Curated playlist
20th-century American businesspeople
- Michael JacksonMichael Jackson bought a music catalog with most of the Beatles's material in 1985. He paid 47.5 million dollars.
- Pete ConradPete Conrad's first words on the Moon were a joke he had bet $500 on.
- MadonnaMadonna arrived in New York in 1978 with thirty-five dollars. It was her first plane ride and first taxi.
- Donald TrumpDonald Trump was a millionaire in inflation-adjusted terms by age eight.
- George H. W. BushAfter being shot down in 1944, George H. W. Bush asked why he alone had been spared. Both of his crewmates died.
- Jay-ZNo major label would sign Jay-Z, so he sold burned CDs out of his car.
- Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg walked into Universal Studios without a pass, and the guard waved him in.
- Rupert MurdochRupert Murdoch kept a bust of Lenin in his rooms at Oxford. Peers called him "Red Rupert".
- Elon MuskIn 2001, Elon Musk traveled to Moscow twice to buy missiles, hoping to launch a plant greenhouse to Mars.
- George LucasGeorge Lucas turned down a higher directing fee for Star Wars. He asked for toy and merchandise rights instead.
- Dr. DreDr. Dre's G-funk had live musicians replay funk melodies instead of sampling them. It debuted on The Chronic.
- Donn F. EiseleDonn Eisele was in a hospital on January 27, 1966, exactly a year before the Apollo 1 fire.
- James McDivittOn Gemini 4, James McDivitt had to force a jammed hatch latch back into place with his fingers.
- Joan CrawfordA 1938 ad called Joan Crawford "box office poison," but Mildred Pierce later won her an Academy Award.
- John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller, the son of a traveling con artist, became the first billionaire in the United States.
- Louis B. MayerLouis B. Mayer pushed a junk cart as a boy, then became America's highest-paid man.
- Ewart AbnerEwart Abner's label signed the Beatles in January 1963 after Capitol Records passed. The label was Vee-Jay Records.
- Birdman (rapper)Birdman was born without a first name and was called "Baby" for nearly a month. He later built Cash Money Records.
- Al GoreAl Gore won the 2000 popular vote but lost the presidency by 537 Florida votes.
- Stuart RoosaStuart Roosa orbited the Moon 34 times alone while two crewmates walked on it. He also carried tree seeds in his pocket.
- Walter CunninghamWalter Cunningham sat in the lunar module pilot seat on a spacecraft with no lunar module. It was Apollo 7.
- Gene CernanGene Cernan wrote his daughter's initials in the lunar dust before leaving the Moon. He was the last person there.
- Mike LazzoMike Lazzo started in a shipping room and ended up running the studio behind Adult Swim.
- Jack L. WarnerJack Warner once rushed onstage at the Oscars and took a trophy that was not his. The prize was for Casablanca.
- Fred HaiseFred Haise came within days of becoming the sixth person to walk on the Moon. Then Apollo 13's oxygen tank ruptured.
- Irving ThalbergIrving Thalberg ran MGM's production, yet his name never appeared on screen while he lived.
- Lucille BallLucille Ball's real-life pregnancy became an I Love Lucy episode, and CBS banned the word "pregnant."
- William WylerDirector William Wyler once made Henry Fonda do forty takes of one scene. His only note was the word again.
- Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin's first words on the Moon were "Beautiful view." Years later he was selling used cars.
- Alan ShepardAn inner ear disease grounded astronaut Alan Shepard for years before he walked on the Moon.
- MC HammerMC Hammer started out as an 11-year-old selling baseballs in a parking lot. The Oakland A's owner hired him on the spot.
- Sean CombsSean Combs founded Bad Boy Records, which launched the Notorious B.I.G. He was later sentenced to four years in prison.
- Bob IgerBob Iger began on television sets earning $150 a week and later ran Disney twice.
- Thomas EdisonThomas Edison clamped his teeth into a piano to hear it. He was deaf in one ear and barely heard from the other.
- Harry S. TrumanHarry Truman became president knowing nothing about the atomic bomb. He had been vice president for only 82 days.
- Kathleen Kennedy (producer)Assistant Kathleen Kennedy was supposed to take notes but set her pencil down to pitch ideas.
- Jack SwigertJack Swigert won a seat in Congress but died seven days before he could take it. The Apollo 13 astronaut was 51.
- Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg bought Death Row Records, the label that launched his career, in February 2022. It took nearly three decades.
- Walt DisneyIn 1928, Walt Disney lost his hit cartoon rabbit Oswald to Universal. Only Ub Iwerks stayed, and Mickey Mouse followed.
- Bill GatesBill Gates and Paul Allen wrote software for a computer they did not have. Their Altair demo worked the first time.
- Eric SchmidtEric Schmidt ran Google while taking a base salary of just $1 a year. That pay lasted from 2004 through 2010.
- Frank BormanA stranger's telegram told Apollo 8's Frank Borman, "You saved 1968." He commanded the first crew to orbit the Moon.
- David ScottDavid Scott dropped a hammer and a feather on the Moon. The Apollo 15 commander did it on live television.
- Wally SchirraAstronaut Wally Schirra refused Mission Control's request to wear helmets.
- Allen KleinFormer Beatles manager Allen Klein bought a song company and became the plaintiff suing George Harrison.
- Dolly PartonDolly Parton refused to give Elvis Presley half the publishing rights to "I Will Always Love You."
- Alfred WordenIn 1971, Alfred Worden orbited the Moon alone, farther from any other person than anyone before.
- Ken MattinglyKen Mattingly was pulled from Apollo 13 for measles he never got. He then helped from Mission Control to save the crew.
- Michael Collins (astronaut)Michael Collins orbited the Moon thirty times and never set foot on it.
- Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson told the world he had HIV from the free throw line in 1991. He was 32 and a five-time NBA champion.