Education        : University of Texas, Austin, 1983–1984

Occupation      : CEO and founder, Dell, Inc.

Net Worth       : Above $12.3 Billion (2009)

Religious         : Judaism

Spouse(s)         : Susan Dell

He’s Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Computers and one of the greatest entrepreneur of this generation. At 40 years old he’s built one of the most successful companies in the world and he’s one of the world’s youngest billionaires. The company has grown to $32 billion in 18 years. In fact, great leadership is what makes him so highly successful, not technical brain. He was at number 18 on the Forbes’s list of richest people in 2002 and 2004 respectively; while in 2003 he was on 24.

The PC business is full of rags-to-riches stories. But perhaps none is as dramatic as the rise of Dell Computer. He started off his company from his room at the University of Texas with less than $1,000. After being one year at University, he dropped out as his part-time computer business took off.

He was born on February 23, 1965. In 1984, the 19-year-old Michael Dell had a simple idea. Why not sell custom-made computers directly to customers? At the time, computer manufacturers sold their machines wholesale to retailers, who marked up the price for consumers. With about $1,000 and an unprecedented idea in the PC industry, Dell found a way to bypass the middleman and sell custom-built PCs directly to customers. Dell assembled computers from cheap surplus parts, and then created the machines to the specifications of his customers.

What makes Dell Computer unique is not what it sells, but rather how it sells it. Dell was first in the PC industry to pioneer the direct-selling model, a method that competitors such as Compaq and Apple Computer are only now starting to embrace. By cutting out the intermediary and creating a direct link between manufacturer and customer, Dell was able to provide customers with computers that cost less and that were more apt to meet customer needs. Prior to this there was absolutely no aspect of customization of the PC. Buying computer invariably involved the presence of a middleman. He also pioneered the industry’s first service and support programs.

Twenty-one years later, the simple idea is considered a revolution in the technology world, and it still working. Dell’s still doing essentially the same made-to-order computers directly to customers but on a scale that now brings in $18 billion a year and employs 25,000 people. Dell’s breathtaking success made him, at age 27 the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company in history, and Fortune magazine named his company one of the most admired firms in America, following General Electric, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft. Dell has offices in over 34 countries and a presence in more than 170 countries. The company’s business clientele includes almost all the companies in the Fortune 500.The company manufactures its PCs in six locations: Texas, Tennessee, Brazil, Ireland, Malaysia, and China.

The next frontier for Dell has been the Web and once again the computer giant seems to be holding its place as a leader in the PC industry. Dell is acknowledged as the largest online commercial seller of computer systems, with $50 million per day in online sales. The value of Dell’s stock is reported to have risen almost 70,000 per cent over the past decade.

It’s important to point out that Michael Dell’s parents wanted him to stop playing with computers in college and get into medical school. But Michael Dell followed a different path. He is today credited for inspiring millions of entrepreneurs to pursue their dream of creating new innovation and not simply do what you are told to do. It’s important that we listen to ourselves and follow the path that we desire. People around us have great intentions, but many times they don’t understand the life and goals of the entrepreneur. Believe in yourself.

There are two key reasons for his continuing success. Dell Corp. is renowned for its ability to drive down prices. The products are affordable because of the company’s hold over their vendors. The other reason is that Dell has been able to leverage the power of the Internet to great advantage. Dell is the largest supplier of PCs over the Internet. He is an IT governor of the World Economic Forum and is a member of the U.S. Business Council. He is also a member of the Computer Systems Policy Project, serves on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Dell has been honored many times for his extraordinary leadership capabilities, earning the titles of “Entrepreneur of the Year” from Inc. magazine, and “Man of the Year” by PC magazine. He constantly heads the list of the world’s youngest billionaires.

Michael Dell can be painfully shy, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t charismatic. Rarely has a bad word been uttered about his personality. As ‘a visionary, leader, entrepreneur, boss, person, and manager, Michael gets nothing but praise. For good reason too; he proved that a college dropout can fulfill his dreams and succeed. Our advice though, is that unless you have visions of grandeur where you want to build a multi-billion dollar company, stay in school.

Michael Dell explained his secrets of success in an entrepreneurs’ conference in Texas, when he said “First of all, don’t start a business just because everybody else is doing it or it looks like it’s a way to make a lot of money. Start a business because you found something you really love doing and have a passion for Start a business because you found something unique that you can do betty’ than anyone else. And start a business because you really want to make a big contribution to society over a long period of time.”

Occupation      : Co-founder and CEO, Oracle Corporation

Salary              : $500.0 million USD (2008)

Net Worth       : Below $22.5 billion USD (2009)

Spouse(s)         : Adda Quinn (m. 1967–1974), Nancy Wheeler Jenkins (m. 1977–1978), Barbara Boothe (m. 1983–1986), Melanie Craft (m. 2003–present)

Oracle Corporation, one of the major companies developing database management systems (DBMS), tools for database development and enterprise resource planning software from 1977 and has offices in more than 145 countries around the world. As of 2005, it employs more than 50,000 persons worldwide. An oracle database, strictly speaking, consists of a collection of data managed by an Oracle database management system. The distinction between the managed data (the database) and the software which manages the data relies, in Oracle’s marketing literature, on the capitalization of the world database. Oracle Corporation produces and markets the DBMS, which many database applications use extensively on many popular computing platforms.

Larry Ellison was born in Bronx, New York. At nine months, he contracted pneumonia, and his unmarried 19 year-old mother gave him to her great aunt and uncle to raise the child. He was raised in a two-bed room apartment, and until he was twelve years old he did not know that he was adopted. As a boy, Larry Ellison showed an independent, rebellious attitude and often clashed with his adoptive father. He showed a strong aptitude for math and science, and was named student of the year at the University of Illinois. But during the final exams in his second year, Ellison’s adoptive mother died, and he dropped out of school. However, he enrolled at the University of Chicago the following year, dropped out again after the first semester. His father was now convinced that Ellison would never make anything of himself. But Ellison was very fond of and had learned the basics of computer programming in Chicago and took his skill with him to California, having just enough money for fast food.

For the next eight years, he bounced from job to job. When he was working as a programmer for a company called Ampex, he built a large database for the CIA with a code name, Oracle. (Generally, Oracle means a person considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic vision). In 1977, Ellison and his former supervisor from Ampex, Robert Miner, founded Software Development Labs, and created a database program compatible with both mainframe and desktop computer systems. Their first customers were Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the CIA. In 1980, Oracle had only eight employees, and revenues were less than $1 million, but the following year, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation is the largest information technology company with a continuous success dating back to 1911) itself adopted Oracle’s SQL (Structured Query Language) for its mainframe systems and for the next seven years, Oracle’s sales doubled every year. The million dollar company was becoming a billion dollar company.

Oracle went public in 1986, raising $31.5 million with its initial public offering, but the firm’s zealous young staff for the rapidly expanding firm habitually overstated revenues, and in 1990 the company posted its first losses. Oracle’s market capitalization fell by 80 percent and the company appeared to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Ellison bit the bullet and replaced much of the original senior staff with more experienced managers. For the first time, he delegated the management side of the business to professionals, and channeled his own energies into product development. The newest version of the database program was a solid success and in only two years the company’s stock had regained much of its previous value.

Oracle’s fortunes continued to rise throughout the 1990s. America’s banks, airlines, automobile companies and retail giants all depend on Oracle’s database programs. Oracle has benefited hugely from the growth of electronic commerce; its net profits increased by 76 percent in a single quarter of the year 2000. As the stocks of other high tech companies fluctuated wildly, Oracle held its value, and its largest shareholder, Ellison, had come very close to a long-cherished goal: surpassing Microsoft’s Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world.

Larry Ellison is far from the run-of-the-mill businessman. Oracle today is the world’s leading supplier of software for information management and the world’s second largest independent software company, boasting revenues of more than $9.7 billion. Ellison is also known as the Other Software Billionaire.

Ellison is a living proof that business is not something learned through academic books, but rather an innate gift. A college dropout, Ellison is renowned for his impeccable business sense, drive and ambition. It is no surprise that in order to achieve Ellison’s success, one must take huge risks and learn from mistakes made along the way. Ellison also demanded at least 100 percent growth in sales of his company’s software, a near impossible feat for a company that already boasts $100 to $500 million in sales. Although Ellison’s high demands led to a highly stressful work environment, it also led to high productivity and Oracle’s present success.

Oracle underwent some changes before becoming the multibillion-dollar corporation it is today. When first founded by Ellison, it was known as Software Development Laboratories and then reincarnated into Relational Technologies until it finally took on the name it is known as today; Oracle, Larry Ellison presently sits on the board of Apple Computer (a company he once dreamed of taking over) and the many honors and awards he received include Entrepreneur of the Year from the Harvard School of Business.

Being a billionaire, Ellison is also believed to be quite a multi-faceted character: playboy, world champion sailboat racer, sports nut, jet pilot, ruthless businessman, marketing genius, and avant-garde thinker. We weren’t kidding when we said he is no ordinary businessman.

Occupation      : Group Chief Executive Officer / Director of AirAsia Berhad

Net worth        : US$230 million.

Though budget airline phenomenon has been around for two decades in the US and more than 10 years in Europe, it well goes to the credit of Tony Fernandes; who thought it worthwhile to try the concept in the South East Asian region.

He had an ambitious drive to realize his childhood dream of owning an airline, and set up Air Asia, Asia’s first budget airline. That very dream sometimes became a nightmare for the region’s more established full-service carriers, who have watched the no-frills airline’s rising popularity and ticket sales with a considerable degree of alarm.

When Air Asia took the first flight in 2001, many critics in the business community pooh-poohed the idea and said that it would not survive even two months. Some kinder souls said that the operations would be grounded within a period of six months. There were, after all, many barriers in the highly-regulated and competitive airline industry, and a budget airline was a totally new creature in the market. Few believed Fernandes, CEO and director of TuneAir Sdn Bhd, which owns AirAsia, would be able to get the low-cost carrier to take off properly, let alone pilot it to great heights.

When he was young, his parents wanted him to become a doctor, however they allowed him to pursue the field of studies of his choice, the moment he told them about his interest. After graduating from London School of Economics in 1987, he worked as an accountant for Richard Branson’s Virgin Records from 1987 to 1989. At 28, he became the youngest person in recording industry’s history to head Warner Music Malaysia and thereafter, moved up to serve as ASEAN Vice-President of Warner Music.

When he told his wife he was going to start an airline, his wife laughed and said, “why can’t you think of something simple?”Tony replied, “Life is short. If I fail, I fail. At least, I won’t be saying when I am 60 years old that I should have tried this!” Even before Sept. 11, the world’s airlines were in trouble, and his move was not universally hailed as a wise career choice. Most people thought he was crazy.

But Tony Fernandes looked at the brighter side. In fact, the timing was perfect: Since Sept.11, aircraft leasing costs were down by 40 per cent. He could get newer Boeing models than the sick airline had before at the same price. There were many airline layoffs that meant the staff was readily available.

In fact, he had virtually zero experience running an airline. It was the typical story of the underdog starting from nothing. Fernandes, now 40, had to mortgage his house, pour all his savings into the company and rope in several friends as investors. Drawing inspiration from the successes of Ryanair in Europe and Southwest Airlines in the US, he was convinced there was a ready market for budget flying in Malaysia and Asia just waiting to be tapped.

When TuneAir bought AirAsia in 2001 for the token price of RM1, it took over the ailing airline’s two aircraft and debts of RM40 million. After seven months in operation, the budget carrier managed to repay all its debts and make a profit of RM19.4 million. In June 2002, its profit had ballooned to RM30 million. By the end of that year, its fleet had expanded to 10 Boeing 737 aircraft and flown some three million passengers. In November, it formed a joint-venture airline with Thailand’s Shin Corp to operate flights to Thailand. The maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket took off on Dec 8.

The Air Asia business model slashed fares on heavily traveled routes, turned around planes much faster than before and stopped serving complimentary food and drinks. Eliminating meals meant that the normal complement of cabin crew could be cut from six to three. And in order to keep the planes in the air more, the flights were expected to spend only 25 minutes on the ground at one time. If passengers are late, they will simply forfeit their tickets. Air Asia was not going to wait. Within a period of four years, the airline had a thriving business, had grown from a modest two planes to 28 in its current fleet, and operates over 100 domestic and international flights daily.

Air Asia’s growing popularity among travelers has compelled full-service carrier^,, to scramble for a slice of the budget-flying share themselves. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is setting up Tiger Airways, and Thai Airways International is in talks with potential partners for a similar venture. Australia’s Qantas Airways has announced Jetstar, an attempt to take on British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Blue, which commands about a third of the domestic flight market in Australia. Meanwhile, Singapore-based ValueAir, set up by a former SIA executive, has started flying in 2004. All of a sudden, it seemed that a man’s childhood dream has shaken and changed the airline industry across the region.

People may hate him for he speaks his mind. But what he has done is to wake up everyone from their complacency. His low-cost carriers have also become a boon to tourism for destination countries. To consumers, Tony has reversed decades of brainwashing that air travel necessarily has to be costly. No wonder, Malaysian travelers welcomed its cheap tickets with open arms from day one. Two years after its inception, the new airline was laughing its way to the bank and spreading its wings across the region.

Air Asia was named Asia Pacific Low Cost Airline of the Year 2004 by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Air Asia. The airline also clinched the prestigious Euro money award for Asia Best Managed Company in the Airlines & Aviation Sector and Air Transport World’s Market Leadership Award at the recent 2005 Airline Achievement Awards.

If today, people complain that a $300 return ticket to Hong Kong is expensive, clearly, the bar for what constitutes value-for-money has been raised. And, all the credit for that goes to Tony. Since he started the Airline, he has received a lot of letters from people saying that he has inspired them, that they are going to try something different.“That is the biggest kick I get out of this whole thing,” says the high-flier.

Died     : April 7, 1947 (aged 83) in Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.

Occupation      : Business, Engineering

Net Worth       : above $188.1 billion, according to Wealthy historical figures 2008, based on information from Forbes – February 2008.

Religious         : Protestant Episcopal

Spouse(s)         : Clara Jane Bryant

Children          : Edsel Ford

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do. And, before everything else, getting toady is the secret of success. Driven by a vision of a new technology, rejecting Formal education, and instead trusting in his native brilliance, he built an empire that made him a folk hero of sorts. A popular symbol of the new era that his ingenuity had helped creates Henry Ford to revere more than Bill Gates.

Henry Ford was born in July 30, 1863 in Wayne County, Michigan. He was the son of Irish immigrants, William and Mary Ford, who had settled on a farm in Dearborn. In addition to helping his father with the harvest, Ford also attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. However, Ford disliked both school and farm life, and at age 16, he walked to Detroit in search of employment.

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability. So, Ford was employed as an apprentice in a machine shop, where he learned about the internal combustion engine. After several years of learning his trade, Ford returned to the family farm and worked part-time for the Westinghouse Engine Company. Ford set up a small machine shop on the farm and began tinkering with engines and machines.

During this time, Ford fell in love with Clara Bryant, whom he married in 1888. Several years later in 1891, Ford and his wife moved back to Detroit when Ford was made chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. (Edison became close friend with Henry Ford and the two often vacationed together mid had adjoining winter homes in Florida.) The position required Ford to be on- tall 24 hours a day, but the irregular hours allowed him time to experiment. This event signified a conscious decision on Ford’s part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. His promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893 gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines.

Ford knew a business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of own self-propelled vehicle, the Quadricycle. The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.

Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This vehicle initiated a new era in personal transportation. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, and it immediately became a huge success initially it took 14 hours to assemble a Model T car. By improving his mass production methods, Ford reduced this to 1 hour 33 minutes. This lowered the, overall cost of each car and enabled Ford to undercut the price of other cars in the market.

Between 1908 and 1916 the selling price of the Model T fell from $1,000 to $360.Through it all, the key to Ford’s success, was his right understanding that the health of his company rested on  consumers spending, not saving, their money. “Buy a Ford and Spend the Difference!” was the slogan Ford himself penned to sell the Model T.

In 1913, Ford began using standardized interchangeable parts and assembly line techniques in his plant. Although Ford neither originated nor was the first to employ such practices, he was chiefly responsible for their general adoption and for the consequent great expansion of American industry and the raising of the American standard of living. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by significantly reducing assembly time per vehicle, thus lowering costs. Ford’s production of Model Is made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Over the next 19 years, Ford built 15,000,000 automobiles with the Model “T” engine, the longest run of any single model apart from the Volkswagen Beetle.

During the next several years, Ford continued to fine-tune his passenger vehicles; In addition, he built racing cars and even drove them himself. However, Ford’s successes were not without problems. Soon after the incorporation of the Ford Motor Company, Ford was threatened by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. Ford often said that when everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. After years of legal battles, Ford won his case in 1911, which made it possible for more people to become automobile manufacturers.

Ford was able to market the Model T to the general public because of his advanced production technology. As a result, more automobiles were made available at a lower cost. Ford also instituted the $5.00 a day minimum wage, which he claimed increased productivity. The quote that “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success,” is attributed to Ford.

He handed over the presidency to his grandson, Henry Ford II. Ford died at his home on April 7, 1947. Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped his country become a nation of motorists. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.