C. James Koch

James Koch, the man behind Samuel Adams beer, is a founding father of the American craft brewery movement. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Koch landed in Boston as a Harvard student. The son of a small-time brewmaster, Koch broke family tradition and became a consultant after college. But in 1984, he dug up an old beer recipe his great-great grandfather had used in the 1870s, brewed a batch in his kitchen, quit his job, and started selling Sam Adams. Boston Beer had 2013 revenues of $794 million and sells more than 50 different types of beer in every state in the U.S. and 20 foreign countries.