20 Jeanne Gang Age: 50 Occupation: Principal, Studio Gang Architects This will be the year that Chicagoans start associating the city’s only female starchitect with something besides Aqua, the undulating tower that has riveted the international design community since the late 2000s. Last October, to effusive praise in the architectural press, this MacArthur “genius” unveiled a … Read more
18 Lester Crown Age: 88 Occupation: Chairman, Henry Crown & Co. The patriarch of the billionaire Crown family just terminated his family trust (amount undisclosed), giving the bulk to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago; doled out $10 million to the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship Program; and gave a large, unspecified sum to Brandeis University. … Read more
19 Greg Wasson Age: 55 Occupation: CEO, Walgreen Co. Last year his $72 billion pharmacy chain opened up 186 new stores and snagged some of the highest-profile retail spots in Chicago (seen the corner of Damen and Milwaukee lately?). Now Wasson, whose company filled 19 percent of U.S. prescriptions in 2013, is reportedly focused on items … Read more
9 Eric Lefkofsky Age: 44 Occupation: CEO, Groupon; cofounder, Lightbank The tech startup buzzword is “disruption”: creating innovative businesses from scratch and turning traditional ones on their heads. As head of the VC firm Lightbank, Lefkofsky knows all about it, boosting Chicago’s tech footprint and reaping billions along the way (much of which he will ultimately … Read more
22 Tom Pritzker Age: 63 Occupation: Executive chairman, Hyatt Hotels This scholar of Himalayan art probably needed all his Zen in 2013 when ironing out the final details of that decadelong untangling of his family’s assets. He has reportedly helped chart a path to peace for some of the bickering heirs while still pursuing a number … Read more
95 Mark Walter Age: 53 Occupation: CEO, Guggenheim Partners This financial services executive and controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers is included here because he’s rumored to be considering a major Chicago investment: the Chicago Tribune (Tribune Co. owns this magazine). Photo: Candace Jordan/Chicago Tribune
3 J.B. Pritzker Age: 49 Occupation: Cofounder and managing partner, Pritzker Group More than just a guy who cuts big checks, this immensely likable godfather of Chicago’s tech scene gets his phone calls returned. Read more in a March feature profile, J.B. Pritzker: The Other Mayor of Chicago. Photo: Bob Stefko
23 Jay Cutler Age: 30 Occupation: Quarterback, Chicago Bears OK, OK, but listen: With Bulls star Derrick Rose sidelined for a second year, this surly, smirking, “You really think I give a damn?” quarterback is suddenly Chicago’s biggest sports celebrity. He’s the most important player on the city’s most watched team, playing the most popular sport … Read more
24 David Spielfogel Age: 36 Occupation: Senior adviser to the mayor Already a member of Rahm’s inner circle, this Clinton White House staffer (and former MacArthur Foundation insider) helped coordinate city and county efforts last year to reduce illegal gun sales by toughening requirements for reporting lost or stolen firearms. He’s the point man, too, on … Read more
25 Jim Delany Age: 65 Occupation: Commissioner, Big Ten Conference Delany is poised to take the wealthiest sports conference in the nation, according to Forbes, and make it even bigger. He brings Maryland and Rutgers into the conference this summer, adding as much as $100 million a year to his $315 million enterprise. The move expands … Read more
