Highly Successful Retail & Commercial Entrepreneurs

Richard Branson - A billionaire businessman with a taste for derring-do, Richard Branson is the founder and CEO of the mega-corporation known as the Virgin Group. Branson's first business was music: he began selling records by mail order in 1970, opened a shop in London in 1971, and in 1972 added a music studio. Virgin Records was launched a year later and soon became force in the music business, signing hot 1970s and '80s acts like the Sex Pistols, Phil Collins and Boy George. Rather than rest on his laurels, Branson branched out into a dizzying array of businesses bearing the Virgin name: Virgin Atlantic airways, Virgin Megastores (sellers of music and books), Virgin Mobile (phone service), along with cosmetics, car sales, health clubs, and many other concerns. Jovial, aggressive, and never shy about self-promotion, Branson put himself at the forefront of the Virgin publicity machine and made himself one of the best-known businessmen in Britain and the world. More on Richard Branson

Anita Roddick - The founder of the Body Shop, one of Britain's most successful global retailers. The Body Shop has grown to about 2,000 outlets in 50 countries, with an annual revenue of $680 million last year. That's all the more remarkable because Roddick was outspokenly critical of the business world for its emphasis on wealth over job creation, and denounced as shallow and unimportant the beauty and cosmetics industry that was making her rich. Since stepping down as co-chairperson, along with Gordon, in 2002, Roddick has been spending about 80 days a year as a Body Shop consultant. More on Anita Roddick

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