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The Top Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years

There's no better way to kick start business planning than by taking a look at the playbook of the top entrepreneurs of the last century. Let the following business leaders inspire and motivate you with their words and actions.

 

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Posted on Aug. 4, 2009
PopSmith

Where is Bill Bowerman? He helped found Nike as much as Phil Knight did. Hell, Nike even created a shoe series called the "Bowerman Series" after him. I'd think he would appear on this list over Phil Knight...

Posted on Aug. 4, 2009
David

Branson for being the first to put free WiFi on planes and always willing to use pretty air stewardesses to market his airlines!

Posted on Aug. 4, 2009
KaiserShips

Where is Henry J. Kaiser? He's the father of modern shipbuilding and one of the most important industrialists of the WWII era

Posted on Aug. 4, 2009
Lee

killer list! I have to say Michael Dell stands out most on the list.. He didn't invent anything, didn't come up w/ a better automated process. He just became uber wealthy from execution. Simply brilliant.

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
Dumb list

What is this list? A couple people from a basic American business history book with a couple Internet billionaires? Where's Sloan, Hughes, Buffet and a hundred others?

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
pene grande

why arent there any drug dealers on here

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009

Where is D Ambani ? J Tata ?

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
webdesign nürnberg

just one woman? - sad! http://www.vianos.de

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
Scott Kilmartin

Hard to argue with any of this mob.
I look at Henry Ford and think the poor man would be turning over in his grave knowing what has become of his once great company.

http://twitter.com/scottkilmartin

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
kenyantykoon

great list. i would so badly like to be in lists like this. i wonder if an ordinary big dreaming young entrepreneur like myself can raise to this dizzing levels of success. i would love to

http://kenyantykoon.wordpress.com/

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
Ty Miles

What happened to: Cornelius Vanderbilt, Robert L. Johnson (Founded BET), Larry Ellison (Oracle) J.P. Morgan, Warren Buffett, J. Paul Getty, John Jacob Astor, Forrest Mars, Sr. (Mars Candy company), Marshall Field etc.

I can understand some people being left off. But how could you leave off Buffett, Vanderbilt, Mars?

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
WTF

Oprah at number two? WTF? There are tons more enterprising entrepreneurs! This list is bull!

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
googler

What about the founder of Blizzard entertainment. They make billions per year.

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
traffic hog

Wow - nice way to get some traffic to your site. Talk about bias - you seem to suggest that only Americans are worthy of being considered entrepreneurs. There are a few other countries on this planet that have people in them who are far 'better' than people like Branson, Winfrey, and others.

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
robby

Thinking of using these pictures for making self made calendar or big poster in my room.. btw nobody from Japan or China?

http://practicallyuseful.blogspot.com

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
kvox

No Sergey Brin & Larry Page?

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
Marco

Like most of this lists it is quite incomplete and pointless.
Living founders are way over represented.

No offense.

Posted on Aug. 5, 2009
parzival

Carnegie and Rockefeller do not belong on a list of entrepreneurs of the last "100 years". By 1905, I don't think either was particularly active in the management of his company (I think Carnegie sold his in 1904, didn't he?). Edison was also far past his prime by 1909.

And I second the idea that this list is too Anglo-American-centric. Certainly Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, founders of Sony, deserve a place. As does Soichiro Honda.

Last but not least, while Gates, Jobs, and Dell deserve their place, how could Gordon E. Moore and Robert Noyce of Intel be denied places.

Posted on Aug. 7, 2009
Mr Bee

How dare they claim that Harley and Davison pioneered the motorcycle! Even in the US they followed Indian to the market by four years (and Indian had a chain drive compared with Harley's crude leather belt), let alone following the Europeans by a good 15 years.

And yes, Soichiro Honda deserves to be there. His 60 million-selling Honda Cub has given more people transport than anyone else in history.

Posted on Aug. 10, 2009
Kenny

Ralph Lauren's eyes are truly spectacular, he truly is one of the great amphibians of the last 100 years.

Posted on Aug. 10, 2009
just saying

Ever heard of the Dassler Brothers who invented both adidas and Puma?
How about Ferdinand Porsche? How about cars in general and leaving the U.S. with that centurial A-List.

Posted on Aug. 13, 2009
aksanbiasa

jan sip tenan beritane
http://www.myspace.com/aksanbiasa

Posted on Aug. 17, 2009
Wendy Schultz

Isn't this rather a partial list of the usual suspects -- or perhaps, the obvious ones? Wouldn't it be more interesting to find some out of the way, but truly successful, innovators and entrepreneurs?
Eg, Max Hess Jr, a genius at department store retailing back in the day (Hess Bros. in Allentown Pennsylvania) -- gave us the concept of the wedding / gift list, or so I've been told.

Posted on Aug. 19, 2009
Dan Pena

Good list. Maybe there should be a part 2?

Add me in the next one http://danpena.com

Posted on Aug. 23, 2009
CV

This list is flawed. I find it hard to believe that 0% of the past 100 years' top entrepreneurs are from Japan, Germany, China or other parts of the world outside the U.S. If Henry Ford is on the list, shouldn't Kiishiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota? It's time to think global.

Posted on Aug. 25, 2009
Yayin Akisi

who is milton hershey? What did he done?

Posted on Sept. 3, 2009
Trish Skram

Good list! All wonderful people to look up to.

Posted on Sept. 3, 2009
Ron Reed

While this list is not definitive in nature (which none of them are), it does capture the essence of the true entrepreneurial spirit. Great job!

Posted on Sept. 3, 2009
Ron Reed

While this list is not definitive in nature (which none of them are, btw), it does capture the essence of true entrepreneurial spirit. Great job!

Posted on Sept. 19, 2009
jenn

Wow... thanks for sharing this history. :-)

Regards,
Jenn
Entrepreneurs World Cup-World-Class Leadership, Sales, Internet Marketing and Wealth Creation Event featuring an All-Star Cast of Speakers

Posted on Sept. 19, 2009
jenn

Wow... thanks for sharing this history. :-)

Regards,
Jenn
http://www.entrepreneursworldcup.com/
Entrepreneurs World Cup-World-Class Leadership, Sales, Internet Marketing and Wealth Creation Event featuring an All-Star Cast of Speakers

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Posted on Sept. 23, 2009
Sanjeev

Wonderful & Inspiring list, do include Ma yung (Alibaba.com) & NR NarayanMurthy (Infosys)

Posted on Oct. 3, 2009
dea720

Why is a list of milliares or billionares such a big deal? If you want a list of people who have made a huge impact on their world how about George Washington Carver? Has everyone forgotten about him? The 'inventor' of the peanut and its many, many uses? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

Posted on Oct. 20, 2009
Bola Fash

Watch the space.
I am going be on that list.
If God gives me few more years.
I have never been this serious in my life.

Posted on Dec. 1, 2009
Judge

I'll be up there some day.......muah..ha....ha!!!

Posted on Jan. 26, 2010
yo mama

stupid but good for school activities yayy ACTIVITIES

Posted on Jan. 26, 2010
yo mama

i'll be up there one day being myself hehe

Posted on Jan. 26, 2010
yo mama

yo mam so fat when she goes to get a spray tan they have to use a fire hose

Posted on Feb. 9, 2010
nuGGett !

hahar i didnt no most of these people until now !!! wow !!!
gosh see how the internet comes in handey in our centry and see how successful these people are ! they are the true entrepreneurs !!
well this site is great as.now i know something more then i did yesterday !
i love you kayla and alex ! this is reeh tlking too you !
xox

Posted on Feb. 23, 2010
xxx

Rupert Murdoch...?

Posted on Feb. 23, 2010
Lalit Wason

Where is lalit Wason

Posted on April 5, 2010
Kai

you people are retarded, this is not a list of just a bunch of random rich people. This is a list of the top entrepreneurs in the last 100 years.

Posted on April 7, 2010
Vladislav Tretiak

I think same with everyone. I think Jeffrey F. should be added on facebook. I hope Gary X. gets facebook.

Posted on May 2, 2010
Ashik

Totally,incomplete....
Completely baised...
NO ASIAN....

Posted on May 11, 2010
webdesign schwabach

How about Max Grundig from Nuremberg? http://www.werk26.de

Posted on May 12, 2010
sdsdsd

VAGINA

Posted on May 26, 2010
Daniel

I bet most men listed are supported by their wifes.
Daniel,
http://www.joomla-programmieren.de

Posted on May 31, 2010
eurogard

Most companies running dry when their secretary is not in office.
eurogard,
http://www.eurogard.de/

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