UN-001 · 1835
Steel · Pittsburgh
Andrew Carnegie — From Bobbin Boy to the Richest Man in the World
$480M (1901 sale) · Risen & gave it away
UN-002 · 1867
Hair care · Indianapolis
Madam C. J. Walker — the Washerwoman Who Became America’s First Self-Made Female Millionaire
~$600k–700k estate (1919) · Risen
UN-003 · 1839
~$900M peak (1913) · Risen & gave it away
UN-004 · 1794
Shipping & rail · New York
Cornelius Vanderbilt — the Ferry Boy Who Built an Empire of Steam
~$100M+ (1877) · Risen
UN-005 · 1829
Dry goods · San Francisco
Levi Strauss — the Immigrant Peddler Who Invented the Blue Jean
~$6M–$30M estate (1902) · Risen
UN-006 · 1870
Banking · San Francisco
A. P. Giannini — the Orphan Clerk Who Became the Banker for the ‘Little Fellow’
world's largest bank · Risen (modest by choice)
UN-007 · 1918
Retail · Bentonville, Arkansas
Sam Walton — the Five-and-Dime Operator Who Built Walmart
richest American (Forbes 1982–88) · Risen
UN-008 · 1906
Shipping · Greece / Argentina
Aristotle Onassis — the Refugee Who Became the World’s Richest Shipowner
world's top shipowner · Risen
UN-009 · 1883
global couture house · Risen, with a wartime stain
UN-010 · 1875
Retail · Kemmerer, Wyoming
James Cash Penney — the $2.27-a-Month Clerk Who Built a Department-Store Empire
~1,400 stores by 1929 · Risen, ruined & rebuilt
UN-011 · 1908
Cosmetics · New York
Estée Lauder — the Queens Shopkeeper’s Daughter Who Built a Cosmetics Empire
global cosmetics empire · Risen
UN-012 · 1954
first Black woman billionaire · Risen
UN-013 · 1936
Technology · Silicon Valley
Andrew Grove — the Refugee Who Ran Intel
CEO of Intel · Risen
UN-014 · 1902
Fast food · Illinois
Ray Kroc & the McDonald’s Machine — the Milkshake Salesman at 52
~$600M at death (1984) · Risen
UN-015 · 1928
Manufacturing & property · Hong Kong
Li Ka-shing — the Plastic-Flower Maker Who Became Asia’s Richest Man
richest man in Asia · Risen