In 1841, a temperance meeting was held in Loughborough and Cook arranged for the Midland Railway to run an excursion train from Leicester and back, charging passengers a shilling for the return journey. This was the first ever-public excursion train journey in England. From this, he began to arrange excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway tickets. In 1844, the Midland Counties Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him provided he found the passengers. He was working from London by this time. In 1856, he introduced a railway tour of Europe and in the early 1860’s he began the travel firm of Thomas Cook and son, which now included tours of the USA. Today, Thomas Cook Group is one of the largest retail travel network in the world. [More]

There is only 1 correct answer and 43 quintillion wrong ones for Rubik’s Cube. God’s algorithm is the answer that solves the puzzle in the least number of moves. One eighth of the world’s population has laid hands on “The Cube”, the most popular puzzle in history and the colorful brainchild of Erno Rubik. Rubik’s initial attraction to inventing the Cube was not in producing the best selling toy puzzle in history. The structural design problem interested Rubik; he asked: „How could the blocks move independently without falling apart?“ In Rubik’s Cube, twenty-six individual little cubes or cubies make up the big Cube. Each layer of nine cubies can twist and the layers can overlap. Any three squares in a row, except diagonally, can join a new layer. Rubik’s initial attempt to use elastic bands failed, his solution was to have the blocks hold themselves together by their shape. Rubik hand carved and assembled the little cubies together. He marked each side of the big Cube with adhesive paper of a different color, and started twisting. [More]

Amancio Ortega Gaona is a famous Galician fashion designer and entrepreneur. As a founder of ZARA, co-founder and chairman of Inditex Group, he’s been listed as one of the richest men in the world by Forbes. „ZARA“ is a part of a holding company called Inditex. Inditex is now the largest textile company in the world. With net worth of $31 billion, Amancio is Spain’s richest man and 8th richest man in the world. This is how the story went for Amancio Ortega, the son of a maid, who never had formal education but could become very successful. [More]

Forbes is a privately held publishing and news media company. Its flagship publication is Forbes, oldest of the nation’s major business magazines. In an industry increasingly dominated by public conglomerates, Forbes remains one of the largest and most successful family businesses of its kind. In recent years the company has expanded to include Forbes.com, Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Custom Media, and American Heritage. Forbes Inc. has enjoyed a long history as one of the most successful and recognized publishers of financial news and information and ranks as one of the top 15 highest-grossing magazine publishers. Forbes magazine and international editions are read by more than five million people. In addition to the flagship magazine, the company produces Forbes.com, which claims to be the Web’s leading business site. Other publications are ForbesLife (formerly Forbes FYI) and American Heritage, as well as local language editions produced by affiliates in several foreign countries. Forbes Conference Group and Forbes Custom Media are newer parts of the business. [More]

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Opened first Ikea store 50 years ago; stores’s name is a combination of initials of his first and last name, his family farm and the nearest village. Retired in 1986; company’s “senior adviser” still reportedly works tirelessly on his brand. Discount retailer now sells 9,500 items in 36 countries; prints catalog in 27 languages. Revenues up 7% to $27.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. Opened tenth store in China this February; planning to open first in Dominican Republic later this year. Three sons all work at the company. Thrifty entrepreneur flies economy class, frequents cheap restaurants and furnishes his home mostly with Ikea products.

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Carlos Slim, a Mexican civil engineer who is now half a billion dollars richer than previous list-topper Bill Gates, is worth $53.5 billion (39.2 billion euros), according to the 2010 Forbes magazine list of billionaires. For the first time ever, the name at the top of the Forbes Magazine list of the world’s richest people belongs to someone not from Europe, or the US, or an oil-rich Arab state, but to someone from the developing world. He built a telecom and mobile communications empire after buying Mexican telephone monopoly Telmex in 1990, and has gone on to own department stores, construction companies, and financial services firm Inbursa Financial Group, among other investments. Wealth-watchers point to the list as evidence that there is money to be made in the developing world. Carlos Slim controls more than 200 companies. These range from telecoms, where he first made his fortune, to infrastructure, banking and retail. In order to maintain his influence over his expanding empire, his sons and sons-in-law have been put in charge of many businesses. One of the most significant in Mr. Slim’s empire is America Movil, Latin America’s largest mobile phone company, which operates in 11 countries and serves more than 150 million customers. His telecoms interests also extend to Telmex - the company he fought to take control of in 1990 when it was nationalized. It now operates around 90% of Mexico’s telephone lines. Mr. Slim, whose heavy-set figure belies his name, also owns the Inbursa financial group and the Grupo Carso industrial conglomerate, interests of who range from retail stores to restaurants. Meanwhile, the infrastructure firm he owns, Ideal, is working on a project to develop a shopping centre, schools and a hospital in Mexico City. If you have yet to hear of Carlos Slim, that may be about to change. In recent years the tycoon has sought to expand his businesses abroad, including investments in 2008 in the New York Times newspaper and in the struggling bank Citigroup. In the UK he has been linked with investments in company behind the Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers. Analysts suggest he is trying to replicate his Latin American success on a global scale. That remains to be seen, but his rise to the number one spot on the world rich list shows that a global economic downturn is unlikely to slow his progress.

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The founders of Chivas Brothers, James and John Chivas, strongly believed that the power of a whisky was in its ability to be of a consistently high standard, and in the early 19th century they began to create always smooth, high quality blended whiskies. They were thus true pioneers of the art of blending. The Chivas brothers also had the foresight to invest in a precious inventory of fine maturing whiskies to ensure the consistent quality of their blends over time. James Chivas established a template for his whiskies which was founded on two fundamental principles: old, mature stocks and a distinct Speyside accent. The exceptional standards established by the founders of the company were carried on from generation to generation. Near the turn of the 20th century, Chivas Brothers rewrote blending history by creating a premium blend called Chivas Regal. Today the unique style of Chivas Regal is maintained to the same 200-year-old standards by the Chivas Brothers master blender.

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Giorgio Armani is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Armani Group and sole share holder of Giorgio Armani S.p.A., one of the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle design houses, with 5,000 direct employees, 13 factories, and a direct network of 500 exclusive retail stores in 46 countries worldwide. Under Mr. Armani’s direction, Giorgio Armani S.p.A. today stands as one of the few remaining independent, privately-owned companies in its sector, with a proven business strategy that has capitalized on the worldwide power and potential of the Armani brand name.