEO of Starb

Indra Nooyi, born October 28, 1955, is an Indian American business executive. She sits on the board of directors for Amazon, the world's largest eCommerce business by net revenue. Nooyi served as PepsiCo's CEO for 12 years. She consistently ranks among the world's 100 most powerful women. Forbes ranked her 13th on The World's 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2014. In 2015, the Fortune list named her the 2nd most powerful woman. The International Cricket Council announced in February 2018 that Nooyi would join the I

David Geffen, a notorious and high-powered media mogul, rose from a working-class Brooklyn background to become one of history's most influential and successful entertainment magnates. Geffen, an adroit businessman, founded Asylum Records and Geffen Records. He also co-founded the film studio DreamWorks SKG. As a record producer, he helped establish performers like Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Eagles, and Guns N' Roses. Forbes magazine named him one of America's richest individuals multiple times. Geffen's net worth reached $4 billion in 2006.

Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C. J. Walker (born December 23, 1867; died May 25, 1919), was an African-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. At her death in 1919, Walker held the title of wealthiest African-American businesswoman and self-made woman in America. Walker built her wealth marketing cosmetics and hair care products for Black women through her Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She moved North from a village in Louisiana to grow her business.

Margaret Cushing Whitman, born August 4, 1956, is an American business executive, political activist, and philanthropist. She is the CEO of Quibi, the short-form mobile video platform. Whitman sits on the boards of Procter & Gamble and Dropbox. Before that, she led Hewlett Packard Enterprise as President and CEO. Whitman served on Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012. She ran for governor of California as a Republican but backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. Whitman grew up in Cold Spring Harbor, a hamlet in Huntington, New York, and graduated from Princeto.

Richard Branson, a famous British entrepreneur and philanthropist, started his career with Virgin Records in the early 1970s. Branson was born July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England. He showed his business spirit early. Despite dyslexia causing school trouble, he started his first business, a magazine called Student, at age 16. Virgin Records began as a mail-order company, then became a record store and a recording studio, leading to Branson's big success.

Martha Stewart, born Martha Helen Kostyra in 1941, is a household name in cooking, lifestyle, and business. This American entrepreneur, with Polish roots, grew up and worked in New Jersey. Stewart began as a model to pay for college. She graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University, earning a double major in History and Architectural History. Stewart shifted her career into gourmet cooking and catering. She built a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

Lawrence Joseph Ellison, born August 17, 1944, is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He co-founded Oracle Corporation and serves as its executive chairman and chief technology officer (CTO). Forbes magazine listed him as the fourth-wealthiest person in the United States in March 2019. He ranked seventh in the world with $66.1 billion in fortune, up from $54.5 billion in 2018.

Katharine Meyer Graham lived from June 16, 1917, to July 17, 2001. She was an American publisher. Katharine Graham became the second female publisher of a major American newspaper after Eliza Jane Nicholson owned the New Orleans Daily Picayune (1876–1896). She ran her family's newspaper, The Washington Post, for over twenty years. She managed its most famous time: the Watergate coverage that caused President Richard Nixon to resign. Her memoir, Personal History, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

Jack Ma, also known as Ma Yun (Chinese: 马云; [mà y̌n]; born September 10, 1964), is a Chinese business magnate, investor, politician, and philanthropist. He co-founded Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. Ma supports an open, market-driven economy. Forbes often lists him as one of the world's most powerful people and a global ambassador for Chinese business. He serves as a role model for startup businesses. In 2017, he ranked second in the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" annual list.

Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma (Chinese: 马化腾; pinyin: Mǎ Huàténg, born October 29, 1971), is a Chinese business magnate, investor, politician, philanthropist, engineer, and internet/technology entrepreneur. He founded, chairs, and serves as CEO of Tencent. Tencent is Asia's most valuable company and one of the largest internet and technology firms globally, controlling China's biggest mobile instant messaging service and its subsidiaries provide media, entertainment, payment systems, smartphones, and more.

Sumner Murray Redstone, born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27, 1923, is an American businessman and media magnate. He is the majority owner and chairman of the board for the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, Redstone and his family hold majority voting shares in CBS Corporation and Viacom, which owns Viacom Media Networks, BET Networks, and the film studio Paramount Pictures. Forbes reported his worth as US$5 billion in September 2015. Redstone formerly served as executive chairman for both CBS and Viacom. In February 2016, at age 92, he...

Rupert Murdoch, born March 11, 1931, in Melbourne, Australia, became a globally influential media magnate. He shaped modern news and entertainment. Rupert inherited his father's media empire, News Limited, at age 22. He expanded it into one of the world's largest and most powerful entities. His career moved from Australia to the UK, then to the US, where he became a major industry force.

Susan Diane Wojcicki served as the chief executive officer of YouTube from 2014 to 2023. She was an American business executive. Her net worth reached $765 million in 2022.

Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian American businessman and CEO of Expedia, Inc. Khosrowshahi was born in Tehran, Iran. He earned a B.S. in bioelectrical engineering from Brown University in 1991.

Tony Hsieh is an American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He leads Zappos, the online shoe and clothing company. Before Zappos, Hsieh co-founded LinkExchange, an internet advertising network. He sold LinkExchange to Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million.

Stephen B. "Steve" Burke is an American businessman. He acts as the Executive Vice President of Comcast and also serves as CEO and President of NBCUniversal.

Xavier Niel, born August 25, 1967, is a French billionaire businessman. He works in telecommunications and technology. Niel founded and holds majority shares in Iliad, the French Internet service provider and Mobile operator under the Free brand (France's second-largest ISP and third mobile operator). He is also a co-owner of Le Monde newspaper, the rights to "My Way," and Monaco Telecom. As of April 2018, his net worth was estimated at US$6.1 billion.

Herbert David Kelleher was an American billionaire airline executive and lawyer. He co-founded Southwest Airlines. Kelleher served as CEO and chairman emeritus until his death in 2019.

Shamele Mackie, known as Papoose, was an American rapper and songwriter. Papoose appeared commercially on Kool G Rap's 1998 album Roots of Evil. He began producing and distributing his own mixtapes in the early 2000s. In 2005, DJ Kayslay helped Papoose sign a $1.5 million contract with Jive Records. After his debut album, The Nacirema Dream, was shelved, he and DJ Kay Slay ended their relationship. This led to him releasing many free mixtapes from 2006 to 2013, earning him a large following.