5 Powerful Magnates in the Financial Industry
- George Soros
- Warren Buffett
- Michael Bloomberg
- Janet Yellen
- Abigail Johnson
As some of the most influential individuals in the world of business, finance leaders play an extremely important role. They are the ones who set trends when it comes to:
- buying decisions
- impacting the political spheres
- setting precedents on investment strategies
So, who are five of the most impactful experts who have left a permanent mark on the financial sector?
1. George Soros
Known as the man who broke the bank of England, Soros is a billionaire who lived through the Nazi occupation in Hungary. He later moved to England where he founded the “Quantum Fund” that engaged in a popular shorting of the British pound in 1992. Although the endeavor was extremely risky, it ended up earning Soros’ fund a billion dollars in just one day. He has since relocated to the United States and became one of the most active financial leaders when it comes to the world of politics.
2. Warren Buffett
Out of every finance leader in the world, Warren Buffett probably requires the least introduction. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway got into investing when he was only 11 years old. His intuition about companies that will grow in value enabled him to accumulate billions of dollars by investing in companies like Coca-Cola and American Express. Forbes has documented the value of his financial expertise. It compared the value of his company from its start in 1964 to the multimillion dollar company it is today.
3. Janet Yellen
Although she is not known for having a mind-boggling net worth like some other financial pundits on this list, Yellen has had more impact on the American economy than almost all of them. She served four years as a Vice Chair for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System starting in 2010. In 2014, she became the Chair and spent the next four years working on strategies to help with the national debt. One of the tangible impacts she has made is a $3 trillion stimulus that was put into the U.S. economy to help it grow during her term.
4. Michael Bloomberg
As one of the very few magnates who made a successful transition into politics, Bloomberg served as the mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2014. This, however, came after he had already earned himself a place on the list of 15 richest people in the world with an estimated net worth of $46 billion. His time in public office was characterized by a many policies, including the smoking ban. After leaving political office, he returned to his company, Bloomberg, L.P. He completely revamped the way in which the business was managed.
5. Abigail Johnson
Although her grandfather founded Fidelity, Abigail Johnson has been the CEO of this international financial conglomerate since 2014. She currently stands as the ninth wealthiest woman in the world. Her net worth exceeds $15 billion. After getting her education at Harvard Business School, she assumed the role of an analyst at Fidelity. Now, more than 30 years since she first joined the company in high school, she oversees over $5 trillion in assets handled by her grandfather’s business. She is also the first and only woman to serve on the Financial Services Forum.
Other notable names that should be mentioned include:
- Larry Fink
- Charles Merrill
- Stephen Schwarzman
These finance leaders have impacted the landscape of the financial industry beyond what anyone thought possible!
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