BUSINESSPEOPLE from Belarus

Top 4

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

1. David Sarnoff (1891 - 1971)

With an HPI of 50.73, David Sarnoff is the most famous Belarusian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.

David Sarnoff (US: ; February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led RCA for most of his career in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970. He headed a conglomerate of telecommunications and media companies, including RCA and NBC, that became one of the largest in the world. Named a Reserve Brigadier General of the Signal Corps in 1945, Sarnoff thereafter was widely known as "The General".

2. Andrey Melnichenko (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 45.04, Andrey Melnichenko is the 2nd most famous Belarusian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko (Russian: Андрей Игоревич Мельниченко; Belarusian: Андрэй Iгаравiч Мельнічэнка; born 8 March 1972) is a Russian-Emirati billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and ex-beneficiary of fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and coal producer SUEK, and was a non-executive director in both companies until 9 March 2022.In 2022 Forbes and Bloomberg estimated his net worth at $15.8 billion and $17.4 billion respectively, which makes him one of the richest persons in Russia. In the 2023 ranking, for the first time, he took first place among Russian billionaires with a fortune of $25.2 billion (58th place in the world).According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index his net worth is about $21.9 billion as of February 2024.After the Soviet Union fell, he began trading currency with two friends while a physics student at Moscow State University, and then registered a bank, MDM Bank.Melnichenko took an interest in the commodities market and began buying assets in coal and fertilizers, with the acquisition of plants and mines, many of which were distressed. He founded fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK.

3. Leonard Chess (1917 - 1969)

With an HPI of 44.60, Leonard Chess is the 3rd most famous Belarusian Businessperson.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known simply as Leonard Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago blues, and rock and roll.

4. Gary Vaynerchuk (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 38.06, Gary Vaynerchuk is the 4th most famous Belarusian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Gennady Alexandrovich Vaynerchuk (also transliterated as Hyenadz Alyaksandravich Vaynyarchuk; November 14, 1975), more commonly known by his alias Gary Vaynerchuk or Gary Vee, is an American businessman, author, speaker, and internet personality. He is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software company Resy and Empathy Wines. First known as a wine critic who expanded his family's wine business, Vaynerchuk is now more known for his work in digital marketing and social media as the chairman of New York–based communications company VaynerX, and as CEO of VaynerX subsidiary VaynerMedia.