Famous People Who Started Businesses a to z

Bobby Flay's frequent appearances and shows on the Food Network have now made him one of America's best known chefs.

Ari Fleischer is best known as the former White House Press Secretary serving President George W. Bush from 2001-2003.

One of America's foremost industrialists, Henry Ford revolutionized assembly-line modes of production for the automobile.

George Foreman is a retired American boxer who twice won boxing's heavyweight championship. After retiring, he became a popular pitchman.

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

Rube Foster was a baseball player and manager who organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African American players.

Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Henry Frick was an industrialist who headed the Carnegie Steel Company and the United States Steel Corporation. His mansion later became the Frick Museum.

Thomas Gallaudet was an education pioneer and established the American School for the Deaf in 1817.

Marcus Garvey was a proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, inspiring the Nation of Islam and the Rastafarian movement.

Entrepreneur Bill Gates founded the world's largest software business, Microsoft, with Paul Allen and became one of the richest men in the world.

American actor and businessman John Gavin starred in such classic films as Psycho and Midnight Lace, and was also U.S ambassador to Mexico under Ronald Reagan.

Billionaire businessman J. Paul Getty became president of the Getty Oil Company after his father George Getty’s death. His Getty Foundation funds the J. Paul Getty Museum and other artist endeavors.

Samuel Goldwyn was a Hollywood film producer who laid the groundwork for the Paramount and MGM movie studios.

Jay Gould was a prominent American railroad builder and financier. He illegally issued new stock for Erie Railroads in the "Erie War" with Vanderbilt.

Billy Graham was an evangelist at revival meetings, and on radio and television for over 40 years. He preached to more individuals than anyone else in history.

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian Communist Party leader. He was arrested for speaking out against fascism and wrote his Prison Notebooks before dying in jail.

Al Green is known for the hit song "Let's Stay Together," and for leaving his musical career at its height in the 1970s to become a reverend at his own church.

Jerry Greenfield is the co-founder of the company that makes Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Merv Griffin was an American television host, singer and business magnate. He created the game shows Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and Click.

D.W. Griffith was one of cinema's earliest directors and producers, known for his innovations and for directing the 1915 film Birth of a Nation.

Solomon R. Guggenheim was an American business magnate and art lover who provided the initial collection and name for the Guggenheim Museum.

An early 20th century filmmaking pioneer and one of the first to make a narrative fiction film, Alice Guy-Blaché made more than 1,000 films and ran her own film studio in New Jersey, experimenting with sound syncing, color tinting, interracial casting and special effects.

Charles Hamilton was an autograph dealer, handwriting expert and author of works like Great Forgers and Famous Fakes.

Scott Hamilton is a U.S. Gold Medal Olympiad also known for his sports commentary and raising cancer awareness.

In 2007, actor Jon Hamm took on his most famous character to date, playing philandering ad executive Don Draper in the American Movie Classics show Mad Men.

Woody Harrelson is an actor know for his long-running role on TV's Cheers and his many film roles since.

Tony Hawk is a professional skateboarder, probably the most famous to ever be involved in the sport.

Charles Melville Hays was president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and a victim of the Titanic disaster of 1912.

Film and television actress Tippi Hedren was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock and starred in two of his best known films, The Birds and Marnie.

American manufacturer and philanthropist who founded the Hershey Chocolate Corporation and popularized chocolate candy throughout much of the world.

James J. Hill was a railroad magnate responsible for greatly expanding railways into the U.S. northwest during the late 19th century.

Conrad Hilton founded the Hilton Hotel empire and grew it into one of the largest private companies in the U.S., consisting of over 3600 hotels worldwide.

Paris Hilton is best known as the Heiress and Reality star that courts regular media attention for her socialite lifestyle and short-lived romances.

Roy Horn is half of the headlining Las Vegas magical duo Siegfried & Roy who survived severe injuries after an onstage tiger attack.

Dolores Huerta is an activist and labor leader who co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers.

Anjelica Huston is an Academy Award-winning actress, a film director and the daughter of John Huston.

Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu is a Mexican film director whose 1999 feature film, Amores Perros, won an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Jesse James was CEO of West Coast Choppers before it closed in 2010, and was in a heavily publicized relationship with actress Sandra Bullock.

Porn star Jenna Jameson escaped a bad childhood by making dozens of X-rated movies. She parlayed that success into an adult media empire.

Rapper and hip-hop entrepreneur Jay-Z has won Grammy Awards, helmed Def Jam Records, created a clothing line, and married Beyoncé Knowles.

Doctor Mae C. Jemison is the first African-American woman ever to be a U.S. astronaut. In 1992, she flew into space aboard the Endeavour.

Danish silversmith Georg Jensen was one of the first people to use steel for cutlery and recognize modern silverware as profitable.

Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak. Under Job's guidance, the company pioneered a series of revolutionary technologies, including the iPhone and iPad.

Howard Johnson was a 20th century entrepreneur who opened up a pioneering chain of restaurants and motels.

Lonnie G. Johnson is an engineer and inventor who worked on the Cassini mission to Jupiter and invented the Super Soaker.

Robert L. Johnson is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of the BET channel and as the country’s first African-American billionaire.

Sheila Johnson is an African-American entrepreneur who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and is part-owner of the three sports teams in the NHL, NBA and the WNBA.

Quincy Jones is best known as a composer and record producer for legendary musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Celene Dion and Aretha Franklin.

Spike Jonze is best known for his films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are. He produced MTV's Jackass.

Architect Albert Kahn was known for his designs of American automobile factories. He was considered the world's foremost industrial architect at the time.

Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser capitalized on U.S. mobilization for WWII and grew his ship building company into a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Fashion designer Jimmy Choo rose to fame for the quality and style of his handmade women's shoes.

Herb Kelleher is the founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the first airlines to offer low-cost fares by eliminating unnecessary services.

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

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of former New York senator and U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, and nephew of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

Television personality and comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted Comedy Central's game show, Win Ben Stein's Money, and the late night talk show late Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur best known for expanding McDonald’s from a local chain to the world’s most profitable restaurant franchise operation.

Irish dramatist Lady Gregory, also known as Isabella Augusta, collaborated with William Butler Yeats and J.M. Synge to found the Irish National Theater and the Abbey Theater company.

Emeril Lagasse is a celebrity chef best known as the host of the television show Emeril Live, his lines of products and restaurants, and his catchphrases.

Tim LaHaye is an evangelical Christian minister who helped found the Moral Majority and co-wrote the best-selling Left Behind series.

The "godfather of fitness," Jack LaLanne, is known for his 1950s TV fitness program and for his endorsement of a power juicer in 2002.

Edwin Land is best known as the inventor of the Polaroid camera and film, and as the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation.

Estée Lauder started her own company. Seven years later, her Youth-Dew beauty oil launched Estée Lauder, Inc., which became a billion-dollar-a-year business.

directed British actor Jude Law received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Cold Mountain. He also played "Gigolo Joe" in Steven Spielberg's film A.I.

Producer, director, writer and actor Spike Lee creates controversial films that explore race relations, political issues and urban crime and violence. His films include She's Gotta Have It and Do the Right Thing.

Al Lewis was an entertainer who was best known for his role as Grandpa, the elderly vampire in a family of monsters, in the 1964 sitcom The Munsters.

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

Activist and lawyer Belva Lockwood was the first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Comedian and actor John Lovitz was part of the Saturday Night Live cast for five years, during which time he created memorable characters like Hanukkah Harry.

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan political and environmental activist and her country's assistant minister of environment, natural resources and wildlife.

William H. Macy is an actor known for his diverse characters in films such as Fargo, Boogie Nights and Air Force One.

Bernard Madoff was a stockbrocker who ran his multibillion-dollar firm as a grand scale Ponzi scheme. He is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence.