Komal Ahmad was on her way to becoming a doctor when a chance encounter with a hungry, unhoused veteran changed her life. She founded Copia, an organization responsible for connecting nonprofits with more than 6.5 million pounds of potential food waste. She is also a...

Jim Kimsey cofounded America Online in his 40s after successful careers in the military and business. The tech company, which he led in its early days, proved to be his biggest financial success. Following his retirement in the mid-‘90s, he spent the remainder of his...

Jensen Huang developed toughness and resiliency while attending a reform school as a youth. After graduating from Stanford University, he cofounded the chip maker Nvidia. Still its CEO, he has become one of the world’s richest people, largely thanks to his prescience...

Joe Montana earned the nickname “Joe Cool” for his poise as quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. With four Super Bowl victories, three Super Bowl MVP awards, and two league MVP titles to his name, he has parlayed his success on the football field into a successful...

Tony Fadell parlayed a childhood fascination with computers into a career that saw him develop some of the most influential tech devices of all time. The "father of the iPod" and a co-inventor of the iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat, Fadell spent his early career...

Born in Mexico City, entrepreneur Pamela Valdes Esteva recognized the pervasive influence of drug cartel narratives in Latin American culture. Aiming to show people in her community that there are other paths to success, she cofounded Beek, an audio platform for...

Lanre Ogungbe recognized that businesses in emerging markets were lacking a secure verification system for processing payments. A graduate of Johns Hopkins' business school and the Y Combinator accelerator, he sought to fill this gap by launching Identitypass. ...

Carlos Slim drew on the financial lessons taught to him by his father to become a successful investor and the world’s richest man. Best known as the founder of Grupo Carso and the owner of telecommunications firms Telmex and América Móvil, he is also an award-winning...

Paul Allen became a billionaire after founding Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates. After leaving the company in 1983, he spent the rest of his life pursuing diverse interests, from buying professional sports teams to giving away his wealth to charity. ...

Alexis Ohanian cofounded Reddit intending to make it "the front page of the internet." He succeeded and was dubbed the “Mayor of the Internet” for his subsequent tech-industry advocacy. The husband of retired tennis star Serena Williams, Ohanian has also lent his...