Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano founded what is now Paychex with $3000 and built it to the current worth of $24 billion. Paychex now has more than 600,000 customers, and more than 12,000 employees working out of 100 locations. In fact, 1 in every 12 private-sector employees in America receives their paycheck from Paychex. Golisano has been challenging the status quo for a long time—and not only in the world of business. In 1991, he co-founded a political party called the Independence Party, and ran three times for Governor of New York. Tens of millions of people know of him because of this, many of whom have no special interest in business but who appreciate his championing getting things done more intelligently and effectively. He bought the bankrupt and losing Buffalo Sabres hockey team in 2003 and turned around the franchise, both in terms of financial health and by transforming them into a winning team. He is a frequent guest on Fox, CNN, and other news channel broadcasts.