Rustam Tariko (born 1962), one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Russian history, the owner and founder of the "Russian Standard" brand, which includes the Russian Standard Bank, consumer credit and insurance firms, plus the popular Russian Standard vodka. Unlike many Russian businessmen who created their empires through the corrupt privatization of state enterprises in the early 1990s, Tariko built his company from scratch.

Dietrich Mateschitz (born May 20, 1944 in St. Marein im Mürztal, Styria) is an Austrian businessman and billionaire. He lives in Salzburg, but also owns Laucala Island, off Fiji, which he bought from the Forbes family for £ 7 million. He holds 49 percent of shares in the energy drink producer Red Bull. Mateschitz was raised by two primary-school-teacher parents who separated when he was very young. Although never married, he reportedly has a son.

John (Johnnie) Walker was a Scottish grocer, who originated what would become one of the world’s most famous whisky brand names. Walker was born near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. When his father Alexander died in 1819 he was left £417 in trust. In 1820 the trustees invested in an Italian warehouse, grocery, and wine and spirits shop on the High Street in Kilmarnock. In 1833 John married Elizabeth Purves.

Alexander Walker was the son of John ‘Johnnie’ Walker. He inherited the company in 1857 and expanded its business, exporting whisky throughout the British Empire. In 1867 he registered "Old Highland Whisky", one of the earliest brands to be copyrighted. From that time it has had the now famous slanted black and gold label. In the late 1870s he switched to the distinctive square bottle design.

George Paterson Walker, oldest son of whisky maker Alexander Walker, took over the family business’ London office in 1988, overseeing distribution and marketing. After their father’s death in 1889, his brother Alexander stepped into the production and blending role, …

Hiram Walker (4 July 1816 - 12 January 1899) was an American grocer and distiller, and the eponym of the famous distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada directly across from Detroit, Michigan. Walker founded the distillery in 1858 in what was then Walkerville, Ontario. Walker was born July 4, 1816 in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in the mid-1830s. He purchased land across the river, just east of what was Windsor, Ontario, …

Sir Alexander Walker II was the younger grandson of John ‘Johnnie’ Walker. He and his brother, George Paterson Walker, took the control of the company after the death of their father Alexander Walker in 1889. Alexander took his father’s black labeled blend (called at the time "Walker’s Old Highland") and added two more blends—"Old Highland (white label)", "Special Old Highalnd (red label)"—to the line.

Robert Winship Woodruff (December 6, 1889 - March 7, 1985) was the president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 until 1954. With his enormous Coke fortune, he was also a major philanthropist, and many educational and cultural landmarks in the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia, bear his name. Woodruff was born in Columbus, Georgia, the son of Ernest Woodruff, an Atlanta businessman who, among other things, …

Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 - March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon who made most of his money selling Coca-Cola. He also served as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919. Candler Field, the site of the present-day Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was named after him, as is Candler Park in Atlanta. Candler was born in Villa Rica, Georgia. He began his business career as a drugstore owner and manufacturer of patent medicines.

James Athearn ("J.A.") Folger (June 17 1835 - June 26 1889), was the founder of the Folgers Coffee Company. Folger was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In 1860 he founded the San Francisco coffee firm after leaving Nantucket in the hope of striking it rich in the California gold fields. Instead he struck it big with the J. A. Folger Coffee Company, known today simply as Folgers Coffee.

Cindy McCain (Born in 1954) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the second wife of United States Senator John McCain. She serves as Chairperson of her family's business, Hensley & Company, and previously founded the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988, leading many medical missions to developing and war-torn countries during the Team's seven-year existence.

Abigail Anne Folger was an American coffee heiress, debutante, socialite, volunteer social worker, civil rights devotee and member of the prominent United States Folger family. She was the great-great-granddaughter of J. A. Folger, the founder of Folgers Coffee.

Charles Rosner Bronfman, PC, CC, LL.D (born June 27, 1931 in Montreal) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the fifteenth richest person in Canada, with a net worth of US$2.2 billion (according to Forbes). His fortune comes from the family liquor business. He was the majority owner of the Montreal Expos franchise in Major League Baseball from the team's formation in 1968 until 1990. He is currently in talks to purchase the American soccer club, …

Edgar Miles Bronfman (born June 20, 1929) is a Jewish-Canadian businessman, a member of the Bronfman dynasty, and the father of Edgar Bronfman, Jr. He is the son of Samuel Bronfman the founder of Distillers Corporation Limited who purchased Seagram's in 1928. After graduating from McGill University with a B.A. degree and honors in history in 1951, he joined the family business. In 1957 he took over as head of Seagram's American subsidiary.

Joseph Emm Seagram (April 15, 1841 - August 18, 1919) was a Canadian distillery founder, politician, and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Born at Fisher's Mills, now part of Cambridge, Ontario, his parents died when he was in his teens and for several years, Joseph Seagram lived at William Tassie's boarding school (now Galt Collegiate Institute and Vocational School) in the city of Galt (also now part of Cambridge).

Samuel Bronfman, CC (February 27, 1889 - July 10, 1971) founded Distillers Corporation Limited and a Canadian family dynasty the Bronfman family.

Peter Folger (December 26, 1905- August 27, 1980) was an American coffee heir, socialite, and member of the prominent United States Folger family. He was also the long time Chairman of the board and President at the Folgers Coffee Company. He is the great-grandson of founder J. A. Folger, and the father of Manson murder victim Abigail Folger. Born and raised in California, Folger studied business and graduated from Yale University where he was an athlete on their football, …

Juan Serralles (born c.1845-1921 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) was the founder of what was to become "Serralles Distillers, Inc.", producers of "Don Q", a world renowned brand of Puerto Rican rum.

Fernando Fernandez (c.1850 - 1940), born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was the founder of the oldest rum manufacturing company in Puerto Rico.

Timothy Snelgrove is the founder of Timothy's World Coffee. He started it in 1975 in London, Ontario, calling it "Timothy's Coffees of the World". His father was radio and television pioneer Ralph Snelgrove. He is currently an Executive Recruiter.