5 Men Who Have Had More Influence On Business Than Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is a titan of the business world. He co-founded and built Apple into the world’s most valuable company and reached a point where it had twice as much liquid cash than the U.S. government. His passing left a seemingly unfillable void in the realm of both technology and the boardroom, but how does the great man rank alongside the best in the business?

The founder of the eponymously named car company, Mr. Ford not only launched one of the most successful and well known companies of all time, he pioneered the very concept of mass production. Founding the most prevalent method of economic growth and key capitalist driver is a serious legacy to leave behind. Probably the most influential business magnate to walk the planet to date.

Snowballing these three into a single package, the co-founders of Google have had a pivotal role in shaping our lives since the turn of the century. The internet is a pretty glorious thing and Google is arguably the most important and significant company tied to it. The company name has become a verb and we’d hazard a bet that it’s by some distance the most visited website ever.

You don’t become the planet’s richest man without some serious acumen. The Microsoft co-founder is the pinup of business, entrepreneurship, technology, invention and philanthropy. His personal wealth is in excess of $76bn and he’s pledged to give at least half of that to charity when he meets his end. What a man.

Possibly the most important banker to ever live; his investments shaped key industries and firms, even today, including U.S. Steel, General Electric, and AT&T. His methods and mantra shaped American business and it’s been suggested his influence was the reason the U.S. decided it needed a central bank – the Federal Reserve came into fruition a year after his death.

You don’t just create one of the most successful retail outlets ever by accident. Walton founded Walmart in 1962 and whilst he may not have invented the supermarket, he perfected it into something we all know today. The biggest employer in America, had he not passed away in 1992, Walton would have outstripped Bill Gates’ personal wealth by some distance; estimates reckon he would have surpassed $100bn by now. Having grown up in poverty, Walton was the embodiment of that all elusive “American Dream”.

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