Gulf Coast Toyota/Auburge Resorts Founder

Houston, Texas

Dan Friedkin owns the mammoth dealership Gulf States Toyota, which claims the title of largest private business in Houston, with about $1B in sales. It got that large, in part, by securing exclusive rights to import and distribute Toyota products across five Southern states.

Friedkin is chairman and CEO of Friedkin Capital Partners, a private equity firm through which he manages several businesses. In 2013, Friedkin Capital Partners became a majority owner in Auburge Resorts, where Friedkin is now the chairman.

Auburge Resorts ranks as the world's third-best hotel brand on Travel + Leisure's 2017 list. The company has luxury boutique hotels, spas, six resorts and vacation properties.

In 2015, Friedkin's hospitality investment company, Iconic Properties, bought Aspen's Hotel Jerome and an adjoining property for more than $70M. The company reported at the time that it was a harbinger of Friedkin's strategy: Iconic would own luxury hotel investments, and Auburge Resorts Collection would operate them.

He is a wildlife conservationist, and owns luxury travel and safari businesses. His family controls a trust that is working to preserve 6 million acres of land in Tanzania. He is also a collector of vintage war planes. — Scott Klocksin