Ronald Baron, founder and CEO of Baron Capital, built one of the most respected long-term growth investing firms by combining rigorous fundamental research with patient, conviction-driven portfolio management. Starting the firm in 1982, Baron developed a reputation for investing early in high-quality companies and holding for decades, compounding returns through long-duration ownership. He is widely known for his early, high-profile investment in Tesla, as well as success across technology, healthcare, and consumer sectors. Baron’s career reflects disciplined optimism, founder alignment, and a rare commitment to long-term value creation.

Ken Langone, cofounder of Home Depot, is one of America’s most respected entrepreneurs and dealmakers, helping turn a radical big-box retail concept into one of the largest home-improvement chains in the world. After early success on Wall Street as an investment banker, Langone helped finance and launch Home Depot in 1978, and the company’s explosive growth made him a billionaire. Known for his blunt, patriotic style and deep loyalty to employees, he is also a major philanthropist—funding medical research, education, and veterans’ causes, including a landmark gift to make tuition free at NYU’s medical school. Langone remains a prominent voice on business, capitalism, and civic leadership.

Charles Brandes is an American billionaire investor and value‑investing legend who founded Brandes Investment Partners in 1974. A protégé of Benjamin Graham, he built the firm into a global value-management powerhouse with upwards of $95 billion in assets at peak. Brandes authored Value Investing Today and remains deeply philanthropic, supporting causes such as the Salk Institute and diabetes research institutes.