Famous Business Leaders a to z

William Waldorf Astor was a wealthy descendant of John Jacob Astor who became a New York State senator and a member of the New York State Assembly.

Politician and publisher Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor became a member of Parliament and was the publisher of the London Observer from 1915 to 1945.

Hall of Fame NBA forward Elgin Baylor was a prolific scorer and rebounder for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers.

Ivan Boesky amassed a fortune of over $200 million in the 1980s before an insider trading scandal landed him with a $100 million fine and prison time.

A former fast-food chain executive, Herman Cain emerged as a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination.

Samantha Cameron is best known for being the wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, and for her role as an executive for a well-known English stationery company.

Simon Cameron was a Pennsylvania senator who later served as President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war.

Steve Case co-founded and served as CEO of America Online (AOL), overseeing the massive merger that created AOL Time Warner Inc. He served as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc. until his resignation in 2003.

Steve Chen is best known as the co-founder and chief technology officer of the video-sharing website YouTube. Google bought YouTube for $1.64 billion in stock.

Liz Claiborne was a fashion designer and icon who created a clothing empire. She's also the first woman to found a company (Liz Claiborne Inc.) that landed on the Fortune 500 list.

Chelsea Clinton is a media correspondent and activist who is the daughter of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton.

Tim Cook took over for the late Steve Jobs as Apple's CEO in August 2011. Prior to that, Cook served as Apple's chief operating officer.

Music executive and producer Clive Davis has worked with Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson among others.

Cosimo de' Medici was the "Elder" and start of the Medici dynasty that ruled Florence (Italy) from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance, and after.

Patricia Dunn served as a director and non-executive chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard before resigning in 2006, after receiving a criminal indictment stemming from a spying scandal.

When Carly Fiorina was hired as Hewlett-Packard's CEO, she was the first woman to take control of a Fortune 100 company.

Publisher Malcolm Forbes was the son of B.C. Forbes, who founded Forbes magazine. Malcolm Forbes eventually worked his way up to becoming company president.

James Forten was an African-American businessman and black leader in pre-Civil War Philadelphia.

Steve Fossett was an American businessman and adventurer best known for circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon in 2002.

Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which strives to improve global health and education.

Roberto Críspulo Goizueta served as chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company. Over 16-years, he increased Coca-Cola's market value from $4 to $150 billion.

Hetty Green was an American businesswoman who lived in the 1800s and was best known as one of the first women to make a fortune on Wall Street.

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness was the grandson of Arthur Guinness, the founder of Guinness Brewery. Benjamin Guiness made the stout beer brand famous.

Tony Hayward was the CEO of BP when its rig Deepwater Horizon sank in the Gulf of Mexico, creating one of the greatest environmental disasters ever.

William Randolph Hearst is best known for publishing the largest chain of American newspapers in the late 19th century, and particularly for sensational "yellow journalism."

Marlon Jackson scored platinum records singing with his famous family, including little brother Michael. The Jackson 5 was one of Motown's biggest acts.

W.K. Kellogg founded the Kellogg Company, which makes cereal products that have become popular around the world.

Joseph P. Kennedy is best known as the father of three political leaders: President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Representative Ted Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, who served as a U.S. senator and attorney general.

Jonathan Knight is best known for singing in the boy band New Kids on the Block in the late '80s and early '90s, as well as coming out publicly in 2011.

Member of the legendary Four Musketeers of French tennis, Renee Lacoste also invented the metal tennis racket and was founder of the Lacoste line of sportswear.

Best known as Enron business executive who was convicted of conspiracy and fraud. 20,000 Enron employees lost their jobs and life savings.

James Ling was the former head of the Ling-Temco-Vought corporation, or LTV.

Sol Myron Linowitz was an American diplomat, lawyer and businessman known as a presidential adviser and as a co-founder of Xerox.

Louis B. Mayer was a film mogul and the most influential person in Hollywood from the mid-1920s to the late-1940s.

Marissa Mayer led the development of Google's most successful products for more than 10 years and was appointed CEO of Yahoo in 2012, at the age of 37.

Cindy McCain is an Arizona businesswoman, a philanthropist who works with international nonprofit organizations, and the wife of U.S. Senator John McCain.

Scott McNealy co-founded the computer technology company Sun Microsystems, a fervent rival of Windows.

Michael N Milken is known as the "junk bond king." He was indicted for racketeering and securities fraud and served two years in prison.

Sun Myung Moon was founder and leader of the Unification Church, a religious movement whose followers were labeled "Moonies."

J.P. Morgan founded the banking company J.P. Morgan & Co., one of the leading financial firms in the country, in 1871.

J.P. Morgan Jr. was a finance executive who followed in his father’s footsteps to head the firm J.P. Morgan and Co.

Tommy Mottola is a high-powered music executive who is credited with launching the careers of Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, and Celine Dion, among others.

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and other explosives. He used his enormous fortune from 355 patents to institute the Nobel Prizes.

Walter O'Malley was the influential president of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for nearly 30 years.

Aristotle Onassis is best known as the Greek shipping tycoon who married JFK’s widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, in 1968. Onassis died on March 15, 1975.

William S. Paley was a businessman who started what would become the CBS television network.

Henry Paulson was CEO of Goldman Sachs until he became secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2006. As such, he developed a bailout program.

American businessman Ross Perot ran for the U.S. presidency as an independent candidate twice, in 1992 and 1996. He is one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.

Thanks to the model 356, created in 1948 by Ferdinand Anton Ernst "Ferry" Porsche, the Porsche car company became known worldwide as a producer of successful sports and racing cars. Several years earlier, in 1934, Porsche worked with father Ferdinand Porsche on the first designs of the Volkswagen car.

Sri Lankan billionaire Raj Rajaratnam was arrested for insider trading in 2009 as part of the largest ever SEC case against a hedge fund.

Queen Rania of Jordan is best known for her advocacy work in public health, education and as an outspoken opponent of the practice of "honor killings."

Branch Rickey was an innovative baseball executive known for his groundbreaking 1945 decision to bring Jackie Robinson into the major leagues, thereby breaking the color barrier.

Charles Ringling co-founded the Ringling Bros., and later co-owned the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

John Ringling co-founded the Ringling Bros., and later co-owned the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Pat Robertson is a television evangelist best known for founding the Christian Coalition, an influential conservative political organization.