The Most Influential Entrepreneurs of the 21st Century

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Within the last couple of decades, entrepreneurship has taken off. Entrepreneurs are some of the most influential people in the world, creating businesses and inventions that can benefit people everywhere. Everyone is familiar with names like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, the inventors of Microsoft and Apple, respectively, but here are some lesser known (and some not) entrepreneurs who have majorly influenced the world within the last 20 or so years.

 

Larry Page – Google

 

Page co-founded the search engine, Google, with his partner, Sergey Brin. The two were attending Stanford University when they created Google, which is now the most popular search engine worldwide and affects nearly anything people do on the internet. Page is currently the chief executive of the company.

 

Sergey Brin – Google

 

After co-founding Google with Page, Brin takes the helm for special projects done with Google, such as Alphabet. Alphabet is the new holding company for Google, which also covers various other business ventures connected to the company. This holding company oversees various smaller companies, like Google, but also Youtube, Android, and a few others.

 

Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook

 

Now the largest social media platform, Zuckerberg hatched the idea for Facebook with his roommate in their dorm at Harvard. Initially, Facebook was exclusively for Harvard students, but within two years it was open to anyone over the age of 13. A unique platform for college students is now one of the most popular ways for people all over the world to communicate and connect with one another.

 

Jeff Bezos – Amazon

 

Amazon has completely changed the way people shop, thanks to Jeff Bezos. The company is the largest retailer on the internet and leads the online shopping experience, having partnerships with numerous companies and independent workers. Amazon provides people all over the world easy access to products they want, while also giving them great deals.

 

John Mackey – Whole Foods

 

Whole Foods became as a small supermarket chain in Texas, but has expanded across the country. The store features foods without artificial preservatives or flavors and has brought national attention to the organic food movement. People all over the country love Whole Foods and the company is still growing, expanding its chain of stores to more remote locations every year.

 

Elon Musk – Tesla
Elon Musk is one of the most well-known names in the entrepreneur industry today. While he’s the founder and/or CEO of various companies, he’s best known for his roles with SpaceX and Tesla Motors. These two companies are leading in technology for autonomous cars (which seem more like the future each day) and space technology, like rockets and spacecraft. Musk himself is an engineer, so he does a lot of hands-on work within these companies.