Hugh Hefner's lifestyle and sense of style forever changed American pop culture. CNBC Titans profiles the life of the iconic playboy and his multi-million dollar empire.
Only in America could two immigrants -- an English candle-maker and an Irish soap-maker - create what would become the most powerful consumer goods company in history.
Herb Kelleher, the co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, grew the company from a small regional carrier with just four jets into an industry leader.
Hershey. Few words sound sweeter. But behind the mouthwatering chocolate is a man, Milton S. Hershey, whose obsessive search for the perfect confectionery turned a pastoral Pennsylvania town into the candy-making capital of the world.
The quintessential brash, bold, imperial CEO of the 1980s -- when this type of chief executive reigned supreme, Lee Iacocca began his career as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. He quickly gravitated to sales and rose to become president of the company.
If one had to create a fictional profile on the most successful media titan in history, it would be tough to fashion one more deserving than Barry Diller: CEO of Paramount Pictures, creator of the Fox Network and founder of the USA Network.
He was advertising's original Mad Man. Not to mention creator of the Jolly Green Giant, Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, and the Pillsbury Doughboy, Leo Burnett was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.