Mayer Amschel Rothschild

Mayer Rothschild is the founder of modern banking. He introduced diversification, rapid communication, confidentiality and high volume to banking. He sold antiques, wineries, rare coins, and imported manufactured materials after leaving to take over his father’s business. Rothschild created the first international banking network, which had branches in London, Paris, Vienna and Naples. This empire spread throughout the world and today comprises real estate, venture capital, investment banking, corporate banking, private banking and trust, and asset management.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford is perhaps one of the most well-known businesspeople, mostly for quipping “People can have the Model T in any colour - so long as it’s black”. Henry Ford created assembly lines that were used for mass production of inexpensive goods: the concept is known as Fordism. Besides being known for creating the Model T, he also registered 161 patents. He and stockholders formed the Henry Ford Company in 1901. Henry’s vision was that the average American family should have transport and he priced the models at $825 in 1908. Soon, almost every American family had their own car.

Estée Lauder

Estée, born Josephine Esther Mentzer, sold hope to many young women in the late 1940s. Estée Lauder the company is known for many firsts: the first women’s cosmetic company to introduce a men’s line; the first dermatologist guided, allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetic brand; and the first vibrating mascara. Estée began her company by giving away samples to future clients; she was the first to use this sales technique. She is known for saying “There are no ugly women - only women who don’t care or who don’t believe they are attractive.” She was well skilled in the art of illusion — something that set her apart from her rivals and turned her into an empire.

Muhammad Yunus

Yunus and the bank that he founded, Grameen Bank, received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for creating economic and social development in Bangladesh. Though he is not the founder or creator of micro-credit, he created a bank that gave credit to those who would not normally qualify for traditional bank loans. Yunus’ bank relies on mutual trust and only gives credit to the poor, who are mostly women: these women need proof that they own less than half an acre of land. This micro-credit programme is now international: more than 100 countries use it.

Josiah Wedgwood

Josiah Wedgwood makes our list because he is one of earliest eighteenth-century craftsman to establish a brand. And he is certainly one of the few businessmen to use endorsements: Josiah’s celebrity endorsements were from Queen Charlotte and Empress Catherine II. He started what became known as Queen’s Ware and he promoted himself and his business as Josiah Wedgwood - ‘Potter to Her Majesty’

Aaron M Ward

Aaron M Ward is the father of the modern mail order system. He moved to Chicago and started the Montgomery Ward & Company in 1872. His reasoning was general merchants overcharged rural Americans, mostly farmers, for general merchandise. He created a one-page list of items, 8 by 12 inches, and marketed the company as “Satisfaction or your money back”. The company soon expanded and eleven years later, in 1883, the catalogue had grown to 240 pages featuring more than 10 000 items. This catalogue soon got known as the Wish Book, which was loved by many Americans.

Henry Robinson Luce

Henry Luce was the co-founder of 5 magazines: Time, Fortune, Life, House & Home, and Sports Illustrated. Time magazine, launched in 1923, is the magazine Luce is most known for and it was first weekly news magazine in the United States. Coming from a newspaper background — Chicago Daily News — he wanted to give Americans reading material that was different from the stodgy newspapers they were reading. Time magazine pioneered the use of a lighter writing style for serious news. It covered celebrities, the entertainment industry as well as pop culture. Its short articles that made sense of recent events became popular and sold more than 175 000 copies a week in the late 1920s.

Sakichi Toyoda

Mr Toyoda, a Yamaguchi Mura-born inventor, and his son founded Toyota Motor in 1937. Jidoka, or Autonomation in English, means that machines stop working when there is a problem on the production line. This is only one of Sakichi Toyoda’s innovations, and one that has helped to make Toyota the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the world. Toyoda constantly tried to better his inventions and produced 84 patents in his lifetime. His patents were the first to earn foreign investment and he is viewed as the father of the Japanese Industrial Revolution.

Anton Rupert

Anton Rupert started his empire with just £10 in 1941. He formed ‘Voorbrand’, a tobacco company, which later became Rembrandt Ltd and then got consolidated into Rothmans International. He was one of the greatest South African businessmen: he made it big internationally as well as locally and got named in the Forbes 500. Anton Rupert became a pioneer in the South African wine industry: he introduced the concept of ‘Wine Estate’ on bottle labels. He had wooden vats replaced with new oak barrels and invested in the newest technology.