Born in South Korea and raised in Los Angeles, John Cho worked hard to become one of the most influential Asian American actors of his generation. Cho first gained widespread praise for his role in the 1999 smash hit “American Pie.” Afterwards, the sharp-witted actor was applauded for breaking Hollywood stereotypes with his portrayal of Harold Lee…
As Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of DoorDash, Tony Xu is one of Silicon Valley’s brightest stars and an example of the American dream realized. At the age of five, Xu and his family emigrated from China to the U.S. with only $200. Growing up, Xu’s family relied on low-wage service jobs and government assistance to get by…
James Altucher is living an extraordinary life. With his signature glasses and unruly mop of curly hair, the 53-year-old Renaissance man is impossible to pigeonhole: hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, bestselling author, venture capitalist, standup comedian, chess master, and podcaster…
E.B. White will always be indebted to his niece. White joined the New Yorker Magazine in 1927 – two years after its founding – and for the next six decades he wrote essays and articles that established him as one of America’s most influential and urbane writers. But it wasn’t until White received encouragement from his young niece…
David S. Rohde is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who, in 2008, was kidnapped by the Taliban. After seven months of being held hostage by jihadists in rural Pakistan, Rohde made a daring escape that garnered media attention from across the globe…
Born in upstate New York in 1862, Charles Evans Hughes devoted himself to public service and the law, serving as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. Known as a master of building consensus, Hughes presided over the Supreme Court during one of its most difficult periods…
Wilbur Ross is an American businessman who served as the 39th United States secretary of commerce from 2017 to 2021. With nearly six decades of investment banking and private equity experience, Ross has restructured over $400 billion of assets…
Sometimes called “the father of modern linguistics,” Noam Chomsky is one of the most cited scholars in modern history. Fueled by his view that language and universal grammar are uniquely human mental abilities, his work has revolutionized the field of linguistics…
The son of a Texas minister, Ken Starr is perhaps best known as the lawyer who led an independent investigation of the Monica Lewinsky scandal during President Bill Clinton’s administration. Starr is much more than that, though, having built a distinguished career in law, academia, and public service…
Standup comedian Demetri Martin is probably what would happen if Noam Chomsky was outright hilarious. One of today’s smartest and most unconventional funnymen, Martin is best known for his use of palindromes, deadpan delivery, satirical drawings, and clever one-liners…
