Famous & popular Entrepreneurs are remarkable individuals – who have not only transformed industries, but also inspired a global mindset shift. With diverse backgrounds and domains of expertise, they consistently lead the charts and serve as exceptional role models. These renowned business leaders have earned their status as the epitome of success and have become synonymous with achievement. What sets them apart is their unwavering self-belief, cultivated from an early age, and their relentless pursuit of success and recognition. Their stories are a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and a resolute entrepreneurial spirit.
Join us as we delve into the captivating life journeys of these famous entrepreneurs, unlocking valuable lessons from these iconic figures in the business world that can inspire and empower you on your own path to success.
List of the World-Famous Successful Entrepreneurs:
- Elon Musk
- Jeff Bezos
- Sanjiv Bajaj
- William “Bill” Gates III
- Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
- Nagavara Ramarao Murthy
- Lawrence “Larry” Ellison
- Michael Saul Dell
- Sergey Brin
- Sir Richard Branson
Elon Musk
| Name | Elon Musk |
| Date of Birth | June 28, 1971 |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS) |
| Source of Wealth | Tesla, SpaceX, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $192 billion |
Elon Musk; is one of the most famous entrepreneurs and the richest person in the world. He is professionally known as Elon Musk.
Elon Musk owns SpaceX the largest aerospace manufacturer, a clean energy and electric vehicle company, Tesla Inc., and The boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Elon Musk also co-founded Neuralink Corporation, a neuro-technology company, and owns an AI-based research laboratory, Open AI.
Musk has a diversified interest in business fields. He has founded high-tech companies like The Boring Company, SpaceX, and Neuralink Corporation. He owns the largest Aerospace manufacturing company and the world’s biggest infrastructure company providing tunnel construction services.
Elon Musk is a business tycoon, successful investor, industrial designer, and engineer. Musk also co-founded X.com which was merged with online bank Confinity.
“Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.” – Elon Musk
Books recommended by Elon Musk –
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel – Buy Now
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – Buy Now
- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom – Buy Now
Jeff Bezos
| Name | Jeff Bezos |
| Date of Birth | January 12, 1964 |
| Education | Princeton University (BSE) |
| Source of Wealth | Amazon, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $139 billion |
Jeff Bezos, the Ecommerce tycoon, was born on 12 January, 1964 in Mexico. This man is the founder and CEO of Amazon, the largest Ecommerce company. Jeff was graduated from Princeton with degrees in Electrical engineering and Computer Science. He worked at Fintel to build their system for international trade.
He later changed career to banking industry in 1988. But after 5 years, he decided to start his own company. In 1994, Jeff Bezos started Cadabra, an online Bookstore. The name was later changed to Amazon as it starts with an “A”, beginner of alphabet. Jeff got the initial capital of 300,000 from his parents to start the company.
The company later transitioned into an ecommerce platform for all the products. Bezos has seen many ups and downs in his career. In fact, his company was almost bankrupted in 2002 due to over-spending of funding. However, Jeff Bezos took Amazon out of that storm. As of 2023, Jeff Bezos is the third richest person in the world with a net worth of over $139 Billion.
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos
Books recommended by Jeff Bezos –
- Built to Last by Jim Collins – Buy Now
- Creation by Steve Grand – Buy Now
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson – Buy Now
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Sanjiv Bajaj
| Name | Sanjiv Bajaj |
| Date of Birth | 2 November 1969 |
| Education | University of Pune, University of Warwick, Harvard University |
| Source of Wealth | Diversified |
| Net Worth | 410 crores USD |
Sanjiv Bajaj: born on November 2, 1969 among one of the most successful Indian businessmen, investors, and philanthropists. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, the holding group company for all the financial services business of the Bajaj Group. The Bajaj Group is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in India. Bajaj Finserv consisting of lending and insurance companies.
Under his leadership, Bajaj Finserv has emerged as one of India’s leading diversified financial services companies with solutions across lending, insurance, and wealth advisory category. With a consumer-first, digital approach and a culture focused on excellence through innovative disruption, Sanjiv is known for pioneering digital consumer financing in India, which helped transform the entire landscape of the financial services space.
“We have always focused on building long-term businesses built on excellence, sustainable profit.”
List of all the Subsidiaries of Bajaj Group
Bajaj group is one of the largest conglomerate with a market capitalization of Rs 3.9 trillion.
William “Bill” Gates III
| Name | William “Bill” Gates III |
| Date of Birth | October 28, 1955 |
| Education | Harvard University (dropped out) |
| Source of Wealth | Microsoft, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $114 billion |
Bill Gates: Born on October 28th, 1955, William Henry “Bill” Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. In 1975, Gates with Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft with a vision to be the most successful and famous Entrepreneur of all time. They never knew their fortune and their hard work would enlist them in the world’s largest Personal Computer software company. In recent years Bill Gates has devoted more time to philanthropic activities.
During his career journey at Microsoft, Bill Gates held the positions of chairman, CEO and Chief Software Architect (CSA). Up till May 2014 he had the highest individual shareholder. He has authored and co-authored several books. However, Bill Gates has been always ranked in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people since 1987, and he was the wealthiest entrepre-neur from 1995 to 2007, then again in 2009, and then from 2014 to 2017. Bill Gates is the most famous entrepreneur and holds the Guinness World record for inventing “World’s First Microcomputer” in 1980.
“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”- Bill Gates
Books recommended by Bill Gates –
- Business Adventures by John Brooks – Buy Now
- Tap Dancing to Work by Carol Loomis – Buy Now
- Life is What You Make It by Peter Buffett – Buy Now
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Mark Zuckerberg
| Name | Mark Zuckerberg |
| Date of Birth | May 14, 1984 |
| Education | Harvard University (dropped out) |
| Source of Wealth | Facebook, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $87.3 billion |
Mark Zuckerberg: Born on May 14th, 1984, is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is one of the famous businessman in the world. He is the Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Facebook, now rebranded as Meta. Since his adulthood Mark was keen to take up his future as a smart, influential and famous entrepreneur. As of 2017, his net worth is estimated to be the US $128 billion, ranking him as the 5th richest person in the world.
Facebook was launched by Zuckerberg from Harvard’s dormitory rooms on February 4, 2004. He was aided by his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students. The group then introduced Facebook to other college campuses. Mark is among the most famous entrepreneurs in the world. Time magazine has named Zuckerberg among the 100 wealthiest and most influential people in the world as a part of its Person of the Year distinction since 2010. As of 2023, his net worth is estimated to be the $87.3 billion.
“Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a Social Mission – to make the world more open and connected.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Books recommended by Mark Zuckerberg –
- Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull – Buy Now
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind By Yuval Noah Harari – Buy Now
- The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley – Buy Now
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Lawrence “Larry” Ellison
| Name | Lawrence Joseph Ellison |
| Date of Birth | August 17, 1944 |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (no degree), University of Chicago (no degree) |
| Source of Wealth | Oracle, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $108 billion |
Larry Ellison: born on August 17th, 1944, Lawrence Ellison, commonly known as Larry Ellison is an world famous and most successful American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who has co-founded Oracle Corporation and thrives to become a famous entrepreneur by creating the best possible value of his software services to the most valued customer. Larry Ellison was the CEO of Oracle from its foundation until September 2014. At present he is the executive chairman and chief technology officer. Forbes magazine listed him as the seventh-wealthiest in the world and as the fifth-wealthiest person in America, with a fortune of $51.9 billion as of February 2017.
“When I do something, it is all about self-discovery. I want to learn and discover my own limits.” – Larry Ellison
Books recommended by Larry Ellison –
- The Robber Barons: Great American Capitalists by Mathew Josephson – Buy Now
- Age of Napoleon by Susan Conner – Buy Now
- The Fountainhead by Any Rand – Buy Now
Michael Dell
| Name | Michael Saul Dell |
| Date of Birth | February 23, 1965 |
| Education | The University of Texas at Austin |
| Source of Wealth | Dell Technologies, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $51.6 billion |
Born on February 23rd, 1965, Michael Dell is an American business magnate, investor, author, and philanthropist. Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world’s leading providers of information technology and infrastructure solutions. Michael wasn’t the only famous entrepreneur to ride the computer boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s from rags to riches.
Like Rod Canion of Compaq and Steve Jobs of Apple, Dell turned a fledgling start-up into a multi-billion-dollar computer empire. But unlike the ill-fated Canion & Jobs, who lost control of their creations as they grew, Dell has managed to hold on to the reins of his maverick venture and achieve the unique distinction of being the computer industry’s longest-tenured CEO. As of February 2023, he is ranked the 24th richest person in the world by Wikipedia, with a net worth of $51.6 billion.
“There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.” – M. Dell
Books recommended by Michael Dell –
- The Second Machine Age by Erik Brynjolfsson – Buy Now
- Zero Marginal Cost Society by Jeremy Rifkin – Buy Now
- Abundance by Peter H. Diamandis & Steven Kotler – Buy Now
Sergey Brin
| Name | Sergey Brin |
| Date of Birth | August 21, 1973 |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BS), Stanford University (MS) |
| Source of Wealth | Google, Self Made |
| Net Worth | $102.1 billion |
Sergey Brin is a computer scientist. Sergey Brin founded Google with Larry Page. The two became billionaires as Google developed into the world’s most popular search engine and a media giant. In 2006, Google purchased the most popular website for user-submitted streaming videos, YouTube, for $1.65 billion in stock. In November 2016, Brin was ranked No. 13 on Forbes‘ “Billionaires” list, and No. 10 among U.S. billionaires who made the list. Sergey Brin stepped down as president of Alphabet, parent company of Google, in December 2019 but remains a controller shareholder and a board member. As of 2023, Sergey Brin has net worth of $102.1 billion.
Books recommended by Sergey Brin –
- “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” by Edward Hutchings – Buy Now
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson – Buy Now
- How to Read a Book by Dr. Mortimer Adler – Buy Now
Sir Richard Charles Branson
| Name | Richard Charles Branson |
| Date of Birth | 18 July 1950 |
| Education | Stowe School |
| Source of Wealth | Virgin, Self Made |
| Net Worth | £2.41 billion |
Born on 18th, July 1950, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Virgin Group, which manages more than 400 companies. Richard Branson is very popular for his lifestyle and charity. His vision was well accomplished since he started his journey from an early age.
Richard started with a magazine called Student at the age of sixteen. Although it was his first business venture which curated a wonderful entrepreneurship journey which made him a famous entrepreneur. In 1972, he set up a mail-order record business and he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores respectively. Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label.
Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for “Services to Entrepreneurship” in March 2000. He became one of the most prominent figures in British culture for his work in retail, music, transport, taste for adventure, and for vast humanitarian work. As of 2023, The Sunday Times estimates Richard Branson and his family’s collective net worth to be an impressive £2.41 billion.
“There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” – Richard Branson
Books recommended by Richard Branson –
- Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard – Buy Now
- Big World, Small Planet: Abundance within Planetary Boundaries by Johan Rockstrom, Mattias Klum – Buy Now
- One Hundred & One Reasons To Get Out of Bed by Natasha Milne – Buy Now
Conclusion
The list above includes notable foreign entrepreneurs as well as successful entrepreneurs from India. These well-known individuals serve as a great source of inspiration, offering valuable insights into the path to success. Each of these popular entrepreneurs has experienced both triumphs and challenges throughout their journey. As of 2023, these international entrepreneurs continue to work tirelessly for their companies, serving as a source of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs through their business ideas and stories. We hope that this compilation of renowned entrepreneurs and their stories has provided you with valuable lessons on navigating the entrepreneurial journey.
What industries have these famous entrepreneurs made an impact on?
These entrepreneurs have made a significant impact across various industries, including technology, e-commerce, space exploration, social media, and telecommunications.
Which entrepreneurs are on the list of the rags to riches stories of Indian entrepreneurs?
Dhirubhai Ambani, Karsanbhai Patel, Kalpana Saroj, Patricia Narayan, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Narayan Murthy are some of the entrepreneurs who can easily be included on the list of the rags to riches stories of Indian entrepreneurs.
What are the characteristics of entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs are risk-takers, innovative thinkers, and self-motivated individuals. They possess resilience, adaptability, and persistence to overcome challenges, while being goal-oriented and passionate about their ventures.
What makes famous entrepreneurs stand out from others?
These entrepreneurs stand out for their exceptional vision, innovative ideas, ability to disrupt industries, and remarkable business achievements. They have built global empires and transformed the way we live and do business.
Can I learn from the experiences of these greatest entrepreneurs?
Absolutely! By studying the lives and journeys of these greatest entrepreneurs, you can gain valuable insights, learn from their successes and failures, and apply their strategies and principles to your own entrepreneurial endeavors.
Comments: Are there any other Entrepreneurs you admire?
from Startup Talky 10/23 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz
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