Richard Kayne, cofounder and CEO of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, built one of the leading U.S. alternative investment firms focused on real assets, with deep expertise in energy infrastructure, real estate, and credit. Since founding Kayne Anderson in 1984, Kayne has guided the firm through multiple market cycles by emphasizing asset-backed investing, disciplined underwriting, and long-term partnerships with operators. Under his leadership, the platform expanded across private equity, direct lending, and public market strategies tied to essential infrastructure. Kayne’s career reflects a long-horizon approach to capital deployment in sectors where durability and cash flow matter most.

Randal Nardone, cofounder and co-CEO of Fortress Investment Group, helped build one of the most influential alternative asset managers by scaling institutional investing across credit, real estate, and special situations. After early experience at BlackRock and UBS, Nardone cofounded Fortress in 1998 and guided its evolution into a global platform managing tens of billions through market cycles. Under his leadership, Fortress became known for opportunistic, asset-based investing and disciplined risk management, culminating in its acquisition by SoftBank. Nardone remains a defining figure in modern alternative investing and private capital strategy.

Peter Thiel, cofounder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, is one of Silicon Valley’s most influential and contrarian thinkers, known for backing companies that challenge consensus and reshape entire industries. As an early investor in Facebook and the first outside investor in several category-defining startups, Thiel helped popularize a philosophy centered on building monopolies through deep technology rather than incremental competition. Through Founders Fund, he has backed transformative ventures across software, defense, biotech, and space. Thiel’s impact extends beyond investing into ideas, shaping debates around technology, globalization, and the future of innovation.

Peter Kellogg, cofounder and CEO of Kellogg Capital Group, is a veteran hedge fund manager known for navigating global markets with a disciplined, risk-aware trading approach. After an early career in derivatives and proprietary trading, Kellogg built his firm around multi-asset strategies spanning equities, credit, commodities, and macro opportunities. Operating with a low public profile, he has maintained longevity in an industry defined by volatility, earning respect for adaptability across market cycles and a focus on capital preservation alongside returns.

Pablo Legorreta, founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma, built a category-defining firm by pioneering royalty-based investing in biopharmaceutical innovation. After founding the company in 1996, Legorreta created a model that provides non-dilutive capital to drug developers in exchange for royalty streams on approved medicines, helping finance breakthroughs while managing risk through diversified cash flows. Under his leadership, Royalty Pharma scaled into a multibillion-dollar, publicly traded platform that partners with leading biotech companies and academic institutions worldwide, reshaping how life-science innovation is funded.

Nicholas J. Pritzker, managing partner and cofounder of Tao Capital Partners, represents the next generation of the Pritzker family’s investment legacy, focusing on long-term, impact-oriented private investing. Through Tao Capital, he backs companies across technology, healthcare, sustainable consumer brands, and environmental solutions, emphasizing durable growth, values-driven leadership, and positive social outcomes. Distinct from the family’s hospitality roots, Pritzker has carved out an independent path as an investor aligned with ESG principles, while also engaging deeply in philanthropy supporting climate action, democracy, and community development.

Nelson Peltz, founder and CEO of Trian Fund Management, is one of the most prominent activist investors in corporate America, known for pushing operational discipline and shareholder-focused governance at some of the world’s largest companies. After early success building food distributor Triangle Industries, Peltz turned to activism through Trian, taking influential stakes in companies such as Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, DuPont, and General Electric. His campaigns typically emphasize cost control, capital allocation, and strategic clarity rather than breakups, earning him a reputation as a boardroom power broker. Peltz’s blend of industrial experience and financial activism has reshaped how large corporations respond to shareholder pressure.

Michael Milken, financier and philanthropist, is widely recognized as the pioneer of the modern high-yield bond market, reshaping corporate finance and enabling a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the 1980s. After a controversial career at Drexel Burnham Lambert and subsequent legal challenges, Milken redirected his focus toward global health, medical research, and education—founding research institutions, spearheading public-health initiatives, and establishing major philanthropic programs through the Milken Institute. His enduring influence spans financial innovation and large-scale social impact, making him one of the most consequential—and debated—figures in modern business history.

Lowell Milken, cofounder of Knowledge Universe and a longtime leader in education reform and philanthropy, has built a wide-ranging career focused on improving teaching quality and expanding access to effective learning models. After an early career in law and finance, he helped develop Knowledge Universe into one of the world’s largest private education companies, spanning early childhood learning, professional development, and technology-enabled instruction. As chairman of the Milken Family Foundation, he has created nationally recognized programs such as the Milken Educator Awards and TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement. Known for his strategic vision and commitment to education innovation, Milken is a defining figure in modern philanthropic efforts to strengthen America’s schools.

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.

Christian Dumolin, chairman and co-ceo of Koramic Investment Group, is one of Belgium’s most respected industrial and investment leaders, known for transforming a traditional brick-manufacturing company into a diversified European holding with interests spanning real estate, manufacturing, financial services, and private equity. After joining the family business in the 1970s, he led its international expansion, later steering Koramic into a broad investment platform focused on long-term value creation and operational excellence. Dumolin has served on numerous corporate boards, becoming a key figure in Belgium’s entrepreneurial landscape, while his philanthropic work in culture, education, and regional development underscores his influence beyond business.

Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, is one of the most influential investors in modern finance, credited with building the firm’s real estate arm into the world’s largest private property platform. Joining Blackstone in 1992, he pioneered the company’s massive expansion into opportunistic real estate, logistics, hospitality, and large-scale global acquisitions, including the Hilton Hotels deal—one of the most profitable private equity investments in history. As COO, Gray now helps steer Blackstone’s multi-trillion-dollar asset management strategy across private equity, credit, infrastructure, and insurance. Known for his analytical discipline, bold dealmaking, and philanthropic leadership in cancer research, Gray is a central architect of the firm’s rise to global dominance.

John Griffin, founder of Blue Ridge Capital, became one of the most respected hedge fund managers of his generation through his disciplined long/short equity strategy and reputation for deep fundamental research. A protégé of legendary investor Julian Robertson at Tiger Management, Griffin launched Blue Ridge in 1996 and built it into a multi-billion-dollar “Tiger Cub” fund known for concentrated bets on high-quality growth companies and sharp downside hedging. After closing the fund in 2017 to devote himself to philanthropy, he became CEO of Blue Ridge Foundation and a leading donor to education and medical research, combining investment principles with data-driven social impact initiatives.

John Goff, billionaire investor and founder of Crescent Real Estate and Goff Capital, built one of the most successful real estate and private investment enterprises in Texas. After joining the fledgling Crescent Realty Trust in the early 1990s, he helped grow it into a multibillion-dollar office and mixed-use portfolio, later engineering its sale to Morgan Stanley and reacquiring major assets during the financial crisis at steep discounts. Through Goff Capital, he has expanded into hospitality, aviation, and energy, while backing high-growth ventures and serving as chairman of luxury travel company Omni Hotels & Resorts. Known for contrarian timing, discipline, and opportunistic dealmaking, Goff remains a defining figure in modern Texas business and real estate.

John Calamos, founder and global CIO of Calamos Investments, is a pioneering figure in convertible securities and risk-managed equity investing. After serving as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, he launched his investment firm in 1977 with a strategy centered on convertibles—an overlooked asset class he helped bring into mainstream institutional portfolios. Under his leadership, Calamos Investments grew into a multibillion-dollar asset manager serving global institutions, public funds, and private wealth clients, while Calamos became known as a leading author and educator on volatility, capital structure, and portfolio construction. His disciplined, analytical approach has earned him a reputation as both an innovator and one of the most respected long-term investors in modern finance.

Joel Greenberg, cofounder of Susquehanna International Group (SIG), is one of the most influential and discreet figures in quantitative trading and options market making. Launching SIG in 1987 with a small group of poker-playing colleagues, Greenberg helped pioneer a probabilistic, game-theory-driven approach to trading that became the firm’s hallmark and propelled it into a global powerhouse across equities, options, fixed income, private equity, and venture capital. Known for his analytical rigor and long-term investment vision, he also helped lead major early bets such as SIG’s stake in ByteDance. Greenberg remains a defining, though intentionally low-profile, architect of the modern quantitative finance ecosystem.

Jerry Yang, cofounder of Yahoo!, is one of the earliest architects of the modern internet, helping transform a Stanford hobby project into one of the first global web portals and a defining tech company of the 1990s. After stepping down from Yahoo!, Yang went on to establish AME Cloud Ventures, becoming a major early-stage investor in data-driven startups and emerging technologies. Known for his long-term vision, deep technical roots, and influential role in bridging Silicon Valley with Asian markets, Yang remains a respected entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist shaping the next generation of innovation.

Jeffrey Talpins, founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Element Capital Management, is a leading architect of the “modern macro” hedge fund era. Launching Element in 2005 after distinguished fixed-income roles at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, Talpins built the firm into a multi-billion-dollar platform famed for its disciplined, systematic global-macro strategies and strong historical performance. Under his leadership, Element returned 21 % annualized since inception and at one point managed over $18 billion in assets. Talpins also channels his success into high-impact philanthropy, including conservation, education, and peace initiatives through the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation.

Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of DAMAC Properties, is one of the Middle East’s most prominent real estate developers, known for transforming Dubai’s skyline with luxury residences, branded towers, and large-scale master-planned communities. Starting as a catering entrepreneur serving energy companies across the Gulf, Sajwani shifted into property development in the early 2000s, building DAMAC into a multibillion-dollar enterprise recognized for partnerships with global brands such as Versace, Fendi, Cavalli, and Paramount Hotels. With projects spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, London, and beyond, Sajwani has become a defining figure in luxury real estate and one of the region’s most influential business leaders.

Jerry Jones, billionaire businessman and owner of the Dallas Cowboys, transformed the franchise into the most valuable team in global sports through bold management, aggressive marketing, and a relentless focus on brand expansion. Since purchasing the Cowboys in 1989, Jones has overseen multiple Super Bowl victories, built state-of-the-art facilities like AT&T Stadium and The Star in Frisco, and reshaped NFL business economics through media deals and sponsorship innovation. A polarizing yet visionary figure, he has turned the Cowboys into a cultural and commercial powerhouse while becoming one of the most influential owners in professional sports.