3 Business Rock Stars Who Have Shaken Up Their Industries
August 20, 2008 · Print This Article
There are successful businessmen, and then there are successful businessmen who tower above the rest with innovative strategies that have propelled them into the realm of the rock star.
Beyond mere prosperity, these guys have achieved fame and fortune that most businessmen can only dream of, and they act as inspiration to many of the men and women who are out there trying to bring their own goals to fruition. Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban and Donald Trump stand out in each of their respective industries because of decisions and events both planned and accidental, and as a result, they’re enjoying the best of what can be achieved in business.
Steve Jobs – Technology should be an exciting industry, and that’s one belief that Steve Jobs has always displayed throughout his career. Over the years, as co-founder and CEO of Apple and majority shareholder of Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney, Steve has combined entertainment with technology with an emphasis on aesthetics. It’s something that none of his competitors have bothered to do, giving Apple an edge that makes the company’s products highly attractive to young people in particular. Steve helped transform the computer industry from an endless parade of bland, humdrum beige machines to elegant products that transcend function straight into the realm of fashionable. As a result, Apple has raised the bar to such an extent that other computer and electronics companies are still struggling to catch up.
Mark Cuban – Some people show signs of impending business success from a very early age, and Mark is one of those people. As a child, he calculated ways to make money, once netting $1,100 from a chain letter he started. The ‘technology maverick’ started his first company, MicroSolutions, in the ‘80s and soon sold it to CompuServe for a profit of $2 million after taxes. He then combined his interests in college basketball and webcasting along with friend Todd Wagner to start Audionet, which became Broadcast.com and sold to Yahoo in 1999 for $5.9 billion. Mark deftly diversified the wealth that he gained, landing at #133 on Forbes’ 2007 ‘World’s Richest People’ list with a net worth of about $1.2 billion. He’s best known for his opinionated, oft-controversial decisions as owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. He also provides business tips on his popular blog, Blog Maverick.
Donald Trump – It’s hard to like The Donald. He’s pompous, obnoxious – and then there’s that hair. But, you can’t deny that Donald Trump is extremely unique in his field – can you name a single other real estate developer who’s anywhere near as famous? Of course, from an early age Trump parlayed his privileged upbringing into a plethora of business opportunities, and began a series of large building projects in Manhattan with his father’s company, the Trump Organization in the early ‘70s. Over the years, Trump’s soap opera-like twists and turns through extreme wealth and bankruptcy gained him the fame that led to his current success as a television personality. His signature hairstyle and trademark catchphrase (“You’re Fired!”) have only added to the caricature that is Donald Trump.
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