30 entrepreneurs who changed America and then the world
lovemoney staff
08 November 2017
The most influential businesspeople of all time
Every now and again, an industry-disrupting entrepreneur comes along and transforms everything, be it the way we dress, eat, work, shop, get around or communicate. From Andrew Carnegie and Sam Walton to Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, here are 30 entrepreneurs who changed America and then the world.
Levi Strauss (1829-1902)
The man who brought the world blue jeans, German immigrant Levi Strauss founded his eponymous apparel company in 1853 in San Francisco and patented the famous riveted denims in 1873, changing the way America and the world dressed forever.
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie spearheaded the expansion of the steel industry in the US, stockpiling a massive fortune in the process. The father of modern philanthropy, Carnegie gave away 90% of his wealth during his lifetime, bankrolling charities, universities and more.
J. P. Morgan (1837-1913)
America's greatest banker, John Pierpont Morgan Sr. was the number one financier of the late 19th and early 20th century. Hugely influential, Morgan played a key role in the creation of AT&T, General Electric and U.S. Steel, and effectively oversaw the modernisation of American banking.
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)
John D. Rockefeller controlled 90% of all oil production and distribution in the US at his peak, and pretty much developed the oil industry. The richest person in modern history, Rockefeller helped define modern philanthropy and his many foundations have had a huge impact, which include funding the eradication of yellow fever and hookworm in the US.
Thomas Edison (1847-1941)
Regarded as America's most distinguished inventor, Thomas Edison pioneered the development of everything from the motion picture camera to the light bulb. The genius innovator, who amassed 1,0963 patents in his lifetime, is also credited with creating the first industrial research lab.
Asa Griggs Candler (1851-1929)
Asa Griggs Candler gave the world's its most popular drink: Coca-Cola. In 1888, the Georgia-born entrepreneur bought the formula for the refreshing drink and made it a massive success, using a significant portion of the money he made to fund several organisations, including Emory University in Atlanta.
George Eastman (1854-1932)
When George Eastman founded Kodak in 1888, photography was a niche pastime for the rich. His company's development of roll film brought photography to the masses and was instrumental in the invention of motion picture film.
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
The influence of Henry Ford is still felt far and wide. Ford invented the modern production line and brought the motor car into the mainstream with the affordable Model T, revolutionising the way Americans live as a result.
Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)
Lauded as America's first female self-made millionaire, Madam C. J. Walker was born to slave parents and made her fortune creating hair and beauty products for black women. A massively inspirational figure, Walker used her wealth to fund social justice movements and was a generous patron of the arts to boot.
David Sarnoff (1891-1971)
Radio and TV pioneer David Sarnoff saw the potential in radio as a device that could be used to broadcast to the masses at a time when the technology was being used to communicate info from one individual to another. The prescient entrepreneur went on to develop America's first national radio network.
Jean Paul Getty (1892-1976)
One of America's greatest and most frugal entrepreneurs, Jean Paul Getty made his money from oil and was the world's richest person during the 1960s, and while he was notoriously thrifty, even negotiating his kidnapped grandson's ransom, Getty was a lavish art collector and deep-pocketed philanthropist.
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Walt Disney was the single most important figure ever in America's animation industry, and the cartoons he produced are much-loved to this day, as are the theme parks he originated. Disney also holds the record for the most Academy Awards, earning a total of 22 Oscars in his lifetime.
Ray Kroc (1902-1984)
The man who turned McDonald's into the giant it is today, Ray Kroc changed the way America, and the world, eat. Kroc joined the company in 1954 and spent the next twenty years transforming it into the biggest fast-food chain on the planet.
Estée Lauder (1908-2004)
One of the most influential businesspeople of the 20th century, Estée Lauder co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company in 1946, after making a tidy sum selling face creams created by her chemist uncle, and built it up to become one of the world's leading beauty firms.
Sam Walton (1918-1992)
In 1945, Sam Walton opened his first budget supermarket in Newport, Arkansas and didn't look back. By the 1980s, Walmart was America's most popular retailer and Walton the country's richest person, and the ever-successful chain still commands the top spot.
Jerome Lemelson (1923-1997)
The most influential American entrepreneur you've never heard of, inventor and businessman Jerome Lemelson is the originator or co-creator of all sorts of game-changing technologies, from cordless phones, fax machines and camcorders, to automated warehouses and industrial robots.
Warren Buffett (b.1930)
The investor with the Midas touch, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is now the second richest person on the planet. He follows in the footsteps of legendary entrepreneurs such as Jean Paul Getty who are famously frugal as well as philanthropic. Buffett has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune to good causes.
Ted Turner (b. 1938)
Media mogul Ted Turner turned new reporting on its head, creating CNN, the world's first 24-hour news network and the blueprint for rolling news channels worldwide. Turner is also renowned for his philanthropic endeavours, which include a $1 billion (£763m) gift to the United Nations.
Donald Trump (b. 1946)
Love him or loathe him, there's no denying Donald Trump has fundamentally changed America and the world. With his background in business and television and populist style, the 45th President of the United States is unlike any other and has managed to turn politics on its head in the US and overseas.
Steve Wozniak (b. 1950)
'The Woz' as he's affectionately known, founded Apple with Steve Jobs in April 1976, and developed the Apple II, one of the first successful mass-market PCs. Wozniak is also responsible for bringing the universal remote control to market.
Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954)
Oprah Winfrey overcame a poverty-stricken childhood to front one of the world's most successful and imitated TV shows, earning the title 'Queen of All Media'. The billionaire media mogul and major influencer now controls her own channel and devotes much of her time to charitable endeavours.
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was the heart and soul of the company. During the late 1990s, Jobs revived Apple's fortunes and until his untimely death in 2011, oversaw the development of the company's familiar line of products, from the iMac and iPod to the iPhone.
Bill Gates (b. 1955)
The richest person on the planet, Bill Gates changed the way we work and play, developing the world's largest software company in the 1970s and 1980s. The former Microsoft boss has now devoted himself to philanthropy, and his foundation is making a real difference, working to eradicate serious diseases, stamp out poverty and improve education throughout the world.
Jeff Bezos (b. 1964)
While Bill Gates changed the way we work and play, Jeff Bezos has altered the way we shop. The savvy retailer saw a gap in the market and created the Amazon website back in 1994, now the world's largest online retailer and cloud infrastructure service provider. Billionaire Bezos is also pioneering commercial space tourism via his Blue Origins aerospace company.
Pierre Omidyar (b. 1967)
Paris-born entrepreneur turned philanthropist Pierre Omidyar created eBay in September 1995 as the AuctionWeb. What started as a side project turned into the western world's most popular online auction and shopping site, which has spawned countless imitators.
Elon Musk (b. 1971)
As innovative entrepreneurs go, Elon Musk takes some beating. After bagging a multibillion-dollar fortune setting up PayPal, Musk has turned his attention to advancing the human race with his SolarCity battery and Tesla electric car businesses, not to mention his SpaceX project, which has the ultimate aim of facilitating the colonisation of Mars.
Larry Page (b. 1973)
Where would we be without Google these days? Larry Page co-founded the ubiquitous search engine in 1998 while he was a Ph.D student at California's Stanford University, and is the author of PageRank, Google's basic search ranking algorithm.
Sergey Brin (b. 1973)
Sergey Brin worked with Larry Page to create Google back in 1998. The visionary computer scientist is largely behind Google's 'Do the right thing' ethos of making information freely available and presented without bias.
Jack Dorsey (b. 1976)
Changing how the world communicates, Jack Dorsey came up with initial idea for Twitter in March 2006 and worked with Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams to launch the micromessaging service later that year. The rest is of course history.
Mark Zuckerberg (b. 1984)
Mark Zuckerberg launched the world's most popular social media site in February 2004 from his dorm room at Harvard University, and has become one of the richest people in the world off the back of its success. The entrepreneur is now planning to give away the bulk of his fortune to good causes.
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