Top Ten Most Iconic Business People

Every once in a while, there are companies that change the world. Running those companies are some of the most influential, intelligent, and savvy individuals.

It takes more than just a great product to make a business successful for the long haul. To keep the money rolling in, you've got to be an entrepreneur with the smarts to adapt to the market and consumers' needs.

Below are the most iconic businessmen and businesswomen who have not only made a lot of money but also revolutionized their industry and stayed on top for the long haul.

1. Bill Gates

   

   William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, author, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates served as chairman, chief executive officer, president, and chief... read more

   Bill Gates is the person who not only has a genius mind and a generous heart but also has a strong will. He does not care if others criticize or insult him. He bore all the insults and just does it right for the sake of good. He is one of the most important people who has built the IT industries and contributed significantly to other industries as well.

   Not only a computer magnate, he has also diversified into charities and organizations. His name is synonymous with success and innovation.

2. Warren Buffett

   

   Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of October 2024, he had a net worth... read more

   The man owns a little bit of everything. Real estate, energy, you name it.

3. Steve Jobs

   

   Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur and business magnate. He co-founded Apple Inc., serving as chairman and chief executive officer. He also founded NeXT, where he was chairman and CEO.... read more

   Revolutionizing the computer industry in the face of a giant (Microsoft), he realized that it is often less important to be the best if you can be first.

4. Oprah Winfrey

   

   Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986 to 2011. She is also the founder of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and has been a powerful influence in both media... read more

   Starting out as a talk show host - just one in a pack of daytime entertainers - she quickly turned into an icon of many different media outlets.

5. Henry Ford

   

   Henry Ford was an American industrialist, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and a pioneer in the development of the modern assembly line technique of mass production. His innovations revolutionized the automobile industry and helped make cars affordable for the average American. Ford's Model T, introduced... read more

   He is the reason Americans are not living in the wild west anymore. The car he made was reliable, cheap, and durable. If the car had brakes on all wheels and a fuel pump, it could have been produced until the 21st century.

6. Jeff Bezos

   

   Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos, born January 12, 1964, is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, computer engineer, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder and executive chairman of Amazon and previously served as the company's president and CEO. Bezos also owns The Washington Post and... read more

   Amazon started out as a lowly online bookstore and now deals in everything from groceries to diapers to, still, books. It became the most trusted company in America in 2013, pushing Apple off its perch.

7. Mark Zuckerberg

   

   Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding Facebook, Inc., where he serves as chairman and chief executive officer. Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004 while attending Harvard University.... read more

   Facebook began as just another social site aimed at college kids. Now, more than 1 in 7 people on earth have a Facebook account, and it has pushed every other social media site into the background.

8. Walt Disney

   

   Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 to December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, and entrepreneur. He was a pioneer of the American animation industry and introduced several innovations in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for the most Academy Awards... read more

9. Larry Page

   

   Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman, computer engineer, and computer scientist best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Although he stepped down as CEO of Alphabet Inc. in 2019, he remains a board member and controlling shareholder. As of late 2025, he is... read more

   Everyone knows about Google. It started out as just another search engine but soon grew into the multifaceted company that revolutionized the internet.

10. Sir Richard Branson

    

    Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born July 18, 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970. As of 2026, he oversees a diverse range of businesses under the Virgin brand, which includes over 400 companies across various industries such as music, airlines, telecommunications... read more

The Newcomers
11. ?

    George Lucas

    

    George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light and Magic, and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012... read more

12. ?

    James D. Sinegal

The Contenders

13. Thomas Edison

    

    Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He held 1,093 U.S. patents and developed devices such as the phonograph in 1877, an improved practical incandescent light bulb in 1879, and an early motion picture camera.... read more

14. Howard Hughes

    

15. Rupert Murdoch

    

    Let's just say that he basically owns the news. From the Wall Street Journal to Twentieth Century Fox, he controls media all around the globe and has continued to stay on top of the industry.

16. Elon Musk

    

    Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer best known for being the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter). He co-founded PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002.... read more

17. Arianna Huffington

    With so many sources of news on the internet, it takes a special individual to both remain a leader and win a Pulitzer Prize. She has continued to lead her company to ever-increasingly prestigious heights.

18. Alfred Nobel

    

    Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He held 355 patents during his lifetime, with dynamite being his most famous invention. Nobel also established the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded annually in recognition of outstanding achievements in various... read more

19. John D. Rockefellar

    

    John D. Rockefeller, in full John Davison Rockefeller, (1839-1937), was an American industrialist and the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. He is regarded as the first billionaire in world history. By 1937, the Rockefeller fortune was 1.4 billion or 1.5% of the USA GDP of 92 billion. As of this, no other American, including Bill Gates or Sam Walton, would even come close.

    Rockefeller had a long and controversial career in the oil industry followed by a long career in philanthropy. His image is an amalgam of all of these experiences and the many ways he was viewed by his contemporaries, many of whom were driven to ruin, but many others of whom sold out at a profit.

20. William Randolph Hearst

    

    William Randolph Hearst Sr. (April 29, 1863 - August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. Known for developing yellow journalism, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter... read more

21. Madam C.J. Walker

    

22. Hugh Hefner

    

    Hugh Marston Hefner was an American businessman, magazine publisher, and the founder of Playboy magazine. He launched Playboy in 1953 and served as its editor-in-chief for many years, becoming a controversial figure known for his role in the sexual revolution. Hefner also built the Playboy brand into... read more

23. J.P. Morgan

    

24. Andrew Carnegie

    

25. Isambard Kingdom Brunel

    

26. Cornelius Vanderbilt

    

27. Ted Turner