American technology company founders

William Henry Gates III is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Following Microsoft's initial public offering in 1986 and the subsequent increase in its stock price, Gates became the world's then-youngest billionaire in 1987, at age 31. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's wealthiest person for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. Gates became the first centibillionaire in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed US$100 billion. According to Forbes, as of February 2026, his net worth stood at US$107.7 billion, making him the 18th-wealthiest individual in the world.

co-founder of Wikipedia (born 1966)

Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman, inventor, and investor. A pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with his early business partner Steve Wozniak as Apple Computer Company in 1976. After the company's board of directors fired him in 1985, he founded NeXT the same year and purchased Pixar in 1986, becoming its chairman and majority shareholder until 2007. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as CEO, where he was closely involved with the creation and promotion of many of the company's most influential products until his resignation in 2011.

Elon Reeve Musk is a businessman and entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of April 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$809 billion.

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American businessman, the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. According to Forbes, as of December 2025, Bezos's estimated net worth is US$239.4 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world. He was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021, according to Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur (born 1973)

American computer pioneer, inventor, computer engineer and programmer; co-founder of Apple Inc.

American billionaire businessman (born 1973)

American physicist and inventor (1910–1989)

Prime Minister of Israel from 2021 to 2022

Paul Gardner Allen was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Allen discovered the wrecks of various famous warships, like the IJN Musashi and USS Indianapolis, and was ranked as one of the richest people in American history by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death in October 2018.

American businessman and politician; 108th Mayor of New York City

American aviator, engineer, industrialist, and film producer (1905–1976)

Lawrence Joseph Ellison is an American businessman. He co-founded the software company Oracle Corporation, and was its CEO from 1977 to 2014. He now serves as its CTO and executive chairman. According to Forbes, as of early 2026, Ellison's estimated net worth is $201–203 billion, making him the world's sixth-richest person.

American computer programmer and businessman

Jared Corey Kushner is an American businessman, investor, and government official. Through his marriage to Ivanka Trump, he is the son-in-law of the 45th and 47th president of the United States Donald Trump. Kushner has served in official and informal roles in the first and second Trump administrations.

Michael Saul Dell is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies.

American software entrepreneur and co-founder of Twitter

American actress and singer

American economist (born 1955)

American educator (born 1976)

American co-founder of YouTube (born 1979)

Jen-Hsun Huang, commonly anglicized as Jensen Huang, is a Taiwanese and American business executive, electrical engineer, and philanthropist who is the founder, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company. As of April 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth at over US$180 billion, making him the seventh-wealthiest individual in the world.

Peter Andreas Thiel is a German and American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal (1998), Palantir Technologies (2003), and Founders Fund (2005), he was also the first outside investor in Facebook (2004). According to The New York Times, as of December 2025, Thiel's estimated net worth stood at US$27.5 billion, placing him among the 100 richest individuals in the world.

Canadian-American game programmer and designer

American businessman and politician (1930–2019)

Applied mathematician, computer scientist, and electrical engineer (1925–1996)

German-born American inventor and engineer (1922–2014)

American computer programmer and video game developer (born 1970)

Chinese-American businessman

American entrepreneur

American biotechnologist and businessman

founder of Yahoo!

British-American scientist and businessman (born 1959)

Mark Cuban is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertainment. From 2012 to 2025, he was also one of the main "sharks" on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank.

American businessman, co-founder of YouTube

American computer/Internet entrepreneur

American electrical engineer, businessman, and philanthropist (1912–1996)

American electrical engineer, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard (1913–2001)

American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer

American rapper

United States Secretary of the Interior

American entrepreneur, programmer and philanthropist

American computer scientist and entrepreneur (1942–1994)

United States Senator from Virginia

American computer programmer and entrepreneur (born 1983)

American scientist and inventor (1909–1991)

American video game designer and entrepreneur (born 1960)

American businessman

Ukrainian-born American entrepreneur, co-founder of WhatsApp

American computer engineer and founder of the Internet Archive

American artificial intelligence researcher

American businessman

American electrical engineer and astronaut (1930-2019)

American co-founder of LinkedIn, venture capitalist, and author

British video game developer, astronaut and entrepreneur

American businessman (1928-2012)

English-American programmer, venture capitalist, and essayist

American computer scientist, inventor and technology businessman (1940–2023)

American businessman (b. 1953)