100 Famous Entrepreneurs


This country has seen more than its fair share of entrepreneurs, and though not all 100 famous entrepreneurs are from the United States, imagine where the country would be without their influence. These men and women have risen above the average business owner to leave their mark on the world. There is much you can learn from their endeavors.

100 Famous Entrepreneurs

Here are the top 100 entrepreneurs:

  1. Robert S. Abbott
  2. Thomas Adams
  3. Alvin Ailey
  4. Giorgio Armani
  5. Mary Kay Ash
  6. Steve Ballmer
  7. P.T. Barnum
  8. Warren Bechtel
  9. Jeff Bezos
  10. Clarence Birdseye
  11. Michael Bloomberg
  12. Richard Branson
  13. William Boeing
  14. Warren Buffett
  15. Andrew Carnegie
  16. Steve Case
  17. Jim Clark
  18. Walter Chrysler
  19. Michael Dell
  20. Fred DeLuca
  21. Walt Disney
  22. Arthur Dorrance
  23. George Eastman
  24. Thomas Edison
  25. Larry Ellison
  26. Debbi Fields
  27. Edward Filene
  28. David Filo
  29. Donald and Doris Fisher
  30. Steve Forbes
  31. Henry Ford
  32. Ernest & Julio Gallo
  33. Frank Gannett
  34. Bill Gates
  35. P. Giannini
  36. Samuel Goldwyn
  37. Walt Goodridge
  38. Leo Goodwin
  39. Barry Gordy
  40. Andrew Grove
  41. Joyce Hall
  42. William Randolph Hearst
  43. Richard A. Henson
  44. Fernando Hernandez
  45. Milton Hershey
  46. William R. Hewlett
  47. James J. Hill
  48. Conrad Hilton
  49. George A. Hormel
  50. Wayne Huizenga
  51. Steve Jobs
  52. Robert L. Johnson
  53. John Johnson
  54. Henry J. Kaiser
  55. Herb Kelleher
  56. Calvin Klein
  57. Ray Kroc
  58. Ralph Lauren
  59. William Levitt
  60. Henry Luce
  61. John Mackey
  62. J. W. Marriott
  63. Louis B. Mayer
  64. William McGowan
  65. Vince McMahon
  66. Scott McNealy
  67. Judi Sheppard Missett
  68. Gordon Moore
  69. Andrew Morrison
  70. Rupert Murdoch
  71. Pierre Omidyar
  72. David Packard
  73. William S. Paley
  74. Ross Perot
  75. T. Boone Pickens
  76. Jay Pritzker
  77. Ralph Roberts
  78. John D. Rockefeller
  79. Carlos Santana
  80. David Sarnoff
  81. Howard Schultz
  82. Charles Schwab
  83. Richard W. Sears
  84. Colonel Sanders
  85. Eric Schmidt
  86. Russell Simmons
  87. Fred Smith
  88. Charles C. Spaulding
  89. Gloria Steinem
  90. Martha Stewart
  91. Dave Thomas
  92. Donald Trump
  93. Ted Turner
  94. Madam C. J. Walker
  95. Sam Walton
  96. Thomas Watson, Sr.
  97. Jack Welch
  98. Meg Whitman
  99. Oprah Winfrey
  100. Steve Wynn

Importance to Economy

Large corporations contribute greatly to a country's economy. Without them, people would not have access to many products they want and need. The entrepreneur is equally important, and for many reasons. If it were not for people like Bill Gates, can you imagine where the world would be? Innovation is one of the greatest benefits of entrepreneurship, and though Microsoft is now a multibillion-dollar enterprise, it started out as a project in the basement! Along with great computers and myriad software inventions, this entrepreneur created immeasurable wealth for employees of his company and users of his products.


There are thousands of businesses started around the world every year but many of them will fail within the first five years of operation. What is the difference between the men and women who start these companies and the 100 famous entrepreneurs listed above? In a word, leadership! If you aspire to the heights of people such as Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Jack Welch you need the ability to motivate and lead others even when you encounter opposition.


In order to be a successful entrepreneur like Donald Trump, Oprah or Warren Buffet you need an absolute passion for what you do. Do you think that any of these famous individuals overcame adversity and rose to their current status without a serious dose of determination and passion? Donald Trump grew up around the real estate industry but his vision or passion if you will was for grandiose architecture and not the standard housing his father succeeded with, he faced many nay sayers in the beginning, but his passion held him to his purpose.

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt about it, the entrepreneur is important to the world and all her people. They create jobs, products and wealth and teach us all that through determination, imagination and passion anything is possible. Thousands if not millions of jobs are created each year by individuals like the 100 famous entrepreneurs listed above and you can learn a great deal from their stories.

100 Famous Entrepreneurs