Doesn’t That level of power automatically makes someone:
Publicly known (at least in business, government, media circles) Documented online, in filings, press, contracts, etc. Recognizable to anyone
Especially if the CEO is a person of color who came from a middle class background
Wouldn’t they be automatically famous?
Almost certainly not. “Famous” is a strong word. A lot of fortune 500 companies are holding companies, many of them not even holding household name brands but business-to-business providers that nobody outside the business world or industry they’re involved in have ever heard of. I work for one (more specifically, I work for a massive technology company that is owned by one of them), the parent company is on the Fortune 500, I can pretty much guarantee you’ve never heard of them. I hadn’t until one of their subsidiaries purchased the company I was working for. Many of them are just holding companies that own brands you might have heard of, but you’ve probably never heard of the company that owns them. It changes more often than you’d think, sometimes they change names and owners so frequently you might suspect they’re specifically trying to avoid the attention of becoming “famous”.
You can, of course, look them up on the list. But they’re just a name, and a description, and a breathless history of how they started and how innovative and clever they are, and a vague collection of noteworthy brands and assets, but it’s all ephemeral and disposable. They have nothing to be famous for. They have no history they care about. There is nothing interesting or special about them at all. The only thing that puts them on the list is how much they own, and how much new stuff they buy to make sure they keep their share of the market and prevent anyone from challenging them. They don’t do anything besides owning.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard my company’s name or even the parent company’s name on the news, not even on the business/stock market news, despite being on the Fortune 500. I barely even recognize my own company’s CEO (seems to change every so often and I can’t be bothered to pay attention – highly engaged worker here!), nevermind the CEO of the parent company. I wouldn’t even be able to guess at their name. They are, for all intents and purposes, disposable and anonymous figureheads as far as I can tell. Nobody cares. Contract value, revenue, new product offerings, sure, people care about that. But the company itself? Nah.
Man, this would fit right into Fight Club…
How about Black or other person of color CEOs? How are they famous?
I have absolutely zero interest in discussing anything related to race, religion, or any other hyper-polarized issues in this context, and I have a sneaking suspicion this is some kind of race-baiting sealioning bullshit that is going to quickly devolve into a nazi horror show whether you intend it to or not (and I suspect you might intend it very much).
OP is writing a book based on other comments.
They use this sub to ask us questions for inspiration.
Based on what they’ve asked… Its probably not going to sell many copies
I’m not. I’m just asking how a person of color who’s a billionaire or CEO can be unknown, since whenever it happens, it’s a pretty big deal.
I get what you mean here and it’s a solid instinct, but based on this and a lot of other posts I think they’re pretty sincere and don’t have any I’ll intent here. They’re just trying to create something that touches on topics of special importance to them.