Walt Disney is considered to be the forerunner of the American animation industry. He has won 22 Oscars and holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual as a film producer. His The Walt Disney Company has produced many successful animation films. He later established amusement theme park, Disneyland, in 1955, which has since grown manifold.
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.
As the patriarch of the Getty family, J. Paul Getty was an influential petrol-industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company. In 1966, Paul made it to the Guinness Book of Records as the world's richest private citizen. An avid collector of antiquities and art, his collection is preserved at the J. Paul Getty Museum in California.
Dany Garcia, founder of The Garcia Companies, is an American media mogul. She offers various services and manages brands, talent and projects on multiple platforms. Her Seven Bucks Productions has produced several successful films like Baywatch, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Jumanji: The Next Level and Rampage. Many of them have been with her ex-husband and action hero Dwayne Johnson.

Entrepreneur John H. Schnatter, also known as Papa John, established Papa John's Pizza in the 1980s, using the money he got after selling his car. He resigned as the CEO of his company in 2018, following a controversy regarding his comments about protests by NFL players.


Chinese-born American entrepreneur, investor, and movie producer, Wendi Deng Murdoch, is an alumnus of Yale University. She is a co-founder of the online platform Artsy and was an advisor for MySpace's China operation. She was once married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. She produced the Netflix documentary Sky Ladder that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016.

The daughter of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, Christina Onassis had an unhappy life. She lost both her parents shortly after her brother’s accidental death. She married and divorced 4 times and had a long struggle with eating disorders. She tragically died of a heart attack at 37.
J. Bruce Ismay was an English businessman. He served as managing director and chairman of the popular shipping company White Star Line, which operated the ill-fated passenger liner RMS Titanic. In 1912, Ismay was subjected to severe criticism after surviving the sinking of the Titanic. In the 1997 film Titanic, J. Bruce Ismay was played by actor Jonathan Hyde.
Indian business magnate and ex-politician Vijay Mallya, known for his flamboyant lifestyle, has donned many hats, from running the largest alcohol company in India; to owning a cricket team and an F-1 team; to launching an airline. Following a financial fraud scandal, he is now facing extradition from the U.K.
Simonetta Stefanelli is an Italian fashion designer, entrepreneur, and former actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone in the popular crime film, The Godfather. After retiring from acting in 1992, Simonetta Stefanelli became an entrepreneur. She owns a fashion store called Simo Bloom, where she designs shoes and purses.

Napster co-founder Sean Parker was the first president of Facebook. He invested in Spotify and has been associated with Plaxo, Airtime.com, and Brigade. He created the Facebook app Causes, actively donates to cancer research, owns the Parker Foundation, and was listed on Time’s Healthcare 50 for his medical philanthropic efforts.
Investment banker Steven Mnuchin, who has served as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Donald Trump, has earlier been associated with Goldman Sachs, Sears Holdings, and Kmart. He later purchased IndyMac, renamed it OneWest Bank, and sold it to CIT Group. Mnuchin was also part of Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Santo Versace is an Italian businessman and politician. He is the president and co-CEO of Gianni Versace SpA, a luxury fashion company. He is also a shareholder of Viola Reggio Calabria Basketball. As a politician, he is a member of the Alliance for Italy political party. Previously, he was a member of The People of Freedom group.

Shiva Ayyadurai is an Indian-American engineer, scientist, and entrepreneur. He gained recognition after claiming to be the inventor of email, which is widely disputed even today. His claim is based on a software called EMAIL, which he wrote while studying at Livingston High School in the late-1970s. He is also known for his unfounded medical claims, including treatments for COVID-19.

Starting his career in the mail room of Paramount Pictures, producer and media tycoon Jeffrey Katzenberg rose to be the president of production at the company. He later revolutionized the Walt Disney Company and also co-established DreamWorks SKG along with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.



The son of a janitor and a domestic help, Herman Cain used his talent in math to join Purdue University. He had worked with the Navy and been an analyst for Coca-Cola. He later headed Pillsbury as its VP. He had announced his presidential candidacy in 2012 but later withdrew.

It is believed Sarah Willingham had begun working in the hospitality industry at age 13. Apart from managing the popular restaurants Planet Hollywood and Pizza Express, she also manages a huge portfolio that includes The Bombay Bicycle Club and The London Cocktail Club. She has also been part of Dragons' Den.


French designer Thierry Mugler was initially known for his skills in ballet and drawing. He began his fashion career working for a boutique in Paris and later launched his brand. He is known for his peculiar clothes, inspired by birds and insects, and made of metal and crystals.

William Griffith Wilson was an American social worker who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). An international fellowship that requires no membership fees, Alcoholics Anonymous aims at helping alcoholics through its Twelve Steps program. In 1999, William Griffith Wilson was named in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century list. His life and career inspired the 2012 documentary Bill W.


