Stories Of Entrepreneurial Capitalism Across Our 49 International Editions

Across the planet, our 49 licensed editions span six continents, 81 countries and 31 languages. They all share the same mission: celebrating entrepreneurial capitalism in all its forms.

ARGENTINA

“As a parent, one tries to convey gratitude for being alive, for effort, for virtues, honoring it with work, building something beyond oneself, not being arrogant and assuming social responsibility with community service.”

CHINA

The collective fortunes of Chinese billionaires is up 26% over 2024, despite escalating trade tensions with the U.S. ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming (front left) saw a more than 50% jump in his net worth to $65.5 billion, with investors optimistic about the AI potential of the tech giant’s TikTok app. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng (front, second from right) joined the ranks after the red-hot AI firm based in Hangzhou released its ChatGPT competitor in January.

INDIA

When Anish Shah became CEO of Mahindra Group in 2021, it was the first time someone outside the billionaire Mahindra family took the wheel since 1945, when two brothers and a third cofounder started the company in steel trading. Today, the $19 billion (revenue) Mumbai empire employs 260,000 people in 100 countries with businesses ranging from automobile manufacturing to resorts to farm equipment. Shah’s next big hurdle is to maintain dominance in India’s SUV and tractor market while racing into the EV future.

ISRAEL

Forbes Israel calls Dean Leitersdorf, 27, one of the most promising figures on its 30 Under 30 list. The computer science Ph.D., who hails from the town of Mevaseret Zion, cofounded AI startup Decart in late 2023 with Moshe Shalev and has secured $53 million in funding at a reported valuation of at least $500 million. Based in San Francisco, Decart enables organizations to develop and train big data models efficiently. It released an AI-generated video game, Oasis, which Leitersdorf says reached 1 million registered users in just three days—faster than the growth pace of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Elon Musk took notice, writing on his X platform last October, “Wow, this is happening fast.”

ITALY

“It doesn’t matter how traditional or innovative a sector is; the important thing is to develop it in the Italian way,” says Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the 30-year-old son of late eyeglasses billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio (d. 2022). “I love Italy and its variety, and it is this wealth that guides my every investment choice.” Through his three-year-old family office, LMDV Capital, he has holdings in bottled water, restaurants, film production and entertainment. He’s also an executive at EssilorLuxottica, which owns brands such as LensCrafters, Oakley and Ray-Ban, all of which his father acquired as founder and longtime head of Luxottica.

LUXEMBOURG

Rolf Sorg started PM-International in 1993 and has grown it every year since. Today his $3.3 billion (revenue) Schengen-based company sells supplement pills, nutrient-rich drink blends and skin care products in nearly 100 countries. “I’ve learned that success lies outside the comfort zone,” says Sorg, who is still CEO, reflecting on managing through crises and challenges like Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on goods imported to the U.S.

ROMANIA

“A building is not just infrastructure, but also the value it brings to the people who use it every day.”

SPAIN

Demetrio Carceller Arce runs Damm, a Barcelona-based brewery that dates to 1876 and that his oilman grandfather purchased in the 1950s and passed down to his father, former billionaire Demetrio Carceller Coll (d. 2023). During three decades at the helm, Carceller Arce has prioritized expanding internationally—Damm is now in over 130 countries—while adding product categories such as soft drinks and incorporating sustainable measures like solar power generation. “When I arrived, Damm was like a sleeping racehorse, with extraordinary potential—a local, profitable company with a century-long history,” he says. It now brings in north of $2 billion in annual revenue.

THAILAND

“Being the next tycoon makes me see myself as a big fish,” says Tanit Chearavanont, the grandson of the country’s richest person, Dhanin Chearavanont, in an interview with Forbes Thailand in which he discusses the importance of next-gen leaders gaining outside experience. “But in this generation, I see the next tycoon as a ‘fast fish’ that eats both big and small fish.” In his case, he’s working at Bangkok-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, run by his uncle Suphachai Chearavanont. He currently leads international expansion for the group’s retail arm, CP Axtra, which generated about $15 billion in 2024 revenue selling groceries and other products in nine countries.

TURKEY

Former university classmates Yiğit Gürocak (right) and Ali Yılmaz created Obilet in 2012 to digitize buying bus tickets. The pair have since expanded into an online booking site for flights, hotels, car rentals and ferries. The company is headquartered in Istanbul and now operates in 50 countries, 21 languages and 33 currencies. It had attracted nearly $20 million in investments before French carpooling marketplace BlaBlaCar acquired an 80% stake in late 2024.