William P. Lauder, executive chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, helped expand the family-founded beauty empire into a global powerhouse of prestige cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance brands. After serving as CEO and guiding major international growth, brand acquisitions, and digital expansion, Lauder transitioned to executive chairman, continuing to shape long-term strategy and governance. A grandson of founders Estée and Joseph Lauder, he represents multigenerational leadership at one of the world’s most influential luxury beauty groups, blending heritage stewardship with modern global scale.

Bill Boyd, cofounder and longtime leader of Boyd Gaming, helped build one of the most respected casino operators in the United States by focusing on regional gaming markets, operational discipline, and customer loyalty. The son of industry pioneer Sam Boyd, he expanded the family business from its Las Vegas roots into a nationwide gaming and hospitality company with properties across Nevada and other key markets. Known for conservative management and strong local positioning, Boyd played a central role in shaping modern regional casino operations and maintaining the company’s reputation for steady performance through industry cycles.

Thomas Barrack Jr. is the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and the Special Envoy for Syria in the second Trump administration, where he serves as a pivotal figure in Middle Eastern diplomacy. A veteran private equity investor and the founder of Colony Capital (now DigitalBridge), Barrack has leveraged his decades of experience in the region to broker historic regional agreements. In early 2026, he played a lead role in integrating the Syrian government into the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and oversaw major infrastructure MoUs, including a milestone gas exploration agreement between Syria and Chevron. His current diplomatic portfolio emphasizes regional security through "shared responsibility," successfully managing the complex transition of territory between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the central government in Damascus.

Stefan Soloviev is the chairman of the Soloviev Group, a vast conglomerate that encompasses real estate, agriculture, and transportation. After inheriting the legendary New York City real estate portfolio of his father, Sheldon Solow, Soloviev has significantly diversified the family’s holdings, becoming one of the largest landowners in the United States. His agricultural arm, Crossroads Agriculture, operates millions of acres of farmland and ranchland across the Great Plains, while his investments in the Colorado Pacific Railroad have revitalized critical freight infrastructure. Soloviev’s leadership is defined by a bold, hands-on approach to land stewardship and a strategic expansion into renewable energy and large-scale urban development.

Gay Simplot, daughter of agribusiness legend J.R. Simplot, is a principal owner and influential figure within the J.R. Simplot Company, one of the United States' largest privately held agricultural enterprises. As a key steward of the family’s multi-billion-dollar legacy, she plays a vital role in maintaining the company’s independence and its position as a global leader in food processing, fertilizer production, and livestock. Beyond her business interests, she is deeply involved in philanthropic efforts and community development in Idaho, preserving the Simplot family’s long-standing impact on the region’s economy and culture.

Scott Simplot, son of agribusiness pioneer J.R. Simplot, oversees one of America’s largest privately held food and agriculture empires as chairman of the J.R. Simplot Company. The Idaho-based company is a global supplier of frozen foods, potato products, fertilizers, and agricultural services, with deep ties to the restaurant and foodservice industry, including longstanding partnerships with major quick-service chains. Under Simplot family leadership, the business has remained privately held while expanding internationally and investing across agriculture, food processing, and related industries. Scott Simplot continues the family’s multigenerational stewardship of a company central to modern agribusiness.

Ronald Burkle, cofounder of Yucaipa Companies, built a multibillion-dollar fortune through opportunistic investing in consumer, retail, and real estate assets, often targeting complex, distressed, or underappreciated situations. Known for strategic dealmaking and behind-the-scenes influence, Burkle has taken major stakes in grocery, food, and hospitality businesses while also expanding into entertainment and sports-related investments. A longtime philanthropist, he supports medical research, social programs, and cultural institutions through the Burkle Foundation. His career reflects a blend of contrarian capital allocation, high-level networks, and diversified ownership across consumer-driven industries.

Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, is one of the most consequential executives in the history of interactive entertainment, having transformed a struggling publisher into a global gaming powerhouse. After taking control of Activision in the early 1990s, Kotick pursued aggressive acquisitions and franchise-driven strategy, culminating in the 2008 merger that created Activision Blizzard. Under his leadership, the company scaled blockbuster franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, generating billions in annual revenue and shaping the modern games-as-a-service model. Known for hard-nosed execution and investor focus, Kotick’s tenure remains both highly influential and widely debated.

RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian, is an engineer-entrepreneur building one of the most ambitious electric vehicle companies focused on trucks, SUVs, and commercial fleets. After earning a PhD from MIT, Scaringe founded Rivian with a vision to electrify adventure-oriented vehicles and scalable delivery platforms. Under his leadership, Rivian secured major backing from Amazon and other investors, launched its flagship R1T and R1S models, and positioned itself as a key player in the transition to electrified transportation. Known for technical depth and long-term product focus, Scaringe represents the new generation of American EV leadership.

Richard Yuengling Jr., owner of D.G. Yuengling & Son, revitalized America’s oldest brewery and built it into one of the largest independent beer producers in the United States. After joining the family business in the 1970s and taking control in the mid-1980s, he expanded production capacity, modernized operations, and turned Yuengling Lager into a dominant regional brand with a fiercely loyal following. Known for hands-on management and long-term family ownership, Yuengling has kept the brewery privately held while steadily expanding its geographic reach and cultural footprint.

Richard Kurtz, founder and chairman of Kamson Corporation, built a major privately held real estate company specializing in multifamily and mixed-use properties across the Northeastern United States. Starting with a focus on apartment ownership and management, Kurtz grew Kamson through disciplined acquisitions, property repositioning, and long-term operational control, creating a large portfolio spanning residential communities and commercial assets. Known for quiet execution and a patient, cash-flow-driven strategy, he has maintained Kamson as a durable family-led platform through multiple real estate cycles.

Patrizio Vinciarelli, founder and CEO of Vicor Corporation, is a pioneer in advanced power electronics whose work has reshaped how electricity is delivered inside high-performance computing systems. Trained as a physicist and engineer, Vinciarelli founded Vicor in 1981 and spent decades developing high-density, modular power conversion technologies that became critical to data centers, aerospace, defense, and AI-driven computing. Under his long-term leadership, Vicor evolved into a publicly traded company known for deep intellectual property, engineering precision, and its role in powering next-generation processors and accelerated computing architectures.

Mortimer Zuckerman, real estate magnate, media executive, and investor, built a multifaceted career spanning property development, publishing, and public policy influence. As longtime chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, he helped create one of the largest publicly traded office real estate investment trusts in the United States, shaping skylines in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. In parallel, Zuckerman became a prominent media figure as owner and editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report and publisher of the New York Daily News, using his platforms to weigh in on economics, foreign policy, and urban affairs. His career reflects a rare blend of large-scale real estate execution and national media influence.

Miguel McKelvey, cofounder and former chief culture officer of WeWork, is the design-driven entrepreneur who helped redefine how a generation thinks about workspaces. Partnering with Adam Neumann, McKelvey translated architectural training and brand intuition into a global coworking phenomenon, shaping WeWork’s distinctive aesthetic, community ethos, and rapid international expansion. After stepping back from day-to-day operations, he has focused on new ventures at the intersection of design, culture, and entrepreneurship, continuing to influence how physical spaces support creativity, collaboration, and modern work.

Matthew Calkins, founder and CEO of Appian, built one of the most enduring low-code software companies by betting early on automation, workflow, and enterprise speed. Launching Appian in 1999, Calkins steered the company through multiple technology cycles, positioning it as a core platform for digital transformation across government and large enterprises. Under his leadership, Appian went public in 2017 and became a recognized leader in low-code development and process automation. Known for his long-term vision, intellectual rigor, and independent thinking, Calkins has maintained founder control while shaping how organizations build and deploy software at scale.

Mat Ishbia, CEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage, built the company into the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States by modernizing broker-centric lending through technology, scale, and relentless execution. Taking over the family business in 2013, Ishbia transformed UWM into a national powerhouse, leading it public via a SPAC merger and reshaping the competitive dynamics of mortgage origination. Beyond finance, he is a major sports owner, acquiring controlling stakes in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury and investing heavily in team infrastructure and fan experience. Known for his intensity, competitive mindset, and emphasis on culture, Ishbia stands out as one of the most dynamic entrepreneurs in American finance and sports.

Markus Persson, known as “Notch,” is the creator of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time, which he developed as an independent project before it became a global cultural phenomenon. Launched in 2009, Minecraft’s open-ended, user-driven design attracted hundreds of millions of players and redefined sandbox gaming. In 2014, Persson sold Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, to Microsoft for $2.5 billion, instantly making him one of the most successful game developers in history. Since then, he has remained largely outside the industry spotlight, becoming a symbol of the rare solo creator who built a generation-defining product.

Mark Pincus, founder and former CEO of Zynga, was a pioneer of social gaming, turning casual games into a mass-market phenomenon on Facebook and mobile platforms. After early ventures in internet services and venture capital, Pincus launched Zynga in 2007, scaling hits like FarmVille and Words With Friends into a multibillion-dollar business that went public in 2011. Known for his aggressive growth strategies and product experimentation, he later stepped back from daily operations while remaining an active investor and entrepreneur through Reinvent Capital. Pincus continues to influence consumer technology at the intersection of gaming, social interaction, and digital monetization.

Leo KoGuan, billionaire entrepreneur and founder of SHI International, built one of America’s largest privately held IT services companies, supplying software, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise solutions to Fortune 500 clients. A bold technology investor, he is also known as one of the biggest individual shareholders of Tesla, publicly advocating for the company’s mission and long-term strategy. Born in Indonesia and educated in the United States, KoGuan combines global business reach with significant philanthropy, supporting universities, research, and cultural institutions across Asia and the U.S. His career reflects scale, conviction, and a relentless focus on technological progress.

José Fanjul, vice chairman and president of Fanjul Corp, is one of the most powerful figures in the global sugar industry, helping lead the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that includes Florida Crystals, Domino Sugar, and extensive real estate and energy holdings. After the family’s exile from Cuba, Fanjul played a central role in rebuilding and expanding the business across the United States and the Caribbean, transforming it into a vertically integrated sugar and agribusiness giant. Known for his strategic political relationships, long-term operating vision, and deep philanthropic commitments—particularly in education and community development—Fanjul remains a defining force in American agribusiness and one of the most influential private industrialists in Florida.