List of entrepreneurs

Last updated August 17, 2025

This is a list of entrepreneurs by century. An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.^[1] This list includes notable entrepreneurs. Best Questions to Ask Entrepreneurs From the American Startup Scene.

Pre-18th-century entrepreneurs

Regina Basilier (1572–1631), Swedish-German banker, trader and investor
Birgitta Durell (1619–1683), Dutch-Swedish manufacturer-industrialist
Louis De Geer (1587–1652), Walloon-born Dutch-Swedish businessman and industrialist; active mainly in the Dutch Republic and Sweden
Isaac Le Maire (c.1558–1624), Walloon-born Dutch businessman and investor; active mainly in the Dutch Republic
Johan Palmstruch (1611–1671), Latvian-born Dutch-Swedish businessman, investor, and financial innovator; active mainly in the Dutch Republic and Sweden
Pierre-Paul Riquet (1609–1680), French entrepreneur, creator of the Canal du Midi

18th-century entrepreneurs

Anna Elisabeth Baer 1878–1955 (shipping business), Finland
Samuel Crompton 1753–1827 (spinning mule), Great Britain
Caroline Gother 1761–1836 (banking), Sweden
Johns Hopkins 1795–1873 (personal business), U.S.
Anna Lohe 1654–1731 (banking business), Sweden
Thomas Newcomen 1664–1729 (steam engine), Great Britain
Charlotta Richardy 1751–1831 (manufacture), Sweden
Brigitta Sahlgren 1694–1771 (sugar), Sweden
James Watt 1736–1819 (tugboats), Great Britain
Josiah Wedgwood 1730–1795 (pottery), Great Britain
Robert Wood Johnson I 1845–1910 (medical device), U.S.

19th-century entrepreneurs

John Jacob Astor (real estate), U.S.
Augusta Björkenstam (transportation), Sweden
George Cadbury (confectionery), UK
Andrew Carnegie (steel), Pittsburgh, U.S. and Scotland
James Buchanan Duke (tobacco), U.S.
Thomas Alva Edison (film, telecommunication, technology, scientific research, energy), U.S.
Charles T. Hinde (shipping, railroads, hotels), U.S.
Quah Beng Kee (Ferry, Shipping), Penang, Malaysia
Pryce Pryce-Jones (mail order pioneer), UK
Biddy Mason (real estate), California, U.S.
J. P. Morgan (finance), U.S.
Antoinette Nording (perfume), Sweden
John D. Rockefeller (oil), U.S.
Joseph Rowntree (confectionery), UK
Joseph Seligman (banking), U.S.
Eugene Sharrer (plantations, retail, river steamers), Nyasaland (present-day Malawi)
Claus Spreckels (sugar industry), Germany
Leland Stanford (railroads), California, U.S.
Levi Strauss (retail), U.S./Germany
Jamsetji Tata (shipping, steel industry, hotels, education), India
Nikola Tesla (AC induction motor), U.S., Yugoslavia (born in Austro-Hungarian Empire)
Alessandro Torlonia (banking), Italy^[2]
Richard Trevithick (mining and steam engines), Great Britain
Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads), U.S.
George Westinghouse (railroad braking, switching, and signalling systems; commercialization of natural gas; development, transmission and application of AC electricity), U.S.

20th-century entrepreneurs

Agha Hasan Abedi (banking), Pakistan
Paul Allen (computers, scientific research, real estate, media, education, entertainment, artificial intelligence, space, philanthropy), U.S.
Dhirubhai Ambani (reliance industries), India
Mary Kay Ash (cosmetics), U.S.
Bang Si-hyuk (music), South Korea
Otto Beisheim (retail), Germany
William Boeing (aviation), U.S.
Warren Buffett (investor), U.S.
Richard Branson (media, transportation, space), UK
Coco Chanel (fashion), France
Jack Cohen (retail), UK
Michael Dell (computers), U.S.
Oscar Deutsch (cinemas), UK
Richard M. DeVos, Sr. (multi-level marketing), U.S.
Walt Disney (animation), U.S.
James Dyson (vacuum cleaner), UK
Larry Ellison (computers), U.S.
Fan Hongwei (petrochemicals), China
Enzo Ferrari (sports cars), Italy
Henry Ford (automobile manufacturing), U.S.
Bill Gates (computers, philanthropy, investments) U.S.
Henry Hu (technology), Hong Kong
Howard Hughes (aviation, film), U.S.
John James (radio & TV retailing, manufacturing, philanthropy), U.K.
Steve Jobs (computers, technology, animation), U.S.
Dean Kamen (technology), U.S.
Ingvar Kamprad (retail), Sweden
Vinod Khosla (technology), U.S.
Ferruccio Lamborghini (sports cars), Italy
Estée Lauder (cosmetics), U.S.
Jorge Loring Martinez (aviation), Spain
Vijay Mallya (breweries), India
Jim Marshall (music equipment), UK
Terry Matthews (technology), Canada
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (biotechnology), India
Vince McMahon (entertainment media), U.S.
Sunil Mittal (telecommunication), India
N. R. Narayana Murthy (information technology), India
Nian Guangjiu (food), China
Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (transportation, manufacturing), Nigeria
Qin Yinglin (agriculture), China
Anita Roddick (retail), UK
Michael J. Saylor (Internet), U.S.
Magnús Scheving (entertainment, health), Iceland
Carlos Slim (telecommunications), Mexico
Alan Sugar (technology), UK
J. R. D. Tata (steel, aviation, information technology, transportation, cosmetics, consumer products, education), France/India
Ted Turner (entertainment media), U.S.
Madam C.J. Walker (retail, philanthropy), U.S.
Sam M. Walton (retail), US
Oprah Winfrey (entertainment), U.S.
Steve Wozniak (computers, technology, education, philanthropy), U.S.
George Lucas (entertainment), U.S.
Zhong Huijuan (pharmaceuticals), China

21st-century entrepreneurs

Brian Acton (Internet), U.S.
Ritesh Agarwal (Internet), India
Bhavish Aggarwal (Internet), India
Charles T. Akre (securities), U.S.
Folorunso Alakija (fashion, oil and gas), Nigeria
Rod Aldridge (business process outsourcing, education), UK
Pierre Andurand (investments), France
Trishneet Arora (Cyber Security), India
Sachin Bansal (Internet), India
Eike Batista (mining, oil and gas exploration), Brazil
Steve Baxter (Internet), Australia
David Benaron (digital health), U.S.
Jeff Bezos (Internet, space), U.S.
Constantin Bisanz (Investor), U.S.
Joe Blackman (events, entertainment), UK/U.S.
Ryan Blair (multi-level marketing), U.S.
Sara Blakely (retail), U.S.
Hernán Botbol (Internet), Argentina
Sergey Brin (Internet), U.S.
Tory Burch (retail), U.S.
Malcolm CasSelle (Internet), U.S./China
Lee Chambers (psychologist) (healthcare), UK
Sean "Diddy" Combs (music and entertainment), U.S.
Simon Cowell (music and television), UK
Nancy Cruickshank (Internet), UK
Mark Cuban (Internet), U.S.
Nick D'Aloisio (Internet), UK
Aliko Dangote (manufacturing, real estate, oil and gas), Nigeria
Jack Dorsey (Internet), U.S.
Helmy Eltoukhy (genomics), U.S.
Shawn Fanning (Internet), U.S.
Rihanna (cosmetics), Barbados
Dylan Field (Software), U.S.
Jon Fisher (Internet), U.S.
Simon Fuller (music and television), UK
Roland Fomundam (sustainable technology in agriculture), Cameroon
Peter Gilgan (construction), Canada
Vishal Gondal (video gaming), India
Reid Hoffman (Internet), U.S.
Alex Hofmann (executive), U.S.
Bri Holt (Internet), U.S.
Drew Houston (Internet), U.S.
Arianna Huffington (Internet), U.S.
Steve Huffman (Internet), U.S.
Jessica Huie (greeting cards), UK
Mohammed Ibrahim (telecommunication), Sudan
Daymond John (clothing), U.S.
Lisa S. Jones (technology), U.S.
Elle Kaplan (finance), U.S.
David Karp (Internet), U.S.
Sal Khan (education), U.S.
Jan Koum (Internet), U.S.
Dominik Mate Kovacs (technology entrepreneur), U.S.
Prescott Lee (technology industry), U.S.
Jeremy Levitt (Internet), Australia
Jack Ma (Internet), China
Ana Maiques (healthcare), Spain
Fadi Makki (trade), Middle East (Lebanon, Qatar)
Strive Masiyiwa (telecommunication), Zimbabwe
Rudy A. Mazzocchi (healthcare), U.S.
Javier Moll (media), Spain/Australia
Dave Morin (Internet), U.S.
Rupert Murdoch (media, entertainment), UK/U.S.
Elon Musk (Internet, space, energy, neurotechnology, transportation, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, electric cars), U.S./South Africa
Carrie Rose (Internet), UK
Andrew Nisbet (catering), UK
Alexis Ohanian (Internet), U.S.
Larry Page (Internet), U.S.
Nicola Paparusso (television), Italy
Sean Parker (Internet), U.S.
Melanie Perkins (Internet), Australia
Stefano Pessina (healthcare), Italy
Michelle Phan (Internet), U.S.
Manny Phesto (music, cannabis/CBD), U.S.
Azim Premji (information technology services), India
Kelsey Ramsden (construction, children's toys), Canada
Burton Rocks (Internet), U.S.
Kevin Rose (Internet), U.S.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Internet), India
Param Singh (Internet, property), UK
Masayoshi Son (Venture Capital), Japan
Lane Sutton (Internet), U.S.
Kevin Systrom (Internet), U.S.
Motoaki Tanigo (Virtual Reality), Japan
Lewis Raymond Taylor (internet), UK
Rodrigo Teijeiro (Internet), Argentina/Brazil
Tânia Tomé (Consultancy, Investment & training), Mozambique
Wang Jianlin (real estate development), China
Emily Weiss (beauty), U.S.
Anne Wojcicki (personal genomics), U.S.
Wu Yajun (property developer), China
Malala Yousafzai (education), Pakistan
Mark Zuckerberg (Internet), U.S.

References

↑ O'Sullivan, Arthur; Sheffrin, Steven M. (2003). Economics: Principles in Action . Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 6. ISBN 0-13-063085-3.
↑ Daniela Felisini, Alessandro Torlonia. The Pope's Banker, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

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[1] O'Sullivan, Arthur; Sheffrin, Steven M. (2003). Economics: Principles in Action . Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 6. ISBN 0-13-063085-3.

[2] Daniela Felisini, Alessandro Torlonia. The Pope's Banker, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

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