The Most Famous

BUSINESSPEOPLE from Netherlands

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This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 5 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 22nd most number of Businesspeople behind Taiwan, and Ukraine.

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Dutch Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Dutch Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach

1. Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1870 - 1950)

With an HPI of 73.02, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach is the most famous Dutch Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages on wikipedia.

Gustav Georg Friedrich Maria Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (born Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach; 7 August 1870 – 16 January 1950) was a German diplomat and industrialist. From 1909 to 1945, he headed Friedrich Krupp AG, a heavy industry conglomerate, and led the company through two world wars along with his son Alfried, providing significant weapons and materials for the German war effort. Born in The Hague into a German family with a long history in diplomatic service, Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach was the Prussian consul at the Vatican when he married Bertha Krupp, the heiress of the Krupp family, at the behest of Emperor Wilhelm II. He was allowed to add the Krupp name to his own and subsequently became chairman of the company. Under Krupp, the company had a near monopoly in heavy arms manufacture in Germany at the outbreak of the First World War, and was responsible for the production of Big Bertha, the Paris Gun and the U-boat. Krupp took part in the German rearmament in secret shortly after the signature of the Treaty of Versailles. An avowed monarchist, he was initially opposed to the Nazis, but eventually became a fervent supporter of Adolf Hitler and offered significant financial support for the NSDAP. From the late 1930s on he was gradually reduced to a figurehead of the company due to deteriorating health, and in 1943 he was formally succeeded by his son. At the end of World War II, plans to prosecute him as a war criminal at the Nuremberg trials were dropped as he was bedridden, senile and deemed medically unfit to stand trial. Krupp died in Austria in 1950.

Photo of Colonel Tom Parker

2. Colonel Tom Parker (1909 - 1997)

With an HPI of 69.20, Colonel Tom Parker is the 2nd most famous Dutch Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 – January 21, 1997) was a Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker was born in the Netherlands and entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. He adopted a new name and claimed to have been born in the United States. With a background working in carnivals, Parker moved into music promotion in 1938, working with one of the first popular crooners, Gene Austin, and country music singers Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, and Tommy Sands. He also assisted Jimmie Davis's campaign to become governor of Louisiana, for which he was awarded the honorary rank of "colonel" in the Louisiana State Guard. Parker encountered Presley in 1955 and by 1956 had become his manager. With Parker's help, Presley signed a recording contract with RCA Victor, which led to a commercial breakthrough in 1956 with his sixth single "Heartbreak Hotel" and a career as one of the most commercially successful entertainers in the world. Parker received more than half of the income from the enterprise, an unprecedented figure for a music manager. He negotiated Presley's lucrative merchandising deals and media appearances and is said to have influenced Presley's personal life, including his decision to accept military service in 1958 and his marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967. Parker encouraged Presley to make musical films, and they became the focus of his career during his commercial decline in the 1960s until his 1968 comeback and return to touring. Parker's influence waned in later years, but he continued in his management role until Presley died in 1977. Parker managed the Presley estate for the rest of his life. Having previously sold the rights to Presley's early recordings to RCA he struggled to secure a steady income, and his financial situation worsened after he sustained significant gambling losses. Parker's final years were spent living in Las Vegas, in declining health, until his death in 1997.

Photo of Frits Philips

3. Frits Philips (1905 - 2005)

With an HPI of 60.90, Frits Philips is the 3rd most famous Dutch Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Frederik Jacques "Frits" Philips (16 April 1905 – 5 December 2005) was the fourth chairman of the board of directors of the Dutch electronics company Philips, which his uncle and father founded. For his actions in saving 382 Jews during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, he was recognized in 1996 by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Photo of Gerard Philips

4. Gerard Philips (1858 - 1942)

With an HPI of 59.05, Gerard Philips is the 4th most famous Dutch Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Gerard Leonard Frederik Philips (9 October 1858 – 26 January 1942) was a Dutch industrialist and co-founder, with his father Frederik Philips, of Philips as a family business in 1891. In 1912, Gerard and his younger brother Anton Philips converted the business to a corporation by founding NV Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken.

Photo of Ton Roosendaal

5. Ton Roosendaal (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 52.33, Ton Roosendaal is the 5th most famous Dutch Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ton Roosendaal (Dutch: [tɔn ˈroːzə(n)ˌdaːl]; born 20 March 1960) is a Dutch software developer and film producer. He is the original creator of the open-source 3D creation suite Blender and Traces (an Amiga ray tracer which was the forerunner of Blender). He is also known as the founder and chairman of the Blender Foundation, and for pioneering large scale open-content projects. In 2007, he established the Blender Institute in Amsterdam, where he works on coordinating Blender development, publishing manuals and DVD training, and organizing 3D animation and game projects.

People

Pantheon has 5 people classified as Dutch businesspeople born between 1858 and 1960. Of these 5, 1 (20.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dutch businesspeople include Ton Roosendaal. The most famous deceased Dutch businesspeople include Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Colonel Tom Parker, and Frits Philips. As of April 2024, 5 new Dutch businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Colonel Tom Parker, and Frits Philips.

Living Dutch Businesspeople

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Deceased Dutch Businesspeople

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Newly Added Dutch Businesspeople (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Businesspeople were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Businesspeople since 1700.