Business magnate is a phrase sometimes used to describe an entrepreneur who has achieved wealth and prominence from a particular industry (or industries). Other, similar terms are czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, or oligarch.

The word magnate itself derives from the Latin word magnates (plural of magnas), meaning "great person" or "great nobleman."

The word tycoon is derived from the Japanese word taikun (大君^?), which means "great lord," and it was used as a title for the shogun. The word entered the English language in 1857 with the return of Commodore Perry to the United States. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was humorously referred to as the Tycoon by his aides John Nicolay and John Hay. The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since.

The word mogul refers to the Mughal Empire (mughal being Persian or Arabic for "Mongol") of the Indian subcontinent that existed between 1526 and 1857: the early Mughal emperors claimed a heritage dating back to Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. The modern meaning of the word is supposedly derived from the storied riches of the Mughal emperors, who for example produced the Taj Mahal.

William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington) is an American business magnate, computer programmer and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive officer (CEO) and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company he co-founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the second wealthiest person. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.

Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.

Donald T. Sterling is an American real estate mogul, attorney, and the owner of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. Sterling acquired the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, and as of the 2008 rankings, the team is valued at $297 million by Forbes magazine, ranking them twenty-fifth out of thirty teams.

Donald Tokowitz (legally added Sterling as his last name as an adult) was born in 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, but he and his family moved to the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, when he was two years old. His parents, Susan and Mickey, were Jewish immigrants. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, where he was on the school's gymnastics team and served as class president; he graduated in 1952. He next attended California State University, Los Angeles (Class of 1956) and Southwestern University School of Law (Class of 1960) in Los Angeles. Starting in 1961, he began to make his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney, but he made his biggest ventures in real estate, which he began when he purchased a 26-unit apartment building in Beverly Hills.

Donald John Trump, Sr. (born June 14, 1946) is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have made him a well-known celebrity who was No. 17 on the 2011 Forbes Celebrity 100 list. He is well-known as a real-estate developer who amassed vast hotel, casino, and other real-estate properties, in the New York City area and around the world.

Trump is the son of Fred Trump, a wealthy New York City real-estate developer. He worked for his father's firm, Elizabeth Trump & Son, while attending the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1968 officially joined the company. He was given control of the company in 1971 and renamed it The Trump Organization.

In 2010, Trump expressed an interest in becoming a candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election. In May 2011, he announced he would not be a candidate, but a few weeks later he said he had not completely ruled out the possibility. In December 2011, Trump was suggested as a possible Vice Presidential selection by Michele Bachmann. Bachmann has since suspended her presidential campaign.

Ivanka Marie Trump (born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman, socialite, heiress, and fashion model. The daughter of Czech model Ivana Trump and American business magnate Donald Trump, she is Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization. She is one of the boardroom judges on her father's reality show The Apprentice.

Ivanka Trump attended The Chapin School in New York City, and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. She spent two years at Georgetown University, then transferred to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude in 2004 with a B.S. in Economics.

Before joining the family business, Trump worked for Forest City Enterprises, and joined forces with Dynamic Diamond Corp., a diamond trading company sightholder, to design and introduce a line of jewelry at the brand's first flagship retail store called 'Ivanka Trump' on Madison Avenue. Trump is currently Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization.