32. Paul Graham, Sam Altman

Founding Partner; President, Y Combinator

Y Combinator remains the most important startup accelerator program in the world, creating billion-dollar brands out of little-known startups.

Paul Graham made plenty of headlines last year — for better and for worse. In May, Graham announced that 37 out of the program's then-511 startups are either worth at least $40 million or have sold for that amount. In order to make the startup funding process more fair, Graham changed its investment policy for partners. Now YC partners are no longer able to invest in a startup's first $500,000 raise, unless it's three weeks after Demo Day.

Just last month, Altman replaced Graham as president of Y Combinator. Now, Altman is tasked with growing YC. Graham will still continue to hold office hours with startups in the program.