Retailers

The founder and CEO of the multi-national technology company Amazon, Jeff Bezos is the wealthiest man in the world. Jeff, who left his lucrative job at an investment firm to fulfil his entrepreneurial ambition, also owns the newspaper, The Washington Post, and its affiliate publications along with a spaceflight company, Blue Origin.

Richard McDonald was an entrepreneur who co-founded the fast-food company McDonald's with his brother, Maurice. Their father ran a food stall. As young men, Richard and Maurice took over their father’s business and redesigned the restaurant. The restaurant was highly successful, and the brothers began franchising their system. The first McDonald's restaurant has now been converted into a museum. 

Adolf Dassler was a German cobbler-turned-entrepreneur who established the German sportswear company Adidas. His older brother, Rudolf Dassler, established Puma. The two brothers initially operated the Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Factory. Adolf was a pioneer in designing athletic shoes and in selling them through endorsements from athletes.

A member of the Walton family—the world’s richest family— James Walton has inherited retail giant Walmart along with his siblings. A graduate from the University of Arkansas, the billionaire is also the chairman of Arvest Bank and heads newspaper company, Community Publishers Inc. He played football during his younger days and leant to pilot planes. He has four children.

Dickson Poon is a Hong Kong businessman who serves as the executive chairman of Dickson Concepts (DCIL), a Hong Kong based company, which owns companies, such as S. T. Dupont and Harvey Nichols. Also a philanthropist, Poon has donated money to colleges and universities. During the 2015 New Year Honours, Poon was knighted for his services to charity and business.  

Omar bin Laden is a Saudi-Arabian author, artist, businessman, and cultural ambassador. Omar, who has been living in France for several years now, achieved popularity when he made contributions to a book titled Growing Up bin Laden. The book, which was published in 2009, recollects his time with his father Osama bin Laden.

Best known as the founder of the Design Museum in London, British designer and restaurateur Terence Conran had begun a furniture studio while still a student. He later launched popular interior and furniture design firms such as the Conran Design Group and Habitat. He has also penned several books.

Known for his pioneering contribution to the make-up industry in Hollywood and for his revolutionary products such as Supreme Greasepaint, Max Factor Sr. was a Polish Jew, who moved to the US in the early 1900s. He founded his own brand of cosmetics, popularized the word “make-up,” and won an honorary Academy Award.

Ricardo Martinelli is a Panamanian businessman and politician.From 2009 to 2014, he served as the president of Panama and his presidency witnessed steady economic growth in the country. Martinelli came up with several measures to decrease poverty. He increased the minimum wage and introduced measures to tackle unemployment.

Scottish-Irish businessman Alexander Turney Stewart initially aspired to be a Presbyterian minister, before deviating to teaching and then eventually stepping into business. He began with trading textile and then launched a dry goods business, A. T. Stewart & Company, in New York, which he later expanded into an empire.

Timothy Eaton has gone down in history as the founder of one of Canada’s largest retail giants, Eaton’s. Initially a general store apprentice in Ireland, he later sailed to Canada, where he opened his own store, introducing cash sales, fixed price, and better work conditions for retail employees.