The Top Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years

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

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?

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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

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.

I THINK

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.

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

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/

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

No Sergey Brin & Larry Page?

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

No offense.

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.

Good list. Maybe there should be a part 2?

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

Good list! All wonderful people to look up to.

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

Rupert Murdoch...?

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.

List is good so many are unknown to me.

Great list. These are all people who have done amazing things. I feel we need more entrepreneurs to get us out of the slump America is in. Dan Sherman, Peak Performance Media, Creator of National Peak Performer Day http://www.NationalPeakPerformerDay.com.

there are two women-duh!

aww mate ^

im meaty :)

Did the hawaiians really invent hawaiian pizza?

need to change steve jobs!!!! 1955 - 2011
R.I.P

thanks a lot !!
it s really worth reading !!

thanks a lot !!
it s really worth reading !!

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.

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

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

Where is lalit Wason

so much for 100...

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...