Priceline

Selling was in his veins. Jay Walker knew exactly what the customer wanted, and how to provided it. Whether it was earning money, selling candy to camp kids at the young age of eight, or trading in monopoly, Walker had the killer-instinct in him. His disastrous tryst at starting a free weekly newspaper didn't anyway deter him. He moved on to the Internet with priceline.com, a site which initially allowed users to buy flight tickets. Nothing usual about that right, so amny sites allow it, but priceline went a step ahead it allowed the customer to determine the price of the flight ticket. Innovative, unique and giving more choice and power to the customer - philosophies that Walker believes in.

Like a monopoly game, Walker then went about adding more assets the customer's choice expanded from plane tickets to hotel rooms, cars, home mortgages, refinancing and just about any area where a purchased decision is required. And the revenues for priceline are real, unlike the board game. With a market capitalization of over $13 billion, Walker's own worth at 42 percent stake of priceline stands at over $5.5 billion.

Two million customers frequent the site to look at the last pricing options, and Walker is leaving no stones unturned to see that they remain there forever. He has filed over 250 patents on protect ideas, which he claims are unique to priceline, and has already acquired two patents.

Certain ruthlessness and brazen marketing strategies characterize Walker's business practices. But in the extremely completive Internet world, such traits are essential to ward off all challenges and emerge the sole winner.