The Most Famous

BUSINESSPEOPLE from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 18 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 10th most number of Businesspeople behind Japan, and China.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Swiss Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Businesspeople.

1. Sepp Blatter (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 80.94, Sepp Blatter is the most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 80 different languages on wikipedia.

Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of the FIFA corruption case made public that year, and will remain banned until 2027. From a background in business, public relations, and sports administration, Blatter became general secretary of FIFA in 1981 and was then elected president at the 51st FIFA Congress on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange, who had headed the organization since 1974.[1][2] Blatter was re-elected in 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2015. Like his predecessor Havelange, Blatter built his power base in FIFA by increasing the influence of numerous African and Asian countries in world football through the expansion of participating teams in various FIFA tournaments, culminating in the highly controversial awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a Gulf oil state of 3,000,000 people with little footballing culture. Under Blatter's leadership as president, eleven of the 22 committee members who voted on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were fined, suspended, banned for life or prosecuted for corruption, including Blatter. Although he has persistently been dogged by claims of corruption and financial mismanagement, Blatter's reign oversaw a vast expansion in revenues generated by the FIFA World Cup accompanied by the collapse of the marketing company International Sport and Leisure and numerous allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the awarding of FIFA tournaments. On 2 June 2015, six days after the United States government indicted several current and former FIFA officials and sports marketing companies for bribery and money laundering, Blatter announced that he would call for elections to choose a new president of FIFA and that he would not stand in these elections, but he also said he would remain in his position until an extraordinary FIFA Congress could be held for his successor to be elected. Criminal proceedings were announced against Blatter by the Swiss Attorney General's office on 25 September 2015, regarding "criminal mismanagement... and misappropriation". In October 2015, Blatter and other top FIFA officials were suspended amid the investigation, and in December the independent FIFA Ethics Committee ejected Blatter from office and banned him from taking part in any FIFA activities over the following eight years. On 24 February 2016, a FIFA appeals committee upheld the suspension but reduced it from eight years to six. On 24 March 2021, he received a second ban for six years and was fined the amount of CHF 1,000,000 by the body's Ethics Committee after a probe into massive bonus payments. Issa Hayatou served as the acting President of FIFA until an extraordinary FIFA Congress was held in late February, electing Gianni Infantino as the 9th president of FIFA.

2. Joan Gamper (1877 - 1930)

With an HPI of 73.86, Joan Gamper is the 2nd most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (German pronunciation: [hans maks ˈɡampər ˈhɛːsɪg]; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (IPA: [ʒuˈaŋ ˈɡampər]), was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably Barcelona and Zürich. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of Barcelona, being the fundamental head behind the foundation of the club in 1899, and then serving as the club's first captain between 1899 and 1903, netting over 100 goals in just 48 matches for Barça and in 1902, he captained his side to a victory in the Copa Macaya, the club's first title. He then served as its president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925. One of his main achievements was getting the funds for the construction of their own stadium in 1909, the Camp de la Indústria, which is regarded as the main element that helped the club grow in the 1910s. Under Gamper's leadership, Barcelona won eleven Championat de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cup.

3. Aga Khan IV (1936 - 2025)

With an HPI of 73.31, Aga Khan IV is the 3rd most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Prince Karim al-Husseini (13 December 1936 – 4 February 2025), known as the Aga Khan IV, was the 49th imam of Nizari Isma'ilism from 1957 until his death in 2025. He inherited the Nizari imamate and the title of Aga Khan at the age of 20 upon the death of his grandfather, the Aga Khan III. During his imamate, he was also known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Isma'ili followers. Al-Husseini's net worth was estimated at over US$13.3 billion by Vanity Fair in 2013. Forbes included al-Husseini in its list of the world’s fifteen richest royals, though he held no political sovereignty or territorial authority. The designation referred to his hereditary role as Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, not to any formal royal or monarchical status. He was the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the largest private development networks in the world. Al-Husseini was a business magnate with citizenship of the UK, France, Switzerland, Portugal and Canada (honorary) as well as a racehorse owner and breeder.

4. Louis Chevrolet (1878 - 1941)

With an HPI of 68.03, Louis Chevrolet is the 4th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was an American racing driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.

5. Gianni Infantino (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 67.81, Gianni Infantino is the 5th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 68 different languages.

Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni vinˈtʃɛntso ˈdʒanni iɱfanˈtiːno]); born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 February 2016. He was re-elected on 5 June 2019 and on 16 March 2023. On 10 January 2020, he was also elected a member of the International Olympic Committee. As president of FIFA, he oversaw the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which he described as "the best World Cup ever" and for which he accepted Order of Friendship medal given to him by Vladimir Putin. He oversaw the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar during which time he defended or minimized controversies surrounding Qatar's human rights record, again describing it as "the best World Cup ever." He played a key role in the selection of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, as he advocated for a Saudi bid and restricted the hosting eligibility, which reduced the number of potential competing bids. Under his leadership, FIFA began engraving Infantino's name on the FIFA Club World Cup trophy.

6. César Ritz (1850 - 1918)

With an HPI of 67.46, César Ritz is the 6th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

César Ritz, born Cäsar Ritz (23 February 1850 – 26 October 1918), was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the Ritz and Carlton Hotels in London (the forerunners of the modern Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company). He was an early hotel chain founder known as "King of Hoteliers, and Hotelier to Kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term ritzy derives.

7. Peter Sauber (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 64.64, Peter Sauber is the 7th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Peter Paul Sauber (born 13 October 1943) is a retired Swiss motorsport executive. He was the team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, most visibly the eponymous Sauber Formula One team.

8. Meyer Guggenheim (1828 - 1905)

With an HPI of 62.59, Meyer Guggenheim is the 8th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Meyer Guggenheim ( GOOG-in-hime; German: [ˈmaɪər ˈɡʊɡn̩haɪm]; February 1, 1828 – March 15, 1905) was the patriarch of what became known as the Guggenheim family in the United States, which became one of the world's wealthiest families during the 19th century, and remained so during the 20th.

9. Umberto Agnelli (1934 - 2004)

With an HPI of 62.33, Umberto Agnelli is the 9th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Umberto Agnelli (Italian: [umˈbɛrto aɲˈɲɛlli]; 1 November 1934 – 27 May 2004) was an Italian industrialist and politician. He was the third son of Virginia (born Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte) and Edoardo Agnelli, and the youngest brother of Gianni Agnelli. Agnelli served as a CEO of Italian carmaker Fiat from 1970 to 1976. After the death of his brother, he was briefly chairman of the Fiat Group until his death, aged 69, in 2004. He was also chairman and later honorary chairman of Juventus, the football team long-associated with Fiat and the Agnelli family, and was for a time the president of the Italian Football Federation. He was a Christian Democracy member of the Senate of the Republic from 1976 to 1979. In 2015, he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

10. Daniel Peter (1836 - 1919)

With an HPI of 61.62, Daniel Peter is the 10th most famous Swiss Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey, he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inventing it, in 1875 or 1876, by adding powdered milk to the chocolate.

People

Pantheon has 18 people classified as Swiss businesspeople born between 1828 and 1970. Of these 18, 7 (38.89%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss businesspeople include Sepp Blatter, Gianni Infantino, and Peter Sauber. The most famous deceased Swiss businesspeople include Joan Gamper, Aga Khan IV, and Louis Chevrolet. As of April 2024, 18 new Swiss businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including Sepp Blatter, Joan Gamper, and Aga Khan IV.