Bill Lippman

These days, it’s not always easy to identify famous businessmen who are Jewish, simply because many of them have changed their names. Sumner Redstone, for instance, was once Sumner Rothstein. Steven Wynn was Steven Weinberg. And Larry Ellison’s unmarried mother’s name was Spellman – his adoptive father had taken the name “Ellison” from the place he arrived at in this country (Ellis Island).

But here is a list of prominent North American Jews in the economic and business world.

Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, Microsoft

Get The Jewish Standard Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Board chairman

Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg Financial Media, Mayor of New York City

Samuel Bronfman, founder of Seagram’s

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers

Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle

Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist

David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records

Samuel Goldwyn, Hollywood mogul

Andy Grove, a founder of Intel

Benjamin Graham, famous value investor, teacher of Warren Buffett

Alan Greenspan, former chairman, Federal Reserve

Max Heine, founder of Mutual Series funds

Carl Icahn, activist investor

Calvin Klein, founder of luxury clothing brand, Calvin Klein

Ralph Lauren, founder of fashionable clothing brand

Stanley Marcus, chairman emeritus, Neiman-Marcus

Robert Rubin, former Secretary of the Treasury

Charles Saatchi, advertising agency

George Soros, hedge-fund manager, philanthropist

Levi Strauss, developer of blue jeans

Sandy Weill, former CEO of Citigroup

Howard Whitman founder, Third Avenue Funds

Steve Wynn, casino owner

Sumner Redstone, Viacom and CBS

Sam Zell, real estate developer