36 Great Entrepreneurs Who Started Companies That Last

“Great Founders have a characteristic most employees, and college students lack. They learn how to “figure it out.” — Murray Johannsen.

Those who wish to try their hand at making history books can study past and current Great Founders to figure out how they did what they did. In addition, you get hints and many insights into what it means to be an exceptional entrepreneur from your study.

If you want to be great, study great people. You should primarily study them in the early days when the organization was just starting.

Here is a list worth looking into, roughly divided into the century where they built their business.

Sections of this Page

Already Famous 21st Century Entrepreneurs

A growing list for sure. Expect great things from these Founders.

Bezos, Jeff – Internet (Amazon)
Branson, Richard – Virgin Group (various industries
Ma, Jack (Alibaba) – Business To Business Commerce
Musk, Elan (PayPal, Tesla, Space X, The Boring Company)
Winfrey, Oprah – Entertainment
Zuckerberg, Mark – Social Media (Facebook)

A-List of Twenty-One Great Founders from the 20th century

If it is anyone who should not be a Great Founder, it was Jobs. After all, aren't you supposed to get a business degree from a university? Image by: Matthew Yohe — If it is anyone who should not be a Great Founder, it was Jobs. After all, aren’t you supposed to get a business degree from a university? Image by: Matthew Yohe

Durant, William – Automobiles (General Motors)
Ellison, Larry – Software (Oracle)
Fields, Debbi – Cookies (Mrs. Fields)
Ford, Henry – Automobiles (Ford Motor Company)
Gates, William – Software (Microsoft)
Jobs, Steve & Wozniak, Steve – (Pixar Studios & Apple Computer)
Li Ki-Shing (CK Hutchinson Holdings) – Various Industries
Johnson, Robert & Johnson, James – Medical Products (Johnson & Johnson)
Marriott, J. W. – Hospitality
Mayer, Louis B. – Entertainment (MGM)
Merck, George – Medical Products (Merck)
Morita, Akio and Ibuka, Masaru – Consumer Electronics (Sony)
Nordstrom, John & Wallin, Carl – Retail Clothing (Nordstrom)
Packard, David – Electronics (Hewlett-Packard)
Paul, Galvin – Electronics (Motorola)
Pfizer, Charles & Erhart, Charles – Medical Products (Pfizer)
Walton, Sam – Discount Retail (Wal-Mart)

12 Extremely Successful 19th Century Industrialists

In some respects, Andrew Carnegie is the ideal of a Great Man. For he spent the early part of his life creating his fortune, and the latter part of his life giving it away. A great deal of his fortune was spent on libraries and universities. Photograph by: Theodore C. Marceau — In some respects, Andrew Carnegie is the ideal of a Great Man. He spent the early part of his life creating his fortune and the latter part of his life giving it away. A great deal of his fortune was spent on libraries and universities. Photograph by: Theodore C. Marceau

Barnum, P.T. – Entertainment (Barnum & Bailey)
Boeing, William – Aerospace (Boeing & Co.)
Bristol, William & Myers, Ripley – Medical Products (Bristol-Meyers)
Carnegie, Andrew – Steel (Carnegie Steel)
Colgate, William – Consumer Products (Colgate)
du Pont, Eleuthère Irénée, – Chemicals (DuPont)
Edison, Thomas – Electronics (General Electric)
Giannini, P. – Banking (Bank of America)
Hall, Joyce – Greeting Cards (Hallmark)
Hershey, Milton – Chocolate
Proctor, William & Gamble, James – Consumer Products (Proctor and Gamble)
Rockefeller, John D. – Oil (Standard Oil)
Wells, Henry & Fargo, William – Banking (Wells Fargo)
Westinghouse, George – Electronics (Westinghouse)

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