John Mackey co-founded Whole Foods Market in 1980, led it as CEO until 2022, and helped lead the natural food movement.
Joe Coulombe bought out the six Pronto Markets that Rexall wanted to liquidate, renamed them Trader Joe's in 1967 and sold the chain to Theo Albrecht in 1979.
Jim Walton, the youngest son of Sam Walton, joined Walmart in 1972, ran Walton Enterprises from 1975 and joined Walmart's board in 2005; Forbes estimates his net worth at $142.4 billion.
Jim Sinegal started as a FedMart grocery bagger in 1955, co-founded Costco and led it as CEO from 1983 to 2011, prioritizing employees and customers over shareholder short-termism.
Meg Whitman led eBay and Hewlett-Packard as CEO, ran for California governor in 2010 spending $144 million of her own money, and served as US ambassador to Kenya from 2022 to 2024.
Rob Walton, Sam Walton's eldest son, chaired Walmart from 1992 to 2015 and is the principal owner of the Denver Broncos, with an estimated net worth of $145.1 billion.
Bernard Marcus, a pharmacist's son from a Newark tenement who couldn't afford Harvard Medical School, co-founded Home Depot in 1978 and led it as CEO and chairman until 2002.
Pierre Omidyar founded eBay and chaired it from 1998 to 2015, then created Omidyar Network, Honolulu Civil Beat and First Look Media.
Richard Warren Sears was a Minnesota railroad station agent who, after a refused shipment of gold watches in 1886, went on to co-found Sears, Roebuck with Alvah Roebuck.
Marshall Field rose from dry goods clerk in Pittsfield to Chicago partner in 1862 and founded the department store that carried his name, later funding the Field Museum.
F. W. Woolworth pioneered fixed prices, direct buying from manufacturers and self-service display cases with his Five-and-Dime variety stores.
Marcus Lemonis was abandoned at an orphanage in Beirut days after birth, was adopted in Miami and mentored by Lee Iacocca, and now co-owns Camping World and stars in CNBC's The Profit.
