Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) - Forbes.com

Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) - Forbes.com: "Twenty Most Influential Businessmen
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)
Forbes.com Staff, 07.18.05, 12:00 PM ET


Forbes.com readers and editors rank Alfred Nobel as the tenth most influential businessman of all time. (Read more to find out how Forbes.com ranked them.)


Alfred Nobel didn't just invent dynamite, he capitalized on his idea by founding 16 explosives plants in 14 countries. When competition arose among them, he merged them. Two holding companies--the first of their kind--were formed, coordinating everything from production to sales to acquisitions. Historian Ragnhild Lundstrom credits Nobel's creative fusion of his businesses as a template for how to organize a global empire. Dynamite had an enormous impact on the world, both for good--facilitating the construction of tunnels, railroads and canals--and for ill--high-explosive shells dramatically increases warfare's carnage. But perhaps Nobel's most enduring legacy is the annual prizes given in his name for peace, physics, literature, chemistry, economics and medicine. "