5. James Simons, Ph.D.

Just being a billionaire would normally qualify a person as a figure of power, but what makes Simons powerful is that he’s also somewhat of an anti-billionaire. He has managed to formulate an investment strategy so powerful in its precision and theory that his company, Renaissance Technologies, rarely loses ground. In fact, when Wall Street was spiraling downward, Simons’ disciplined investment strategies kept his firm moving forward. And Simons did it all steadily under the radar with all the humility of a millionaire, rather than a billionaire. What really makes Simons so powerful is what he does with his wealth. Depending upon your interaction with him, he is a philanthropist, mathematician, scholar, mentor or family man. He has endured tragedy beyond what many mortals could endure, and come through with the kind of class that all the disgraced on Wall Street should emulate.