Paul Singer

There’s probably no one a Fortune 500 CEO would like to receive a call from less. Paul Singer, president and co-CEO of Elliott Management, founded one of Wall Steet’s first hedge funds. Nearly 50 years later, many view Elliott, which manages almost $70 billion in assets, as the world’s most famous—and feared—activist investor. This year, Singer’s firm has targeted two iconic brands, helping push out the CEO of Starbucks and waging a proxy fight at Southwest that resulted in the airline’s chairman, Gary Kelly, announcing his retirement and Elliott taking 5 board seats. Samsung, NRG Energy, and the Argentine government have been other recent targets. Singer, whose reported net worth exceeds $6 billion, is a noted Republican donor and advocate for Israel and LGTBQ rights.