Entrepreneurs

John Jacob Astor (English: John Jacob Astor; German: Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848), a German-American businessman and investor, a prosperous figure in the Astor family, one of the first millionaires in the United States, and the founder of the first trust in the United States. After the American Revolution, he immigrated to the United States and established a fur trading empire spanning the Great Lakes region, Canada, and later expanded to the West Coast of the United States. He also smuggled opium. Beginning in the early 19th century, he invested in real estate in New York City and became a well-known patron of artists in his later years.

John Davison Rockefeller (English: John Davison Rockefeller, July 8, 1839 - May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist, famous for revolutionizing the oil industry and shaping the modernization of philanthropy. In 1870, Rockefeller founded Standard Oil, which monopolized 90% of the U.S. oil market during its heyday, becoming the first billionaire in history and the richest man in the world. At its peak in 1914, his total wealth reached 2.4% of US GDP (US$900 million, US GDP was US$36.5 billion), which is equivalent to more than US$400 billion today. He is generally regarded as the richest man in the history of the Western world. He was attacked by journalists and public opinion throughout his career. Standard Oil was eventually found guilty of violating antitrust laws and was split into 34 companies in 1911. It was so large that one of its successors, ExxonMobil, is still one of the U.S. oil giants today. On the other hand, Rockefeller devoted the last 40 years of his life to philanthropy, mainly in the fields of education and medicine, and ended his direct management of Standard Oil in 1897. He funded the establishment of the Rockefeller Institute to fund medical research. His main contributions include: establishing the Harvard School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Denison University, and the Peking Union Medical College, eradicating hookworm and yellow fever in North America, sponsoring Hideyoshi Noguchi's research on syphilis pathogens, and Alexander Fleming's penicillin research. He also paid special attention to the black community and spent huge sums of money to improve black education. He was a devout North American Baptist and supported many institutions with a church background. Rockefeller founded the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University. Today, New York City also has many landmarks funded by the Rockefeller family, such as the United Nations Headquarters and Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller firmly believed that his purpose in life was to "make as much money as possible, save as much money as possible, and give as much money as possible." He became an unprecedented millionaire, but he lived a rigorous private life, never smoked or drank, and was diligent and self-sustaining throughout his life. In his later years, he donated most of his property to fund charities, setting a precedent for American rich people to do good, setting a precedent for today's rich people such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and becoming one of the most legendary and controversial figures in modern American history.

John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 - March 31, 1913), often called J. P. Morgan, was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate financing on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As leader of J.P. Morgan & Co., he was a driving force in the wave of industrial consolidation in the United States that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During his career on Wall Street, J.P. Morgan spearheaded the founding of several well-known multinational companies, including U.S. Steel, International Harvester, and General Electric, all of which later came under J.P. Morgan's supervision. He and his partners also owned controlling interests in many other U.S. businesses, including Aetna Life Insurance Co., Western Union, Pullman Co., and 21 railroad companies. Because J.P. Morgan's influence extends to top U.S. financial officials and members of Congress, his degree of dominance over U.S. finance allows him to exert huge influence on the country's policies and the market forces that support its economy. During the Panic of 1907, he organized a coalition of financiers to save the U.S. monetary system from collapse. As a leading financier of the Progressive Era, J.P. Morgan's dedication to efficiency and modernization helped transform the American economy. Adrian Waldridge describes J.P. Morgan as America's "greatest banker." In 1913, J.P. Morgan died in his sleep in Rome, Italy, at the age of 75. His body was later returned to New York, and flags on Wall Street were flown at half-mast as a mark of respect. He left his wealth and career to his son, J.P. Morgan Jr. Biographer Ron Chernow estimates his wealth at $80 million (equivalent to $2.61 billion in 2025).

John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV (English: John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV; July 13, 1864 - April 15, 1912), a German-American businessman and investor, a member of the Astor family, and one of the richest Americans. In the early morning of April 15, 1912, he died in the sinking of the Titanic. He was the richest passenger on the Titanic and one of the richest men in the world at the time, with a net worth of nearly $87 million at the time of his death (equivalent to $2.21 billion in 2017 currency).

Robert Bosch (September 23, 1861 - March 12, 1942) was a German entrepreneur, engineer and inventor, one of the pioneers of the industrial age. He was born in Ahlbeck near Ulm and died in Stuttgart. In 1886, he opened the "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering" in Stuttgart, laying the foundation for today's Robert Bosch Company.

Robert Toru Kiyosaki (April 8, 1947 -), born in Hawaii, United States, fourth-generation Japanese-American, is the main author of the Rich Dad series of books.

Luo Min (1983-), founder of Qudian.

James Beeland Rogers Jr. (English: James Beeland Rogers Jr., October 19, 1942 -) is a famous American investor, economic analyst, traveler, university professor and writer. He co-founded the Quantum Fund with Soros. He is famous for investing in commodity futures and is known as the "Commodity King".

Ronald Steven Lauder (English: Ronald Steven Lauder, February 26, 1944 -), or Ronald Lauder, is a Jewish-American billionaire, art collector, social activist, and currently the honorary chairman of Estée Lauder and president of the World Jewish Congress.

Ronald Wayne (English: Ronald Gerald Wayne, May 17, 1934 -) is a retired electronics industry worker. He co-founded Apple Computer (now Apple) with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and is responsible for major administrative supervision in the company. But he soon gave up his shares and founded a new company.

Luo Naixin (?—?) was a native of Xinhui, Guangdong, and a businessman in the late Qing Dynasty.

Yiwen Luo (Yiwen Luo, born April 29, 1963) is an industrialist born in the People's Republic of China. President of LAOX, a Japanese chain home appliance store, and President of Chinese Industrial Co., Ltd.

Weng Mao (May 22, 1949 - April 19, 2016) was an entrepreneur from mainland China and a native of Shanghai. Weng Mao graduated from the Department of Economics and Management of Fudan University. He transferred from the army in August 1978, and then served as the leader of the Shanghai Light Industry Bureau for 15 years. In 1992, he was transferred to the general manager of Guanshengyuan, and later became the chairman. Retired in 2010. At 9:25 a.m. on April 19, 2016, he was killed by a large rock pushed down from the mountain by a group of wild monkeys while traveling in the Xiaozhaigou Scenic Area in Yuntai Mountain, Jiaozuo, Henan. He was 67 years old.

Nie Qijie (October 1880 - December 12, 1953), also known as Yuntai, also known as Huijie, was a Chinese entrepreneur. Nie Qijie's ancestral home was Hengshan County, Hunan Province. He was born in Changsha, Hunan Province in October 1880. His father Nie Jichu (successively served as governor of Shanghai Daotai, Anhui, and Zhejiang). His mother, Zeng Jifen, was the daughter of Zeng Guofan. Nie Qijie ranks third. Moved to Shanghai in 1883. In 1893, he returned to Hunan to study as a scholar. He went to the United States to study and joined the Christian Brothers while studying abroad. In 1904, Futai Company was established in Shanghai and contracted to Huasheng Textile General Administration. In 1909, he acquired all the shares of Huasheng, changed its name to Hengfeng Textile New Bureau, and became the general manager. In 1915, he went to the United States for inspection and invited American cotton industry experts to China to investigate and help improve China's cotton cultivation. In 1917, he and Huang Yanpei initiated the establishment of the China Vocational Education Society. In 1919, it sponsored young Hunanese Cai Hesen, Li Weihan and others to study in France for work-study studies. In 1920, he was elected president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce. In 1921, he initiated the founding of China Iron Works to manufacture textile machinery. In 1922, the Great China Cotton Mill was built in Wusong. In May 1922, he organized the "State Council" in the name of the president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and published the "Draft Constitution of the State Council", proposing that "the Republic of China is a federated provincial republic". In 1926, he served as Director Hua of the Shanghai Public Settlement Bureau of Industry. In the same year, due to the serious losses of the Greater China Cotton Mill, he claimed to be ill and retired, closing himself up to think about his mistakes. I wanted to become a monk several times, but gave up because my mother was old. I practiced practice at home and became a Buddhist lay practitioner. From 1942 to 1943, he wrote a Buddhist pamphlet called "The Way to Preserve Wealth" to advise people to give away their wealth, which was serialized in Shenbao. In 1943, half of his leg was amputated due to bone tuberculosis. Died of illness in Shanghai on December 12, 1953, at the age of 73. He has written pamphlets such as "The Theory of Saving the Nation through Diligence and Thrift" and "Records of the Nie Family Association", and has translated books such as "Wireless Science" and "The Biography of Tolstoy".

Sean Parker (English: Sean Parker, December 3, 1979 -) was born in Virginia, United States. He is an American Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded Napster and Plaxo and was the first president of the well-known social networking site Facebook. He is also the co-founder of Causes, Airtime and Brigade. He is the founder and president of the Parker Foundation, which focuses on the life sciences, global public health, and civic engagement. In Forbes' 2022 list of global billionaires, he ranks 1,096th with a net worth of US$2.8 billion.

Major General Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 - July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviation officer, test pilot, and businessman. He was one of the first seven astronauts of NASA's Mercury Project. In 1961, he carried out the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission and became the first American astronaut to enter space. He was also the second human being to fly in space after Yuri Gagarin. Shepard graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1944. During World War II, he served in the surface forces in the Pacific Theater. He returned to the United States after the war, completed naval aviation training in 1947, and received a test pilot course in 1950, and gradually became one of the Navy's top pilots. In 1959, NASA selected Shepard to be one of the first seven astronauts on the Mercury Project. On May 5, 1961, Shepard participated in the Mercury-Redstone 3, the first manned mission of the Mercury Project, and entered space aboard the "Freedom 7" space capsule. The flight failed to enter geocentric orbit and was a sub-orbital space flight, but it was enough to make him the second human being in space and the first American astronaut to fly in space. During the mission, Shepard manually controlled the flight attitude of the spacecraft in the cabin, the first time in human history to accomplish this feat. In the final stage of the Mercury Project, Shepard was originally scheduled to complete the Mercury-Atlas 10 mission aboard the "Freedom 7 II" space capsule in 1963. It was planned to fly in space for three days, but the mission was eventually cancelled. After the Mercury Project ended, Shepard had the opportunity to become the commander of the first manned mission of the Gemini Project. However, in 1963, he was diagnosed with the inner ear disease Meniere's Syndrome, which caused dizziness, nausea and other symptoms. He was not suitable for participating in space projects and was grounded indefinitely. He was appointed director of the NASA Astronaut Office in November 1963, responsible for astronaut training and mission planning. In 1969, Shepard underwent surgery to regain his flying qualifications and began participating in the Apollo program. In 1971, he became the commander of Apollo 14 and piloted the Antares lunar module to land on the moon. He became the fifth astronaut to land on the moon, the oldest astronaut at the time of the moon landing, and the only one among the seven people of the Mercury Project to land on the moon. He hit two golf balls while on the moon's surface, the first human

Feodor Ingvar Kamprad (Swedish: Feodor Ingvar Kamprad, March 30, 1926 - January 27, 2018) was a Swedish entrepreneur and the founder of the furniture chain IKEA.

Fan Wei is an entrepreneur in the People's Republic of China and a member of the founding team of Fosun Group. He is currently the executive director and co-president of Fosun Group. He is mainly responsible for the investment and operation of the group's real estate sector.

Fan Huichun (1878 - August 29, 1972), named Jinchun, also known as Huichun, was a business tycoon and philanthropist who spanned various business fields in Shanghai during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Known as the "Ivory King" and "Diamond King", he has also made great achievements in the entertainment industry. He moved to Hong Kong in his later years and died in Hong Kong.

Fan Penngling (?—?), male, from Jianshui County, Yunnan Province, was an industrialist and constitutionalist politician in the late Qing Dynasty.

Mao Lixiang (1941-), male, native of Cixi, Zhejiang, is an entrepreneur and management researcher in the Chinese kitchenware industry, and is currently the chairman of Fotile Group.

Arakawa Minoru (Japanese: Arakawa Minoru/Arakawa Minoru, Romanized: Arakawa Minoru, September 3, 1946 -), Japanese entrepreneur. Former President of Nintendo of America and former President of Tetris Online. Son-in-law of former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Rong Zongjing (September 23, 1873 - February 10, 1938), formerly known as Zong Jin, also named Zong Jing, was born in Rongxiang, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. He was a famous national capitalist in modern China. Rong Zongjing is the brother of Rong Desheng and the uncle of Rong Yiren, the former Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China.

Rong Desheng, born Rong Zongquan (Rong Zongquan), was a prominent Chinese industrialist from Wuxi. Along with his elder brother Rong Zongjing, he co-founded the Rong Family Corporation in Shanghai, which grew to become the largest domestic enterprise in the cotton textile and flour industries during the Republic of China era. Following Rong Zongjing's death in 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Rong Desheng assumed control of the business empire. Despite facing significant financial pressure and threats to his life, he refused to sell the enterprise to Japanese interests.