6 Great Entrepreneurs

John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in history by most measures. He made his
fortune by squeezing out efficiencies through horizontal and vertical integrations that
made Standard Oil synonymous with monopoly - but also dropped the price of fuel
drastically for the everyday consumer. The government broke up Standard Oil for good
in 1911. Rockefeller's hand can still be seen in the companies like Exxon (NYSE:XOM
) and Conoco that profited from the R&D and infrastructure they received as their piece
of the breakup. Rockefeller retired at the turn of the century and devoted the rest of his
life to philanthropy. (More than 70 years after his death, this man remains one of the
great figures of Wall Street. Learn more, in J.D. Rockefeller: From Oil Baron To
Billionaire.)

Thomas Edison
There is no doubt that Edison was brilliant, but it's his business sense, not his talent as
an inventor, that clearly shows his intelligence. Edison took innovation and made it the
process now known as research and development. He sold his services to many other
companies before striking out on his own to create most of the electrical power
infrastructure of the United States. While Edison is a founder of General
Electric (NYSE:GE), many companies today owe their existence to him – Edison
Electric, Con Edison and so on. Although Edison had far more patents than he did
corporate ties, it is the companies that will carry his legacy into the future.

Henry Ford
Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. He was one of a group working on motorcars
and, arguably, not even the best of them. However, these competitors were selling
their cars for a price that made the car a luxury of the rich. Ford put America - not just
the rich - on wheels, and unleashed the power ofmass production in the bargain. His
Ford Model T was the first car to cater to most Americans - as long as they liked black.
Ford's progressive labor policies and his constant drive to make each car better, faster
and cheaper made certain that his workers and everyday Americans would
think Ford (NYSE:F) when they shopped for a car.

Walt Disney
The 1920s found Walt Disney on the verge of creating a cultural juggernaut. A gifted
animator for an advertising company, Disney began creating his own animated shorts in
a studio garage. Disney created a character inspired by the mice that roamed his office,
Mickey Mouse, and made him the hero of "Steamboat Willie" in 1928. The commercial
success of Mickey Mouse allowed Disney to create a cartoon factory with teams of
animators, musicians and artists. Disney turned that mouse into several amusement
parks, feature-length animations and a merchandising bonanza. After his death, the
growth has continued making Disney (NYSE:DIS), and his mouse, the founders of the
largest media company on earth.
Bill Gates
When people describe Bill Gates, the usually come up with "rich", "competitive" and
"smart." Of the three traits, it's Gates' competitive nature that has carved out his
fortune. Not only did he fight and win the OS and browser wars, but Gates stored up
the profits that came with the victories – and Microsoft's dominance – to fund future
fights and ventures. The Xbox is just one of the many sideline businesses that the
massive war chest has funded. The fact is that Microsoft's cash and Gates' reluctance to
pay it out is a big part of what saw the company through hard times and funded
expansion in good times.

Steve Jobs
Unlike most of the others on this list, it's possible that Steve Jobs' greatest
achievements are yet unwritten. Jobs co-founded Apple (NYSE:AAPL), one of the only
tech companies to offer a significant challenge to Microsoft's dominance. In contrast to
Gates' methodical expansion, Jobs' influence on Apple has been one of creative bursts.
Apple was a computer company when Jobs returned to it. Now, the iPod, the iPhone
and the iPad are the engines of growth that have pushed Apple past the once
unassailable Microsoft. When Apple surpassed Microsoft's market cap in 2010, it
became clear that investors that, with Jobs, the best is yet to come.
 6 Worst Entrepreneurs

6. Shervin Pishevar and Brogan BamBrogan, cofounders, HyperLoop One

In a wacky feud, BamBrogan and three executive coconspirators attempted a coup and
were ousted from the startup. The insurgents then sued Pishevar and HyperLoop One,
alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination, defamation, cronyism, nepotism and
a death threat involving a hangman’s noose. You just can’t make this stuff up. The suit
was later settled.

5. Dinesh Lathi, former CEO, One Kings Lane

After raising more than $200 million at a most recent valuation of $800 million under
then-CEO Doug Mack, who left to run Fanatics, Dinesh Lathi took over the company in
2014 and apparently ran the flash retailer into the ground. Bed Bath & Beyond acquired
the home furnishings site in June for just under $12 million.

4. Gurbaksh Chahal, founder and CEO, Gravity4

Despite pleading guilty to two counts of battery against his former girlfriend, using
political clout to attempt (unsuccessfully) to make the charges go away, getting ousted
as CEO of RadiumOne, a workplace harassment and retaliation lawsuit, a new assault
arrest against yet another girlfriend, the revocation of his probation and a one-year jail
sentence, Chahal is still running what’s left of Gravity4. Crazy.

3. Josh Tetrick, founder and CEO, Hampton Creek

In August and September, Bloomberg broke several stories alleging that Tetrick was
buying up his own Just Mayo to inflate sales figures and potentially defraud investors.
Tetrick claims that a recent $100 million funding round valued the startup at $750
million, but the vegan reportedly has a habit of stretching the truth. Now the feds are
investigating. So far, investors have his back, but for how long? It doesn’t look good.

2. Parker Conrad, founder and former CEO, Zenefits

As CEO of high-flying HR software startup Zenefits, Conrad promoted an aggressive
sales culture. That’s fine, but not circumventing state regulations by enabling
unlicensed salespeople to sell health insurance to small businesses. The scandal led
to Conrad’s resignation and a $2.5 billion decline in the company’s private valuation.

1. Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO, Theranos

I took a lot of flak for naming Holmes the worst entrepreneur of 2015, but the last 12
months has shown the world what some off us saw from the beginning: that the self-
promoting founder and her purported breakthrough technology that would transform
the lab testing industry were frauds. Once valued at $9 billion, Theranos has
abandoned its much-touted blood testing service and faces lawsuits from Walgreens,
investors and customers. This will not end well for Holmes and company.