CUE Research · Study 7
Founders of the World’s Most Valuable Companies
The people who founded the 500 most valuable listed companies, by head count and by the company value behind them.
The question: Do the people who build the world’s biggest companies share numbers, signs or birthdays?
What stands out
No clear differences. Across every group of 50 or more and every measure, the numbers are within what chance produces.
Where the company value is
No slice of the company value is bigger than random birthdays regularly produce.
Money patterns are tested again on the next published list. A pattern that holds on new data is evidence; one that does not was luck.
Worth watching, not enough to claim
- Birth month
U.S. companies: Apr appears only 3 times against about 13.3 expected.
All founders: every birth quarter is within normal variation of random birthdays from the same years.
All founders Expected, random birthdays 1621–1987 Clear difference Worth watching
See all 211 in “All founders”
| # | Name | Born | Detail | Life Path | Sun | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jensen Huang | 1963-02-17 | NVIDIA (#1) | 11 | Aquarius | Cat |
| 1 | Chris Malachowsky | 1959-05-02 | NVIDIA (#1) | 4 | Taurus | Pig |
| 2 | Steve Jobs | 1955-02-24 | Apple (#2) | 28/1 | Pisces | Goat |
| 2 | Ronald Wayne | 1934-05-17 | Apple (#2) | 3 | Taurus | Dog |
| 2 | Steve Wozniak | 1950-08-11 | Apple (#2) | 7 | Leo | Tiger |
| 3 | Larry Page | 1973-03-26 | Alphabet (Google) (#3) | 4 | Aries | Ox |
| 3 | Sergey Brin | 1973-08-21 | Alphabet (Google) (#3) | 4 | Leo | Ox |
| 4 | Bill Gates | 1955-10-28 | Microsoft (#4) | 4 | Scorpio | Goat |
| 4 | Paul Allen | 1953-01-21 | Microsoft (#4) | 22/4 | Aquarius | Dragon |
| 5 | Jeff Bezos | 1964-01-12 | Amazon (#5) | 6 | Capricorn | Cat |
| 6 | Morris Chang | 1931-07-10 | TSMC (#6) | 22/4 | Cancer | Goat |
| 7 | Elon Musk | 1971-06-28 | SpaceX (#7) | 7 | Cancer | Pig |
| 8 | Mark Zuckerberg | 1984-05-14 | Meta Platforms (Facebook) (#8) | 5 | Taurus | Rat |
| 8 | Eduardo Saverin | 1982-03-19 | Meta Platforms (Facebook) (#8) | 33/6 | Pisces | Dog |
| 8 | Dustin Moskovitz | 1984-05-22 | Meta Platforms (Facebook) (#8) | 4 | Gemini | Rat |
| 8 | Chris Hughes | 1983-11-26 | Meta Platforms (Facebook) (#8) | 4 | Sagittarius | Pig |
| 8 | Andrew McCollum | 1983-09-04 | Meta Platforms (Facebook) (#8) | 7 | Virgo | Pig |
| 11 | Marc Tarpenning | 1964-06-01 | Tesla (#11) | 9 | Gemini | Dragon |
| 11 | Martin Eberhard | 1960-05-15 | Tesla (#11) | 9 | Taurus | Rat |
| 15 | Eli Lilly | 1838-07-08 | Eli Lilly (#15) | 8 | Cancer | Dog |
| 16 | Edwin Turney | 1929-03-26 | AMD (#16), AMD (#16) | 5 | Aries | Snake |
| 16 | Jerry Sanders | 1936-09-12 | AMD (#16), AMD (#16) | 4 | Virgo | Rat |
| 16 | Jack Gifford | 1941-01-11 | AMD (#16), AMD (#16) | 9 | Capricorn | Dragon |
| 19 | Sam Walton | 1918-03-29 | Walmart (#19) | 33/6 | Aries | Horse |
| 20 | Dee Hock | 1929-03-21 | Visa (#20) | 9 | Aries | Snake |
| 23 | Edward Mead Johnson | 1852-04-23 | Johnson & Johnson (#23) | 7 | Taurus | Rat |
| 23 | James Wood Johnson | 1856-03-17 | Johnson & Johnson (#23) | 4 | Pisces | Dragon |
| 23 | Robert Wood Johnson I | 1845-02-15 | Johnson & Johnson (#23) | 8 | Aquarius | Snake |
| 24 | Robert Noyce | 1927-12-12 | Intel (#24) | 7 | Sagittarius | Cat |
| 24 | Gordon Moore | 1929-01-03 | Intel (#24) | 7 | Capricorn | Dragon |
| 24 | Andrew Grove | 1936-09-02 | Intel (#24) | 3 | Virgo | Rat |
| 29 | Peter Thiel | 1967-10-11 | Palantir (#29) | 8 | Libra | Goat |
| 29 | Joe Lonsdale | 1982-09-12 | Palantir (#29) | 5 | Virgo | Dog |
| 29 | Stephen Cohen | 1982-09-30 | Palantir (#29) | 5 | Libra | Dog |
| 29 | Alexander C. Karp | 1967-10-02 | Palantir (#29) | 8 | Libra | Goat |
| 32 | Larry Ellison | 1944-08-17 | Oracle (#32), Oracle (#32) | 7 | Leo | Monkey |
| 32 | Bob Miner | 1941-12-23 | Oracle (#32), Oracle (#32) | 5 | Capricorn | Snake |
| 33 | James Sinegal | 1936-01-01 | Costco (#33) | 3 | Capricorn | Pig |
| 33 | Jeffrey Brotman | 1942-09-27 | Costco (#33) | 7 | Libra | Horse |
| 35 | Amadeo Giannini | 1870-05-06 | Bank of America (#35) | 9 | Taurus | Horse |
| 36 | David K. Lam | 1943-02-10 | Lam Research (#36) | 11 | Aquarius | Goat |
| 38 | John Pemberton | 1831-07-08 | Coca-Cola (#38) | 28/1 | Cancer | Cat |
| 38 | Asa Griggs Candler | 1851-12-30 | Coca-Cola (#38) | 3 | Capricorn | Pig |
| 40 | Heinrich Emanuel Merck | 1794-09-15 | Merck (#40) | 9 | Virgo | Tiger |
| 40 | Carl Merck | 1823-12-06 | Merck (#40) | 5 | Sagittarius | Goat |
| 40 | Friedrich Jacob Merck | 1621-02-18 | Merck (#40) | 3 | Aquarius | Rooster |
| 40 | Wilhelm Merck | 1833-10-11 | Merck (#40) | 9 | Libra | Snake |
| 40 | Georg Merck | 1825-01-20 | Merck (#40) | 1 | Aquarius | Monkey |
| 43 | Michael Dell | 1965-02-23 | Dell (#43) | 28/1 | Pisces | Snake |
| 45 | Thomas Sutherland | 1834-08-16 | HSBC (#45) | 4 | Leo | Horse |
| 46 | James Gamble | 1803-04-03 | Procter & Gamble (#46) | 1 | Aries | Pig |
| 46 | William Procter | 1801-12-07 | Procter & Gamble (#46) | 11 | Sagittarius | Rooster |
| 47 | Thomas Edison | 1847-02-11 | General Electric (#47) | 33/6 | Aquarius | Horse |
| 47 | Edwin J. Houston | 1847-07-09 | General Electric (#47) | 9 | Cancer | Goat |
| 47 | Elihu Thomson | 1853-03-29 | General Electric (#47) | 4 | Aries | Ox |
| 47 | Charles A. Coffin | 1844-12-31 | General Electric (#47) | 6 | Capricorn | Dragon |
| 49 | Robin Saxby | 1947-02-04 | Arm Holdings (#49), Arm Holdings (#49) | 9 | Aquarius | Pig |
| 51 | Dean G. Witter | 1887-08-02 | Morgan Stanley (#51) | 7 | Leo | Pig |
| 51 | Henry Sturgis Morgan | 1900-10-24 | Morgan Stanley (#51) | 8 | Scorpio | Rat |
| 51 | Harold Stanley | 1885-10-02 | Morgan Stanley (#51) | 7 | Libra | Rooster |
| 51 | Richard Samuel Reynolds Jr. | 1908-05-27 | Morgan Stanley (#51) | 5 | Gemini | Monkey |
| 54 | Reed Hastings | 1960-10-08 | Netflix (#54) | 7 | Libra | Rat |
| 54 | Marc Randolph | 1958-04-29 | Netflix (#54) | 11 | Taurus | Dog |
| 55 | Arthur Blank | 1942-09-27 | Home Depot (#55) | 7 | Libra | Horse |
| 55 | Bernard Marcus | 1929-05-12 | Home Depot (#55) | 11 | Taurus | Snake |
| 55 | Kenneth Langone | 1935-09-16 | Home Depot (#55) | 7 | Virgo | Pig |
| 58 | Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted | 1853-11-05 | Shell (#58), Shell (#58) | 33 | Scorpio | Ox |
| 58 | Henri Deterding | 1866-04-19 | Shell (#58), Shell (#58) | 8 | Aries | Tiger |
| 59 | Jack Ma | 1964-09-10 | Alibaba (#59) | 3 | Virgo | Dragon |
| 59 | Joseph Tsai | 1964-01-01 | Alibaba (#59) | 22 | Capricorn | Cat |
| 60 | Marcus Goldman | 1821-12-09 | Goldman Sachs (#60) | 6 | Sagittarius | Snake |
| 60 | Samuel Sachs | 1851-07-28 | Goldman Sachs (#60) | 5 | Leo | Pig |
| 64 | Sanjay Mehrotra | 1958-06-27 | Sandisk (#64), Sandisk (#64) | 11 | Cancer | Dog |
| 64 | Eli Harari | 1945-06-10 | Sandisk (#64), Sandisk (#64) | 8 | Gemini | Rooster |
| 69 | Cecil Howard Green | 1900-08-06 | Texas Instruments (#69) | 6 | Leo | Rat |
| 70 | William Fargo | 1818-05-20 | Wells Fargo (#70), American Express (#92) | 7 | Taurus | Tiger |
| 70 | Henry Wells | 1805-12-12 | Wells Fargo (#70), American Express (#92) | 11 | Sagittarius | Ox |
| 74 | Dietmar Hopp | 1940-04-26 | SAP (#74), SAP (#74), SAP (#74) | 8 | Taurus | Dragon |
| 74 | Hasso Plattner | 1944-01-21 | SAP (#74), SAP (#74), SAP (#74) | 22/4 | Aquarius | Goat |
| 74 | Klaus Tschira | 1940-12-07 | SAP (#74), SAP (#74), SAP (#74) | 6 | Sagittarius | Dragon |
| 74 | Hans-Werner Hector | 1940-01-17 | SAP (#74), SAP (#74), SAP (#74) | 5 | Capricorn | Cat |
| 81 | Kiichirō Toyoda | 1894-06-11 | Toyota (#81) | 3 | Gemini | Horse |
| 82 | Sanford I. Weill | 1933-03-16 | Citigroup (#82) | 8 | Pisces | Rooster |
| 87 | Carl von Linde | 1842-06-11 | Linde (#87), Linde (#87), Linde (#87) | 5 | Gemini | Tiger |
| 89 | Andrew Viterbi | 1935-03-09 | QUALCOMM (#89) | 3 | Pisces | Pig |
| 89 | Irwin M. Jacobs | 1933-10-18 | QUALCOMM (#89) | 8 | Libra | Rooster |
| 90 | Thomas John Watson, Sr. | 1874-02-17 | IBM (#90) | 3 | Aquarius | Dog |
| 90 | Charles Ranlett Flint | 1850-01-24 | IBM (#90) | 3 | Aquarius | Rooster |
| 93 | Alan Shugart | 1930-09-27 | Seagate Technology (#93) | 4 | Libra | Horse |
| 94 | Arthur J. Schmitt | 1893-06-14 | Amphenol (#94) | 5 | Gemini | Snake |
| 95 | Ernest Mercier | 1878-02-04 | TotalEnergies (#95), TotalEnergies (#95) | 3 | Aquarius | Tiger |
| 99 | Marc Benioff | 1964-09-25 | Salesforce (#99) | 9 | Libra | Dragon |
| 100 | Ray Stata | 1934-11-12 | Analog Devices (#100) | 4 | Scorpio | Dog |
| 104 | John Deere | 1804-02-07 | Deere & Company (John Deere) (#104) | 22 | Aquarius | Pig |
| 107 | Walt Disney | 1901-12-05 | Walt Disney (#107) | 1 | Sagittarius | Ox |
| 107 | Roy O. Disney | 1893-06-24 | Walt Disney (#107) | 33/6 | Cancer | Snake |
| 112 | Larry Fink | 1952-11-02 | BlackRock (#112) | 3 | Scorpio | Dragon |
| 112 | Rob Kapito | 1957-02-08 | BlackRock (#112) | 5 | Aquarius | Rooster |
| 112 | Susan Wagner | 1961-01-01 | BlackRock (#112) | 1 | Capricorn | Rat |
| 113 | Caleb Bradham | 1867-05-27 | Pepsico (#113) | 9 | Gemini | Cat |
| 117 | Alexander Graham Bell | 1847-03-03 | AT&T (#117) | 8 | Pisces | Goat |
| 122 | August Krogh | 1874-11-15 | Novo Nordisk (#122) | 1 | Scorpio | Dog |
| 122 | Hans Christian Hagedorn | 1888-03-06 | Novo Nordisk (#122) | 7 | Pisces | Rat |
| 122 | August Kongsted | 1870-01-06 | Novo Nordisk (#122) | 5 | Capricorn | Snake |
| 122 | Marie Krogh | 1874-12-25 | Novo Nordisk (#122) | 3 | Capricorn | Dog |
| 123 | Charles R. Schwab | 1937-07-29 | Charles Schwab (#123) | 11 | Leo | Ox |
| 126 | Ray Kroc | 1902-10-05 | McDonald (#126) | 9 | Libra | Tiger |
| 130 | Charles Pfizer | 1824-03-22 | Pfizer (#130) | 4 | Aries | Monkey |
| 130 | Charles F. Erhart | 1821-09-25 | Pfizer (#130) | 28/1 | Libra | Snake |
| 138 | Steven Rales | 1951-03-31 | Danaher (#138) | 5 | Aries | Cat |
| 140 | William Boeing | 1881-10-01 | Boeing (#140) | 11 | Libra | Snake |
| 150 | Thomas Peterffy | 1944-09-30 | Interactive Brokers (#150) | 3 | Libra | Monkey |
| 159 | Garrett Camp | 1978-10-04 | Uber (#159) | 3 | Libra | Horse |
| 159 | Travis Kalanick | 1976-08-06 | Uber (#159) | 1 | Leo | Dragon |
| 160 | Peter George Peterson | 1926-06-05 | Blackstone Group (#160) | 11 | Gemini | Tiger |
| 160 | Stephen A. Schwarzman | 1947-02-14 | Blackstone Group (#160) | 28/1 | Aquarius | Pig |
| 163 | Akio Morita | 1921-01-26 | Sony (#163) | 22/4 | Aquarius | Monkey |
| 163 | Masaru Ibuka | 1908-04-11 | Sony (#163) | 33/6 | Aries | Monkey |
| 165 | Samuel van den Bergh | 1864-04-06 | Unilever (#165) | 11 | Aries | Rat |
| 165 | William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme | 1851-09-19 | Unilever (#165) | 7 | Virgo | Pig |
| 165 | James Darcy Lever | 1854-02-10 | Unilever (#165) | 3 | Aquarius | Tiger |
| 170 | Getúlio Vargas | 1882-04-19 | Petrobras (#170) | 33/6 | Aries | Horse |
| 171 | Hamid R. Moghadam | 1956-08-26 | Prologis (#171) | 1 | Virgo | Monkey |
| 174 | William Boyce Thompson | 1869-05-13 | Newmont (#174) | 33/6 | Taurus | Snake |
| 177 | Matthew Prince | 1974-11-13 | Cloudflare (#177) | 9 | Scorpio | Tiger |
| 179 | Arthur L. Parker | 1885-11-16 | Parker-Hannifin (#179) | 4 | Scorpio | Rooster |
| 180 | Jay S. Walker | 1955-11-05 | Booking Holdings (Booking.com) (#180) | 9 | Scorpio | Goat |
| 186 | Austin Cuvillier | 1779-08-20 | Bank of Montreal (#186), Bank of Montreal (#186) | 7 | Leo | Pig |
| 186 | George Moffatt | 1787-08-13 | Bank of Montreal (#186), Bank of Montreal (#186) | 8 | Leo | Goat |
| 186 | Horatio Gates | 1777-10-30 | Bank of Montreal (#186), Bank of Montreal (#186) | 8 | Scorpio | Rooster |
| 186 | Robert Armour | 1781-06-13 | Bank of Montreal (#186), Bank of Montreal (#186) | 9 | Gemini | Ox |
| 187 | James Buchanan Duke | 1856-12-23 | British American Tobacco (#187), British American Tobacco (#187), Duke Energy (#270) | 28/1 | Capricorn | Dragon |
| 190 | Benoît Dageville | 1966-06-29 | Snowflake (#190) | 3 | Cancer | Horse |
| 199 | William Knox D'Arcy | 1849-10-11 | BP (#199), BP (#199) | 7 | Libra | Rooster |
| 199 | Charles Greenway, 1st Baron Greenway | 1857-06-13 | BP (#199), BP (#199) | 4 | Gemini | Snake |
| 200 | Earl Bakken | 1924-01-10 | Medtronic (#200) | 9 | Capricorn | Pig |
| 203 | William Greehey | 1936-06-09 | Valero Energy (#203) | 7 | Gemini | Rat |
| 207 | Zev Siegl | 1942-12-28 | Starbucks (#207) | 11 | Capricorn | Horse |
| 207 | Gordon Bowker | 1942-10-28 | Starbucks (#207) | 9 | Scorpio | Horse |
| 209 | Vlad Tenev | 1987-02-13 | Robinhood (#209) | 4 | Aquarius | Cat |
| 212 | Daniel Ek | 1983-02-21 | Spotify (#212) | 8 | Pisces | Pig |
| 212 | Martin Lorentzon | 1969-04-01 | Spotify (#212) | 3 | Aries | Rooster |
| 216 | Henry Taub | 1927-09-20 | Automatic Data Processing (#216) | 3 | Virgo | Cat |
| 217 | Homer Stryker | 1894-11-04 | Stryker Corporation (#217) | 1 | Scorpio | Horse |
| 231 | Simon Ingersoll | 1818-03-03 | Trane Technologies (#231) | 6 | Pisces | Tiger |
| 233 | Jay Adelson | 1970-09-07 | Equinix (#233) | 33 | Virgo | Dog |
| 253 | Brian Chesky | 1981-08-29 | Airbnb (#253) | 11 | Virgo | Rooster |
| 253 | Joe Gebbia | 1981-08-21 | Airbnb (#253) | 3 | Leo | Rooster |
| 254 | John Warnock | 1940-10-06 | Adobe (#254) | 3 | Libra | Dragon |
| 254 | Charles Geschke | 1939-09-11 | Adobe (#254) | 6 | Virgo | Cat |
| 260 | J. Willard Marriott | 1900-09-17 | Marriott International (#260) | 9 | Virgo | Rat |
| 261 | John Philip Holland | 1840-02-29 | General Dynamics (#261) | 8 | Pisces | Rat |
| 263 | Warren Seymour Johnson | 1847-11-06 | Johnson Controls (#263) | 1 | Scorpio | Goat |
| 268 | Henry Kravis | 1944-01-06 | KKR & Co. (#268), KKR & Co. (#268), KKR & Co. (#268) | 7 | Capricorn | Goat |
| 268 | Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. | 1925-07-10 | KKR & Co. (#268), KKR & Co. (#268), KKR & Co. (#268) | 7 | Cancer | Ox |
| 269 | Marcos Galperin | 1971-10-31 | MercadoLibre (#269) | 5 | Scorpio | Pig |
| 271 | John Wesley Emerson | 1832-07-26 | Emerson (#271) | 11 | Leo | Dragon |
| 272 | John Dwan | 1862-10-01 | 3M (#272) | 1 | Libra | Dog |
| 276 | Jeffrey Sprecher | 1955-02-23 | Intercontinental Exchange (#276) | 9 | Pisces | Goat |
| 293 | Dean Buntrock | 1931-06-06 | Waste Management (#293) | 8 | Gemini | Goat |
| 293 | Wayne Huizenga | 1937-12-29 | Waste Management (#293) | 7 | Capricorn | Ox |
| 294 | Isaac Carasso | 1874-01-21 | Brookfield Corporation (#294) | 6 | Aquarius | Rooster |
| 296 | Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli | 1947-06-23 | Synopsys (#296) | 5 | Cancer | Pig |
| 299 | John Moody | 1868-05-02 | Moody's (#299) | 3 | Taurus | Dragon |
| 303 | James E. Casey | 1888-03-29 | United Parcel Service (#303) | 3 | Aries | Rat |
| 304 | Edward Williams | 1843-05-10 | Sherwin-Williams (#304) | 22/4 | Taurus | Cat |
| 304 | Henry Sherwin | 1842-09-27 | Sherwin-Williams (#304) | 33/6 | Libra | Tiger |
| 307 | Dan Duncan | 1933-01-02 | Enterprise Products (#307) | 1 | Capricorn | Monkey |
| 310 | Enrico Mattei | 1906-04-29 | ENI (#310) | 4 | Taurus | Horse |
| 313 | Herb Simon | 1934-10-20 | Simon Property Group (#313) | 11 | Libra | Dog |
| 313 | Melvin Simon | 1926-10-21 | Simon Property Group (#313) | 22/4 | Libra | Tiger |
| 314 | Ralph J. Roberts | 1920-03-13 | Comcast (#314) | 1 | Pisces | Monkey |
| 314 | Julian A. Brodsky | 1933-07-16 | Comcast (#314) | 3 | Cancer | Rooster |
| 328 | William Crapo Durant | 1861-12-08 | General Motors (#328) | 9 | Sagittarius | Rooster |
| 328 | Charles Stewart Mott | 1875-06-02 | General Motors (#328) | 11 | Gemini | Pig |
| 331 | Ding Lei | 1971-10-01 | NetEase (#331) | 11 | Libra | Pig |
| 332 | Thomas Proulx | 1961-11-18 | Intuit (#332) | 1 | Scorpio | Ox |
| 340 | Clessie Cummins | 1888-12-27 | Cummins (#340) | 1 | Capricorn | Rat |
| 344 | Leon Black | 1951-07-31 | Apollo Global Management (#344) | 9 | Leo | Cat |
| 344 | Josh Harris | 1964-12-29 | Apollo Global Management (#344) | 7 | Capricorn | Dragon |
| 344 | Marc Rowan | 1962-08-19 | Apollo Global Management (#344) | 9 | Leo | Tiger |
| 345 | George Dayton | 1857-03-06 | Target (#345) | 3 | Pisces | Snake |
| 346 | Frederick Stark Pearson | 1861-07-30 | Brookfield Asset Management (#346) | 8 | Leo | Rooster |
| 346 | William Mackenzie | 1849-10-17 | Brookfield Asset Management (#346) | 4 | Libra | Rooster |
| 348 | Conrad Hilton | 1887-12-25 | Hilton Worldwide (#348) | 7 | Capricorn | Pig |
| 358 | Ludwig Bamberger | 1823-07-22 | Deutsche Bank (#358) | 7 | Cancer | Goat |
| 359 | William Colgate | 1783-01-25 | Colgate-Palmolive (#359) | 9 | Aquarius | Tiger |
| 360 | Richard Kinder | 1944-10-19 | Kinder Morgan (#360) | 11 | Libra | Monkey |
| 364 | Frederick W. Smith | 1944-08-11 | FedEx (#364) | 1 | Leo | Monkey |
| 367 | Mark C. Honeywell | 1874-12-29 | Honeywell (#367) | 7 | Capricorn | Dog |
| 377 | Carlos Slim | 1940-01-28 | America Movil (#377), America Movil (#377) | 7 | Aquarius | Cat |
| 380 | Brad Jacobs | 1956-08-03 | United Rentals (#380) | 5 | Leo | Monkey |
| 383 | Arne Wilhelmsen | 1929-06-15 | Royal Caribbean Group (#383) | 33/6 | Gemini | Snake |
| 390 | Peter Nicholas | 1941-05-16 | Boston Scientific (#390) | 9 | Taurus | Snake |
| 397 | Alex d'Arbeloff | 1927-12-21 | Teradyne (#397), Teradyne (#397) | 7 | Sagittarius | Cat |
| 397 | Nick DeWolf | 1928-07-12 | Teradyne (#397), Teradyne (#397) | 3 | Cancer | Dragon |
| 401 | William Redington Hewlett | 1913-05-20 | Keysight (#401) | 3 | Taurus | Ox |
| 421 | Patrick George Ryan | 1937-05-15 | Aon (#421) | 4 | Taurus | Ox |
| 425 | William W. Grainger | 1895-07-05 | W. W. Grainger (#425) | 8 | Cancer | Goat |
| 430 | Fredrik Idestam | 1838-10-28 | Nokia (#430) | 4 | Scorpio | Dog |
| 430 | Leo Mechelin | 1839-11-24 | Nokia (#430) | 11 | Sagittarius | Pig |
| 433 | Bob Kierlin | 1939-06-01 | Fastenal (#433) | 11 | Gemini | Cat |
| 445 | Gary Burrell | 1937-08-24 | Garmin (#445) | 7 | Virgo | Ox |
| 461 | B. Wayne Hughes | 1933-09-28 | Public Storage (#461) | 8 | Libra | Rooster |
| 464 | Lakshmi Mittal | 1950-06-15 | ArcelorMittal (#464), ArcelorMittal (#464), ArcelorMittal (#464) | 9 | Gemini | Tiger |
| 467 | Phil Knight | 1938-02-24 | Nike (#467) | 11 | Pisces | Tiger |
| 467 | Bill Bowerman | 1911-02-19 | Nike (#467) | 6 | Pisces | Pig |
| 477 | J. Larry Nichols | 1942-07-06 | Devon Energy (#477) | 11 | Cancer | Horse |
| 479 | Brian Armstrong | 1983-01-25 | Coinbase (#479) | 11 | Aquarius | Dog |
| 489 | Henry Ford | 1863-07-30 | Ford (#489) | 28/1 | Leo | Pig |
| 495 | Fairleigh S. Dickinson | 1866-08-22 | Becton Dickinson (#495) | 6 | Leo | Tiger |
Context What explains it
Unlike an inherited fortune, founding a company is something a person did. That makes founders a closer test of personal traits than a rich list.
The money view splits each company’s value equally between its recorded founders, so a company with five founders is not counted five times.
Founder records are incomplete: many companies are very old, state-owned or formed by mergers, and some famous co-founders are not recorded as founders at all. The study uses only what the records show.
Source The data
- Founders of the 500 most valuable listed companies. Retrieved 2026-09-27. View source
- Companies ranked by market value on companiesmarketcap.com. Founders are the people Wikidata records as having founded each company; companies with no recorded founder (often very old, state-owned or formed by merger) add no one. Wikidata’s founder records are incomplete, so some well-known founders are missing.
- Verification: 211 of 262 included. A founder is included when Wikidata records one birth date at day precision. Company matched to Wikidata by stock ticker.
- Expected values: every day of the years each group was born in, weighted by how many people were born in each year, run through CUE’s engine. Weighting matters for Chinese signs and Life Paths, which depend on the year.
- A difference is called clear only in groups of 50 or more and at least three standard errors from expected. Because each study tests about a hundred values, a clear difference needs 3.5 standard errors; 2.5 to 3.5 is only “worth watching”.
Left out: 51 people whose exact birth date could not be confirmed
- #1 Curtis Priem: Only the year or month is recorded
- #29 Nathan Gettings: Only the year or month is recorded
- #31 Sandra Lerner: Only the year or month is recorded
- #31 Leonard Bosack: Only the year or month is recorded
- #32 Ed Oates: Only the year or month is recorded
- #48 Richard T. Burke: Only the year or month is recorded
- #52 Nir Zuk: Only the year or month is recorded
- #53 Philip Morris: Only the year or month is recorded
- #55 Pat Farrah: Only the year or month is recorded
- #55 Ron Brill: Only the year or month is recorded
- #66 Dmitri Alperovitch: Only the year or month is recorded
- #66 George Kurtz: Only the year or month is recorded
- #74 Claus Wellenreuther: Only the year or month is recorded
- #76 Sehat Sutardja: Only the year or month is recorded
- #88 William Jamieson: Only the year or month is recorded
- #92 John Warren Butterfield: Only the year or month is recorded
- #105 Tobias Lütke: Only the year or month is recorded
- #111 John W. Stanton: Only the year or month is recorded
- #124 Joseph Eaton: Only the year or month is recorded
- #138 Mitchell Rales: Only the year or month is recorded
- #164 Amory Houghton Sr.: Only the year or month is recorded
- #172 Thomas Caldecot Chubb: Only the year or month is recorded
- #175 Ken Xie: Only the year or month is recorded
- #177 Michelle Zatlyn: Only the year or month is recorded
- #177 Lee Holloway: Only the year or month is recorded
- #181 Richard Fairbank: Only the year or month is recorded
- #186 George Garden: Only the year or month is recorded
- #186 John Richardson: Only the year or month is recorded
- #200 Palmer Hermundslie: Only the year or month is recorded
- #207 Jerry Baldwin: Only the year or month is recorded
- #209 Baiju Bhatt: Only the year or month is recorded
- #243 Ralph Liebert: Only the year or month is recorded
- #253 Nathan Blecharczyk: Only the year or month is recorded
- #268 George R. Roberts: Sources give more than one date
- #280 K. R. Sridhar: Only the year or month is recorded
- #288 Tony Xu: Only the year or month is recorded
- #296 Aart de Geus: Only the year or month is recorded
- #332 Scott Cook: Only the year or month is recorded
- #333 Mark G. Papa: Only the year or month is recorded
- #342 Ernest Garcia III: Only the year or month is recorded
- #344 Antony Ressler: Only the year or month is recorded
- #367 Albert Butz: Only the year or month is recorded
- #390 John Abele: Only the year or month is recorded
- #400 W. Nicholas Howley: Only the year or month is recorded
- #405 Forrest Li: Only the year or month is recorded
- #409 Takeda Chōbei I: Only the year or month is recorded
- #423 William Pigott: Only the year or month is recorded
- #445 Min Kao: Only the year or month is recorded
- #479 Fred Ehrsam: Only the year or month is recorded
- #486 Robert D. Walter: Only the year or month is recorded
- #495 Maxwell Becton: Only the year or month is recorded
Reproduce it: the raw data snapshots and build scripts are in CUE’s code repository (scripts/data and scripts/build-*-study.mts).
Further reading
- companiesmarketcap.com, companies ranked by market capitalisation
- Wikidata, “founded by” records