Rick Hendrick, founder and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, built the largest privately held automotive dealership group in the United States through scale, discipline, and an intense focus on customer experience. Starting with a single dealership in North Carolina in the 1970s, Hendrick expanded into a nationwide network selling millions of vehicles annually across major brands. He is also a dominant figure in motorsports as owner of Hendrick Motorsports, one of NASCAR’s most successful teams, with multiple championships and a roster of elite drivers. Hendrick’s influence spans both retail automotive operations and the business of American racing.

Richard Fairbank, founder and CEO of Capital One, reshaped consumer finance by applying data science and direct marketing to credit, turning a niche issuer into one of America’s largest banks. After early roles in consulting and banking, Fairbank launched Capital One in the 1990s with a belief that analytics could price risk more precisely and expand access to credit. Under his leadership, the company grew into a diversified financial institution spanning credit cards, auto lending, and consumer banking, while investing heavily in technology and digital-first operations. Known for long-term execution and analytical rigor, Fairbank remains a defining architect of modern fintech-driven banking.

Ray Davis, cofounder of Energy Transfer Partners, built a multibillion-dollar fortune in U.S. midstream energy by expanding pipeline and logistics infrastructure across natural gas and liquids. Working alongside Kelcy Warren, he helped scale Energy Transfer into one of the nation’s largest energy networks through aggressive acquisitions and large-scale development. Beyond energy, Davis is the majority owner of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, playing a central role in turning the franchise into a modern sports business and ultimately overseeing its rise to a World Series championship. Known for a low public profile and long-term mindset, he remains a powerful figure in both energy and sports ownership.

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.

Paul Singer, founder and CEO of Elliott Investment Management, is one of the most influential activist investors in the world, known for combining deep legal expertise with relentless capital discipline. Since launching Elliott in 1977, Singer has built a multibillion-dollar firm that targets complex situations across public equities, debt, and sovereign restructurings, often pushing for governance reform and value realization. His campaigns have reshaped outcomes at major corporations and governments alike, cementing Elliott’s reputation for rigor, persistence, and results. Beyond investing, Singer is a prominent political donor and philanthropist focused on free markets, democracy, and human rights.

Patrick Zalupski, founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, built one of the fastest-growing homebuilders in the United States by focusing on asset-light land strategies and disciplined capital allocation. After founding the company in 2008, Zalupski emphasized lot optioning, regional market expertise, and operational efficiency, allowing Dream Finders to scale rapidly while maintaining strong margins. The company went public in 2021, cementing its position as a major player in residential construction across high-growth Sun Belt markets. Zalupski’s approach blends entrepreneurial speed with conservative balance-sheet management in a cyclical industry.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, physician, biotech entrepreneur, and investor, built one of the most consequential careers at the intersection of medicine, science, and capital. After developing the cancer drug Abraxane, which he sold to Celgene in a multibillion-dollar deal, Soon-Shiong went on to found and back numerous life-sciences companies focused on immunotherapy, data-driven medicine, and personalized healthcare. Beyond biotech, he is the owner of the Los Angeles Times and has invested heavily in medical research, AI-enabled health systems, and pandemic preparedness. His work reflects a long-term ambition to reengineer healthcare around biology, data, and scalable innovation.

Norman Braman, founder and chairman of Braman Automotive Group, built one of the largest luxury auto dealership empires in the United States by focusing on premium brands, prime real estate, and disciplined operations. Starting in the 1970s, Braman expanded aggressively in South Florida, assembling a portfolio that includes top marques such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce. Beyond automotive retail, he is a prominent civic figure and philanthropist, investing heavily in healthcare, education, and urban development in Miami. Braman’s career blends entrepreneurial scale with sustained local impact.

Mitchell Rales, cofounder of Danaher Corporation, is one of America’s most successful industrial builders, known for pairing disciplined capital allocation with a relentless focus on operational excellence. Alongside his brother Steven, Rales transformed Danaher from a small real estate company into a global science and technology conglomerate by pioneering the Danaher Business System, a management framework rooted in continuous improvement and lean manufacturing. After stepping back from day-to-day operations, Rales has remained an influential investor and philanthropist, supporting education, public policy, and cultural institutions through the Rales Foundation and Glenstone Museum.

Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corporation, built the world’s largest cruise company into a dominant force in global leisure travel while also shaping professional sports as owner of the Miami Heat. After taking the helm of his family’s cruise business, Arison expanded Carnival through scale, brand diversification, and operational efficiency, overseeing multiple marquee cruise lines and a vast global fleet. Beyond travel, he transformed the Heat into an NBA powerhouse with multiple championships, applying a disciplined, culture-driven ownership style. Known for a low public profile and long-term focus, Arison remains one of the most influential figures in hospitality and sports ownership.

Michael Rees, co-CEO of Blue Owl Capital, helped build one of the fastest-growing alternative asset managers by combining strategic credit, private equity, and direct lending platforms into a unified scale investment franchise. Since launching the firm’s predecessor units and ultimately merging with Owl Rock and Dyal Capital, Rees has expanded Blue Owl into a multibillion-dollar public powerhouse serving institutional clients worldwide. Known for disciplined capital deployment and tailored solutions across private markets, he has positioned Blue Owl as a leading voice in credit and private investing in the post-crisis era’s evolving financial ecosystem.

Michael Jordan, global sports icon and billionaire entrepreneur, transformed athletic excellence into one of the most powerful personal brands in history. Widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and later parlayed his competitive legacy into business dominance through the Air Jordan brand, a cornerstone of Nike’s empire. Beyond sports, he became a pioneering team owner with the Charlotte Hornets and built a diversified portfolio spanning endorsements, private investments, and philanthropy. Jordan’s post-career success set a new standard for athlete-entrepreneurs, redefining how greatness compounds far beyond the arena.

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.

Mark Walter, cofounder and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, built one of the world’s largest and most diversified global investment firms, overseeing hundreds of billions in assets across insurance, asset management, and advisory services. A former attorney, Walter helped architect Guggenheim’s distinctive structure, combining long-duration insurance capital with alternative and fixed-income strategies. Beyond finance, he is widely known as the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he led a dramatic turnaround of the franchise, delivering multiple championships and setting new standards for investment in professional sports. Walter’s influence spans global finance, infrastructure, and elite sports ownership.

Mark Stevens, longtime partner at Sequoia Capital and former board member of Nvidia, is one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capitalists, known for backing foundational technology companies at critical inflection points. Joining Sequoia in the early 1990s, he helped guide investments in Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, PayPal, and Nvidia, playing an active role in scaling engineering-driven businesses into global leaders. Stevens is particularly associated with Nvidia’s rise, serving on its board for more than a decade as the company evolved into a cornerstone of graphics computing and AI infrastructure. His career reflects Sequoia’s hallmark blend of technical insight, long-term conviction, and quiet but decisive governance.

Mark Rein, vice chairman and cofounder of Epic Games, is one of the most influential executives in the global video game industry, helping build Epic into a powerhouse behind the Unreal Engine and blockbuster franchises like Fortnite. After early roles in game publishing, Rein partnered with Tim Sweeney in the early 1990s, focusing on business development, publishing strategy, and developer relations while Sweeney led technology. Rein played a central role in Unreal Engine’s rise as the dominant game-development platform and in Epic’s challenge to traditional digital distribution models. Known for his outspoken advocacy for developers and platform fairness, he remains a defining figure in interactive entertainment.

Mark Davis, owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, inherited one of the most storied franchises in American sports and reshaped its future through bold, unconventional decisions. The son of legendary Raiders owner Al Davis, he took control of the team in 2011 and later orchestrated its high-profile relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, securing a state-of-the-art stadium and a new commercial platform for the franchise. Known for his independence, loyalty to the Raiders’ renegade culture, and willingness to challenge league norms, Davis has turned the team into a central pillar of Las Vegas’s professional sports identity.

Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, investor, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is one of the most recognizable figures in American business, known for turning bold bets into transformative ventures. After selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo! at the height of the dot-com boom, Cuban built a diversified portfolio spanning sports, media, technology, and healthcare. He later disrupted pharmaceutical pricing through the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, applying direct-to-consumer economics to lower drug costs. Outspoken, data-driven, and intensely competitive, Cuban blends venture investing with consumer advocacy, making him a defining personality in modern entrepreneurship.

Marcelo Claure, entrepreneur and investor, is best known for building Brightstar into one of the world’s largest wireless distribution companies and for his high-profile leadership roles in global telecommunications. After founding Brightstar in 1997, Claure expanded it into a multibillion-dollar enterprise operating in more than 50 countries, later selling a majority stake to SoftBank. He went on to serve as CEO of Sprint, where he led a multiyear turnaround, and later became chief operating officer of SoftBank Group, overseeing global investments across technology, telecom, and startups. Known for his intense execution style and dealmaking acumen, Claure remains a central figure in international business and private investment.

Marc Lasry, cofounder and CEO of Avenue Capital Group, is one of the most recognized figures in distressed-debt investing, building a multibillion-dollar platform focused on undervalued and special-situation assets around the world. After early success at Amroc Investments, Lasry launched Avenue in 1995 with his sister Sonia, developing a global reputation for navigating complex restructurings and capitalizing on market dislocations. Beyond finance, he is known for his high-profile role in professional sports as former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, helping oversee the team’s rise to NBA championship status. Lasry’s mix of investment discipline, global perspective, and civic engagement has made him a defining voice in alternative assets.