Sports: Lalit Modi

Age: 45
Chairman and Commissioner, Indian Premier League

Brash and ambitious, Lalit Modi took daylong games of cricket and squeezed them into three hours. Then he added music, cheerleaders, and Bollywood stars. The result: the billion-dollar Indian Premier League, with players from all around the world competing for a chance to play against each other. With just one season behind it, the wildly successful IPL had to shift to South Africa this year because the Indian government couldn't guarantee security for both the elections and the league. Modi doesn't mind; he planned to take the league international anyway.

next slide previous slide