This is a list of entrepreneurs by century. An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.^[1] This list includes notable entrepreneurs.

<18th-century entrepreneurs

• Regina Basilier (1572–1631), Swedish-German banker, trader and investor
• Birgitta Durell (1619–1683), Dutch-Swedish manufacturer-industrialist
• Louis De Geer (1587–1652), Walloon-born Dutch-Swedish businessman and industrialist; active mainly in the Dutch Republic and Sweden
• Isaac Le Maire (c.1558–1624), Walloon-born Dutch businessman and investor; active mainly in the Dutch Republic
• Johan Palmstruch (1611–1671), Latvian-born Dutch-Swedish businessman, investor, and financial innovator; active mainly in the Dutch Republic and Sweden
• Pierre-Paul Riquet (1609–1680), French entrepreneur, creator of the Canal du Midi

18th-century entrepreneurs

• Anna Elisabeth Baer 1878–1955 (shipping business), Finland
• Samuel Crompton 1753–1827 (spinning mule), Great Britain
• Caroline Gother 1761–1836 (banking), Sweden
• Johns Hopkins 1795–1873 (personal business), U.S.
• Anna Lohe 1654–1731 (banking business), Sweden
• Thomas Newcomen 1664–1729 (steam engine), Great Britain
• Charlotta Richardy 1751–1831 (manufacture), Sweden
• Brigitta Sahlgren 1694–1771 (sugar), Sweden
• James Watt 1736–1819 (tugboats), Great Britain
• Robert Wood Johnson I 1845–1910 (medical device), U.S.

19th-century entrepreneurs

• John Jacob Astor (real estate), U.S.
• Augusta Björkenstam (transportation), Sweden
• Andrew Carnegie (steel), Pittsburgh, U.S. and Scotland
• James Buchanan Duke (tobacco), U.S.
• Thomas Alva Edison (film, telecommunication, technology, scientific research, energy), U.S.
• Charles T. Hinde (shipping, railroads, hotels), U.S.
• Quah Beng Kee (Ferry, Shipping), Penang, Malaysia
• Biddy Mason (real estate), California, U.S.
• J. P. Morgan (finance), U.S.
• Antoinette Nording (perfume), Sweden
• John D. Rockefeller (oil), U.S.
• Joseph Seligman (banking), U.S.
• Eugene Sharrer (plantations, retail, river steamers), Nyasaland (present-day Malawi)
• Claus Spreckels (sugar industry), Germany
• Leland Stanford (railroads), California, U.S.
• Levi Strauss (retail), U.S./Germany
• Jamsetji Tata (shipping, steel industry, hotels, education), India
• Nikola Tesla (AC induction motor), U.S., Yugoslavia (born in Austro-Hungarian Empire)
• Alessandro Torlonia (banking), Italy^[2]
• Richard Trevithick (mining and steam engines), Great Britain
• Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads), U.S.
• George Westinghouse (railroad braking, switching, and signalling systems; commercialization of natural gas; development, transmission and application of AC electricity), U.S.

20th-century entrepreneurs

• Agha Hasan Abedi (banking), Pakistan
• Paul Allen (computers, scientific research, real estate, media, education, entertainment, artificial intelligence, space, philanthropy), U.S.
• Dhirubhai Ambani (reliance industries), India
• Mary Kay Ash (cosmetics), U.S.
• Bang Si-hyuk (music), South Korea
• Otto Beisheim (retail), Germany
• William Boeing (aviation), U.S.
• Warren Buffett (investor), U.S.
• Richard Branson (media, transportation, space), UK
• Coco Chanel (fashion), France
• Michael Dell (computers), U.S.
• Richard M. DeVos, Sr. (multi-level marketing), U.S.
• Walt Disney (animation), U.S.
• Larry Ellison (computers), U.S.
• Fan Hongwei (petrochemicals), China
• Enzo Ferrari (sports cars), Italy
• Henry Ford (automobile manufacturing), U.S.
• Bill Gates (computers, philanthropy, investments) U.S.
• Henry Hu (technology), Hong Kong
• Howard Hughes (aviation, film), U.S.
• Steve Jobs (computers, technology, animation), U.S.
• Dean Kamen (technology), U.S.
• Ingvar Kamprad (retail), Sweden
• Vinod Khosla (technology), U.S.
• Ferruccio Lamborghini (sports cars), Italy
• Estée Lauder (cosmetics), U.S.
• Jorge Loring Martinez (aviation), Spain
• Vijay Mallya (breweries), India
• Terry Matthews (technology), Canada
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (biotechnology), India
• Vince McMahon (entertainment media), U.S.
• Sunil Mittal (telecommunication), India
• N. R. Narayana Murthy (information technology), India
• Nian Guangjiu (food), China
• Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (transportation, manufacturing), Nigeria
• Qin Yinglin (agriculture), China
• Anita Roddick (retail), UK
• Michael J. Saylor (Internet), U.S.
• Magnús Scheving (entertainment, health), Iceland
• Carlos Slim (telecommunications), Mexico
• Alan Sugar (technology), UK
• J. R. D. Tata (steel, aviation, information technology, transportation, cosmetics, consumer products, education), France/India
• Ted Turner (entertainment media), U.S.
• Madam C.J. Walker (retail, philanthropy), U.S.
• Sam M. Walton (retail), US
• Oprah Winfrey (entertainment), U.S.
• Steve Wozniak (computers, technology, education, philanthropy), U.S.
• George Lucas (entertainment), U.S.
• Zhong Huijuan (pharmaceuticals), China

21st-century entrepreneurs

• Annisul Huq (Business and television)
• Brian Acton (Internet), U.S.
• Ritesh Agarwal (Internet), India
• Bhavish Aggarwal (Internet), India
• Charles T. Akre (securities), U.S.
• Folorunso Alakija (fashion, oil and gas), Nigeria
• Rod Aldridge (business process outsourcing, education), UK
• Pierre Andurand (investments), France
• Trishneet Arora (Cyber Security), India
• Sachin Bansal (Internet), India
• Eike Batista (mining, oil and gas exploration), Brazil
• Steve Baxter (Internet), Australia
• David Benaron (digital health), U.S.
• Jeff Bezos (Internet, space), U.S.
• Constantin Bisanz (Investor), U.S.
• Joe Blackman (events, entertainment), UK/U.S.
• Ryan Blair (multi-level marketing), U.S.
• Sara Blakely (retail), U.S.
• Hernán Botbol (Internet), Argentina
• Sergey Brin (Internet), U.S.
• Tory Burch (retail), U.S.
• Malcolm CasSelle (Internet), U.S./China
• Lee Chambers (psychologist) (healthcare), UK
• Sean Combs (music and entertainment), U.S.
• Nancy Cruickshank (Internet), UK
• Mark Cuban (Internet), U.S.
• Nick D'Aloisio (Internet), UK
• Aliko Dangote (manufacturing, real estate, oil and gas), Nigeria
• Jack Dorsey (Internet), U.S.
• Helmy Eltoukhy (genomics), U.S.
• Shawn Fanning (Internet), U.S.
• Rihanna (cosmetics), Barbados
• Jon Fisher (Internet), U.S.
• Peter Gilgan (construction), Canada
• Vishal Gondal (video gaming), India
• Reid Hoffman (Internet), U.S.
• Drew Houston (Internet), U.S.
• Arianna Huffington (Internet), U.S.
• Steve Huffman (Internet), U.S.
• Jessica Huie (greeting cards), UK
• Mohammed Ibrahim (telecommunication), Sudan
• Daymond John (clothing), U.S.
• Lisa S. Jones (technology), U.S.
• Elle Kaplan (finance), U.S.
• David Karp (Internet), U.S.
• Sal Khan (education), U.S.
• Jin Koh (entrepreneur), U.S.
• Jan Koum (Internet), U.S.
• Jeremy Levitt (Internet), Australia
• Jack Ma (Internet), China
• Ana Maiques (healthcare), Spain
• Fadi Makki (trade), Middle East (Lebanon, Qatar)
• Strive Masiyiwa (telecommunication), Zimbabwe
• Rudy A. Mazzocchi (healthcare), U.S.
• Javier Moll (media), Spain/Australia
• Dave Morin (Internet), U.S.
• Rupert Murdoch (media, entertainment), UK/U.S.
• Elon Musk (Internet, space, energy, neurotechnology, transportation, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, electric cars), U.S./South Africa
• Carrie Rose (Internet), UK
• Andrew Nisbet (catering), UK
• Phiwa Nkambule (Internet), South Africa
• Alexis Ohanian (Internet), U.S.
• Larry Page (Internet), U.S.
• Sean Parker (Internet), U.S.
• Melanie Perkins (Internet), Australia
• Stefano Pessina (healthcare), Italy
• Michelle Phan (Internet), U.S.
• Manny Phesto (music, cannabis/CBD), U.S.
• Azim Premji (information technology services), India
• Kelsey Ramsden (construction, children's toys), Canada
• Burton Rocks (Internet), U.S.
• Kevin Rose (Internet), U.S.
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Internet), India
• Param Singh (Internet, property), UK
• Lane Sutton (Internet), U.S.
• Kevin Systrom (Internet), U.S.
• Rodrigo Teijeiro (Internet), Argentina/Brazil
• Tânia Tomé (Consultancy, Investment & training), Mozambique
• Wang Jianlin (real estate development), China
• Emily Weiss (beauty), U.S.
• Anne Wojcicki (personal genomics), U.S.
• Wu Yajun (property developer), China
• Malala YoU.S.fzai (education), Pakistan
• Mark Zuckerberg (Internet), U.S.
• Dylan Field (Software), U.S.
• Motoaki Tanigo (Virtual Reality), Japan
• Masayoshi Son (Venture Capital), Japan