Alex Beard

After stints at BP and Trafigura, Alex Beard joined mining and commodities trading giant Glencore in 1995, where he was named director of the oil commodity department in 2007. Based in London, Beard is the highest-ranking Glencore executive in the U.K., responsible for the company's worldwide oil operations. A graduate of Oxford University with a degree in Biochemistry, Beard joined the billionaires club when Glencore listed on the London exchange in May 2011. Despite its shares losing nearly 20% of their value since their public debut, the future is bright for Glencore. The firm announced plans to merge with mining outfit Xstrata in February 2012. The proposed all-stock "merger of equals" would spawn a $90 billion mining and marketing behemoth.