2. James Simons, Ph.D.

They say money is power, and Simons has plenty of it. The former U.S. National Security Agency code cracker and chairman of Stony Brook University’s renowned math department founded and heads the private East Setauket investment firm Renaissance Technologies Corporation, one of the world’s most successful hedge funds. Forbes magazine ranked him No. 57 on their list of the 400 richest Americans last year. He beat out Cablevision mogul Charles Dolan to become the richest Long Islander on Forbes’ list, with a net worth of $5.5 billion. But what really earns this self-made billionaire a spot here is what he does outside the office. Simons, the father of a child with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, has given almost $100 million to Stony Brook University, to fund studies into the cause of the disorder, and to his former math department. The $60 million gift last month is the largest given to any public institution in the SUNY system.