BusinessWeek Logo
George Soros

Getty Images

George Soros

Chairman, Soros Fund Management

The 77-year-old Hungarian investor became "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England" in 1992, when he shorted the British pound just before Britain dropped out of the fixed exchange rate system. For years, the pound's exchange rate had been held up artificially, and Soros sold $10 billion in pounds right before the wheels came off. The result was an eye-popping $1 billion for Soros on Sept. 16, 1992.