Telecommunication

The richest person in Asia, Mukesh Ambani is an Indian billionaire business magnate. He is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL). The son legendary Dhirubhai Ambani, he started his career by helping his father build their family business. As of today, he is the only Indian businessman on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people.

Ratan Tata is a well-known Indian industrialist and the former charman of Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Sons. His reign as chairman was marked by acquisitions of iconic global brands, such as Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover and Corus by the Tata Group. Ratan Tata was instrumental in turning Tata Group from a largely India-centrist group into a global business.

Dhirubhai Ambani was an Indian business tycoon. He is credited with founding Reliance Industries, which is currently the largest company in the country in terms of revenue. Dhirubhai Ambani's life and career inspired the 2007 drama film Guru, in which his character was portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan.

Indian businessman Anil Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Group. Once the sixth richest person in the world, he declared bankruptcy in early 2020 though the veracity of his claim is questionable. He has served in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He has been involved in many controversies.

Chinese business magnate Ma Huateng, or Pony Ma, is best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of the technology giant Tencent. His company owns the messaging app WeChat. One of CEOWORLD’s Most Powerful People in the World, he was a delegate of the 12th National People's Congress.

Ren Zhengfei is a Chinese engineer and entrepreneur. He is credited with founding Huawei, the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones and the largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the world. He also serves as the CEO of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. In 2005, Ren Zhengfei was named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world list.

Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian industrialist best known as the chairman of the Indian multinational conglomerate company, Aditya Birla Group. He also serves as the chairman of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Delhi. Over the course of his career, Birla has received several honors like the Business Leader of the Year award and Outstanding Business Man of the Year award.

Jann Wenner is an American magazine mogul best known as the co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine. He is also credited with co-founding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other popular publications like Outside. During the 1970s and 1980s, Wenner played a key role in popularizing several writers like Greil Marcus, Hunter S. Thompson, and Cameron Crowe.

Irish media magnate Denis O’Brien, the owner of Communicorp and Digicel, got his first lessons in salesmanship from his father, who was pharma salesman. While in school, he excelled in rugby. Named one of the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015, he owns a philanthropic foundation, too.

German electrical engineer Werner von Siemens is remembered as a pioneer of the telegraph industry. The founder of Siemens also inspired the name to the SI unit of electrical conductance. He was part of the Prussian army and had begun his chemistry experiments while in prison for a minor crime.

Telecom magnate Mo Ibrahim was born in Sudan and educated in Egypt and the U.K. His company Celtel International was one of the pioneers in the mobile phone industry in Africa and the Middle East. He was featured on Forbes’s billionaire’s list and offers scholarships for African students through his foundation.

Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was a Saudi royal and an important figure in thoroughbred horse racing. Also a media executive, Ahmed bin Salman served as the chairman of a joint stock company named Saudi Research and Marketing Group.

Taher Elgamal is an Egyptian entrepreneur and cryptographer. Widely regarded as the father of SSL, Elgamal is best known for his work at Netscape Communications Corporation where he developed Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which helped establish a secure and private communications on the Internet. In 2019, Taher Elgamal was honored with the prestigious Marconi Prize along with Paul Kocher.  

Iqbal Quadir is a Bangladeshi entrepreneur who is credited with founding Grameenphone in Bangladesh. Quadir founded Grameenphone in an attempt to enhance self-employment opportunities for the poor. He is also credited with founding the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship. In 2007, he was named by Wharton Alumni Magazine in its 125 Influential People and Ideas list.

English physician and scientist Edward Davy is best known for his inventions such as his version of an electrochemical telegraph. He sold off the patent of his telegraph and moved to Australia later. He also developed the electromagnetic repeater. The Experimental Guide to Chemistry remains his most notable work.

Octávio Frias was a Brazilian businessman best remembered for turning Folha de S. Paulo, a newspaper acquired by him in 1962, into one of the most important and influential media organizations in Brazil. Folha de S. Paulo became the basis for a conglomerate named Grupo Folha.