What do Bill Gates, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, Mary Kay Ash, and Walt Disney all have in common? Uncompromising vision, a willingness to take risks, and exceptional business acumen. Not only did these individuals amass great fortunes, they revolutionized the business world and helped shape society as we know it.

Robert Morris: America's First Financier

Cyrus McCormick's Reaper and the Industrialization of Farming

John D. Rockefeller and the Modern Corporation

J. P. Morgan Saves the Country

Henry Ford and the Model T

Charles Merrill and the Democratization of Stock Ownership

David Sarnoff, RCA, and the Rise of Broadcasting

Walt Disney and his Family-Entertainment Empire

John Johnson: Finding the Black Consumer

David Ogilvy and the Creation of Modern Advertising

Ray Kroc, McDonald's, and the Fast-Food Industry

Betting the Company: Joseph Wilson and the Xerox 914

American Express and the Charge Card

Mary Kay Ash and her Corporate Culture for Women

Intel's Microprocessor and the Computer Revolution

Sam Walton, Wal-Mart, and the Discounting of America

William McGowan and MCI: A New World of Telecommunications

The Turnaround at Harley-Davidson

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and the Leveraged Buyout

William Gates and the Dominance of Microsoft

A Byron Preiss Visual Publications book

What do Bill Gates, Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, Mary Kay Ash, and Walt Disney have in common? Uncompromising vision, a willingness to take risks, and exceptional business acumen. Not only did these individuals amass great fortunes, they revolutionized the business world and helped shape society as we know it.

While most of us have a general knowledge of these and other legendary figures, few know the details of their exceptional careers. Daniel Gross and the Editors of Forbes magazine, one of the world's foremost business publications, present twenty fascinating stories. You'll meet the personalities behind some of the best-known name brands in history, including McDonald's, Harley-Davidson, RCA, Merrill Lynch, Xerox, Wal-Mart, and Standard Oil, among others.

Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time draws on a wealth of sources to offer this priceless collection. The book brings to life extraordinary achievements, many of them forgotten or little known: how Robert Morris, the preeminent merchant of the eighteenth century, financed the American Revolution with his personal credit; how Ray Kroc used a shrewd real estate strategy to turn a faltering hamburger franchise operation into a fast-food empire; and how Mary Kay Ash built a billion-dollar direct sales cosmetics company by preaching a message of economic empowerment to women.

Covering industries ranging from oil to cosmetics, from the eighteenth century up to the present, Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time celebrates larger-than-life ambition, inspired leadership, wheeling and dealing, and hard work. These tales are as entertaining as they are informative-an essential tool for business enthusiasts and anyone interested in how our modern commercial culture was built.