Top 15 Business Leaders to Follow

The world is constantly changing. There are many reasons for this. But business leaders are at the top of that list. This is because their innovations affect how ordinary people live their day-to-day lives. Whether its Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook or Travis Kalanick’s Uber, they improve our quality of life. 

Everyone knows about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. But what about all the others who had unique ideas and built fortunes? These people contributed just as much but often don’t get the same recognition.  

I’ve put together a list of the top fifteen business leaders you should know about. 

15. Arianna Huffington 

“But you have to do what you dream of doing even while you’re afraid.”

Huffington is a Greek-American author, columnist, and a businesswoman. She co-founded The Huffington Post and founded Thrive Global. Between both businesses, she has a net worth of $50 million.

14. Jay-Z

“I’m not a ‘Businessman’! I’m a Business… man! Let me handle my business, damn!”

Jay-Z is popularly known for his music, but he is also a businessman with a diversified income stream. From his D’Ussé cognac to his Armand de Brignac champagne and entertainment company Roc Nation, there is almost no industry he hasn’t dipped his toes into. All this has gotten him a $1 billion net worth.

13. Tim Cook

“Some people see innovation as change, but we have never really seen it like that. It’s making things better.”

As the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook is responsible for a mega-giant company with the world’s largest market capitalization. This also happens to be the company that makes the most money in America. At age 59, he recently got billionaire status with a net worth of $1 billion. 

12. Sheryl Sandberg

“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”

As the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sandberg has a net worth of $1.8 billion. In 2018, she led the company from a $56 million loss to $22.1 billion in profits. In the same year, ad revenue went up by 38%.  

11. Travis Kalanick

“With the technology in our pockets today, and a little smart regulation, we can turn every car into a shared car, and we can reclaim our cities starting today.”

Kalanick co-founded Uber in 2009, built it up, and then sold all his shares in 2019. This investment left him with a net worth of $2.6 billion. He is now the CEO of City Storage Systems, a holding company that redevelops real estate.

10. Brian Chesky

“If you want to create a great product, just focus on one person. Make that person have the most amazing experience ever.”

In 2008, Chesky co-founded a home-rental company Airbnb. Before the company took off, he made $40,000 a year. Now he has a net worth of $3.1 billion.

9. Mark Cuban

“Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world.”

Cuban founded the video portal Broadcast.com in 1995 and then sold it to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999. Currently, he owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and has stakes in AXS TV, Magnolia Pictures, and various small startups. He has a net worth of $4.2 billion.

8. Reed Hastings

“Incredible people don’t want to be micromanaged. We manage through setting context and letting people run.”

As co-founder and CEO of Netflix, Hastings changed entertainment forever. The video streaming platform offers films, TV shows, and original content to over 183 million members globally. This has allowed him to achieve a net worth of $5 billion.

7. Meg Whitman

“When people use your brand name as a verb, that is remarkable.”

At 64, Whitman has a net worth of $5.2 billion. She is best known for boosting eBay sales from 5.7 million to $8 billion as CEO. Once she left eBay, she took up the role of CEO for Hewlett-Packard from 2011-2015 and then for Quibli from 2018-present.

6. Jack Dorsey

“The best thinking time is just walking.”

Dorsey is a 43-year-old self-made billionaire with a net worth of $8.3 billion. He founded Twitter in 2006 and Square in 2009 and has been the CEO of both since 2015. 

5. Marc Benioff

“You must always be able to predict what’s next and then have the flexibility to evolve.”

Benioff is the CEO of a cloud computing software firm called Salesforce. His company was the first to host its software online rather than have clients install it. He’s also an angel investor in dozens of tech startups. As of August 2020, his net worth is $8.3 billion.

4. Warren Buffet

“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.”

Buffet is the CEO and Chairman of Berkshire-Hathaway. At 89, he is considered one of the smartest investors in the world. At present, his net worth is $80.3 billion. 

3. Elon Musk

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

Musk has a net worth of $90.3 billion and is working to revolutionize transportation on Earth and space through his companies Tesla and SpaceX. He grew up in South Africa and is now a force to be reckoned with. 

2. Mark Zuckerberg

“The thing that we are trying to do at Facebook is just helping people connect and communicate more efficiently.”

With a net worth of $99.7 billion, the CEO of Facebook is one of the wealthiest people on this list. He started his company in his college dorm at 19 and never looked back. Over the last few decades, Facebook has become a go-to communications tool for millions of people.

1. Jeff Bezos 

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

Bezos is a 56-year-old American business mogul who took the world by storm with Amazon. His net worth is valued at $197.5 billion – making him the richest person in the world. His wealth increases every single day, and so he’s number one on my list.

I hope you enjoyed my top 15 business moguls. Thanks for reading!