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Ben Bernanke is an American economist who served two terms as the chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 to 2014, during which he supervised the Federal Reserve's response to the global financial crisis (GFC). For his efforts during GFC, Ben Bernanke was named Time Person of the Year in 2009.
The son of wealthy Pittsburgh banker Thomas Mellon, Andrew William Mellon had followed in his father’s footsteps, to be a banker. He had also been the American ambassador to the U.K. and the American secretary of the treasury. He owned companies such as Alcoa, Old Overholt whiskey, and Gulf Oil.
Apart from being the president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers has also been the U.S. secretary of the treasury, the World Bank’s chief economist, and the NEC director. The MIT alumnus became one of the youngest tenured faculty members at Harvard. He also writes regularly for The Washington Post.
Jamie Dimon is an American business executive, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the largest of the popular American banks, JPMorgan Chase. He is among the few bank chief executives in the world to become a billionaire. In 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011, Jamie Dimon was named in Time magazine's world's 100 most influential people lists.
Carl C. Icahn is an American businessman. He is credited with founding a diversified conglomerate holding company called Icahn Enterprises, which is based in New York City. He also serves as the chairman of the popular auto parts manufacturer and developer, Federal-Mogul. Also known for his charity work, Icahn joined the Giving Pledge list in 2010.
One of the most well-known white-collar criminals ever, Marc Rich, an NYU dropout, was a self-made business magnate and commodities trader who established Glencore but was later charged with fraud and tax evasion, among other crimes. He also donated generously for leukemia research and Jewish causes.
Jim Yong Kim, or Kim Yong, was born in South Korea and later moved to the US, where he grew up to be the president of the World Bank. The physician and anthropologist has also taught at Harvard Medical School, his alma, and co-owns the medical care company Partners in Health.
Stanley Fischer is an Israeli American economist. He was previously the chief economist at the World Bank and the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve. In 2014, he was nominated by US President Barack Obama to be the vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue as well.
Polish-American businessman Haym Salomon not only contributed to the establishment of the Philadelphia synagogue Mikveh Israel, but also lent huge amounts of interest-free money to soldiers and other borrowers during the American Revolutionary War. The financier eventually died in poverty, with the American government owing thousands of dollars to him.
