Top 10 Most Famous Entrepreneurs in the World Entrepreneurs shape history, society, culture, political reality, and many other things. They influence the way ordinary people lead their lives. Think of technology, new habits, cutting-edge gadgets, and cars. Every aspect of our everyday life is influenced by how an entrepreneur envisioned it to be.
For almost all parts of human history, entrepreneurs have been the driving force. You can learn many things from entrepreneurs and imbibe many successful life habits. This is why this article’s focus is talking about some of the leading entrepreneurs of our times.
Today, I am very excited about writing this article. I’m sharing a list of the most famous entrepreneurs in the world, who I look up to and seek inspiration. If you are searching for the same, stay tuned.
Fortunately, the world has given us many successful entrepreneurs to learn from and get motivated by their work and life journeys.
What is an Entrepreneur?
An Entrepreneur is an individual who takes financial risks and creates something new that solves a problem of our life. It can be a product, service, or a source of new ideas. Commonly, an entrepreneur is seen as an innovator, a challenger who starts a business or a company that adds value to the customers’ lives.
In any economy, Entrepreneurs play a key role, bringing new ideas or goods to the market. It creates human resources and public needs.
1. Elon Musk
Age: 49
Birthplace: Pretoria, South Africa
Profession: Industrial Designer, Technology Entrepreneur
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elonmusk
Elon Musk is a technology entrepreneur, engineer, and citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the U.S. He is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, founder of The Boring Company.
Musk was born to a Canadian mother and a South African father and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. He did his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in physics from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Elon Musk also founded PayPal and was ousted in October 2000 from his role as CEO. In October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk received US$165 million.
2. Jeff Bezos
Age: 56
Birthplace: Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
Profession: Businessperson, Entrepreneur
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffbezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and investor. He is the richest person alive in the world, with a fortune of over $170 billion.
He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and studied electrical engineering and computer science at Princeton University in 1986.
Jeff started Amazon.com on July 5, 1994, named after Amazon river, where he sells books across the US and in 45 foreign countries within 30 days. Later, he added CDs, videos, clothes, electronics, toys, and more in the store to sell online.
Amazon has become the leading online retailer in the United States, with net sales of over 280 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Apart from that, Amazon currently has over 300 million users and 2 million sellers worldwide.
3. Bill Gates
Age: 64
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States
Profession: Businessperson, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillGates
Bill Gates is an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and author of 3 books. He founded Microsoft Paul Allen in 1975. He is one of the best-known entrepreneurs and pioneers of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.
He was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, on October 28, 1955. Unlike many other entrepreneurs, he dropped out of Harvard two years into his college education to start Microsoft.
He also is known for his philanthropist activities. Gates has donated billions to fight polio and malaria. Furthermore, he spent $50 million in 2014 to help fight Ebola.
On March 13, 2020, Bill Gates stepped down from the boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Age: 36
Birthplace: White Plains, New York, United States
Profession: Internet Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Mark Zuckerberg is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist who studied at Harvard University and started Facebook in 2004 at the age of 19.
He was listed in Forbes’s top ten richest people under 50, and also, he was in the list of Top 20 Billionaires under 40. His social networking company Facebook has over 2.6 billion active users monthly!
Facebook is undoubtedly the #1 social media platform used by everyone, including students to marketers, to leaders worldwide.
5. Jack Ma
Age: 55
Birthplace: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Profession: Businessperson, Investor, Philanthropist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackma
Jack Ma is a Chinese businessman, investor, tech entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He founded Alibaba on 4 April 1999 by borrowing money from his friends.
He was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, on 10 September 1964. In his early life, he got rejected from 30 different jobs.
As of April 2020, Ma is the second-wealthiest person in China, with a net worth of $42.1 billion and one of the wealthiest people in the world, ranked 17th by Forbes.
Jack Ma stepped down as the executive chairman of Alibaba in September 2019.
6. Larry Ellison
Age: 75
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, United States
Profession: Businessperson, Investor, Philanthropist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/larryellison
Larry Ellison is an American investor, businessperson, and philanthropist. If you’re into technology or software, you must have heard about Oracle, and Larry Ellison is the one who co-founded it along with Bob Miner, Ed Oates, in 1977.
He was born in New York City and adopted by his uncle and aunt. In the 1970s, Larry Ellison was influenced by Edgar F while he was working at Ampex. And they founded Oracle in 1997.
7. Larry Page
Age: 47
Birthplace: East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Profession: Computer scientist, Internet Entrepreneur
Lawrence Page is an American internet entrepreneur and computer scientist who founded Google with Sergey Brin.
He was born in Lansing, Michigan, on March 26, 1973. He graduated from East Lansing High School in 1991.
He invented Google’s PageRank algorithm with Sergey Brin, which powers the search engine.
Larry Page stepped down as CEO of Alphabet, the parent of Google, in December 2019 but remained a board member and a controlling shareholder.
8. Warren Buffett
Age: 89
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Profession: Businessperson, Investor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/warrenbuffett
Warren Buffet is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and formed Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956.
He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947.
Buffett had a keen interest in business and investing at a young age. He bought his first shares in Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, becoming the majority shareholder by 1965. He expanded the company to insurance and other investments in 1967. Now, Berkshire Hathaway has become a half-trillion-dollar company, with a single share of a stock trading at over $300,000 per share in early 2019.
9. Bernard Arnault
Age: 71
Birthplace: Roubaix, France
Profession: Businessman, Entrepreneur
Bernard Arnault is a French businessman, chairman, and CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest luxury products company.
He was born in Roubaix, France, on 5 March 1949. He started his career in 1971 to join his father’s company, Ferret-Savinel.
In November 2019, LVMH struck a deal to buy American jeweler Tiffany & Co for $16.2 billion, believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever. LVMH spent $3.2 billion in 2019 for the luxury hospitality group Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotels, trains, and river cruises.
10. Carlos Slim Helu
Age: 80
Birthplace: Carlos Slim Helu
Profession: Businessman, Investor
Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican businessperson, investor and philanthropist. He is the CEO of Telmex, América Móvil, and Grupo Carso.
He was born in Mexico City on 28 January 1940. He did graduation from civil engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1961.
From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the world’s richest person by the Forbes business magazine.
