Gene Genies
Anne Wojcicki and Linda Avey
Co-founders // 23andMe
23andMe is among the first of a handful of companies to offer at-home genetic testing. More radical is its goal of facilitating what might be called grassroots research projects: studies in which people with a specific illness offer their samples en masse as a way to determine genetic links.
Market Mover
Yue Minjun
Artist
Before the prices for Chinese art exploded, Yue Minjun was a relatively obscure painter. But in October, his Massacre of Chios sold at auction for $4.1 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong, and a week later, his Execution fetched $5.9 million at a Sotheby's auction in London, a record for a Chinese contemporary work.
Doing Well by Doing Better
Jacqueline Novogratz
C.E.O. // Acumen Fund
After seven years at the Rockefeller Foundation, Jacqueline Novogratz founded the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital firm that applies business metrics to philanthropy. So far, Acumen has invested $31 million in 21 businesses in Africa, India, and Pakistan.
Sequel to the Waltons
Lee Scott
C.E.O. // Wal-Mart
Under Lee Scott, the 46-year-old company is moving with the nimbleness of a startup. This year, Wal-Mart will begin opening in-store health clinics, and the firm set out to sell 100 million energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs in 2007, a goal it accomplished in October, three months early.
Brain From Ukraine
Max Levchin
C.E.O. // Slide.com
Levchin's Slide.com creates widgets—applications which people use to personalize their MySpace pages and Facebook profiles. Just as nearly everyone with a PC uses Microsoft's programs, Slide's software is on track to become the industry standard for social networking.
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