Robert Pera

Apple hardware engineer turned wireless networking entrepreneur struck out on his own in 2005 with the goal of bringing affordable internet access to the world's emerging markets. Says Pera, "Apple's a great company, but I realized I wanted to have more success faster."Six years later, at age 34, Pera became a billionaire when his Ubiquiti Networks went public in October 2011. Relying on a network of more than 50 distributors and hundreds of resellers across the globe, Ubiquiti maintains no traditional sales team. By keeping costs low, Ubiquiti can afford to outcompete established competitors like Motorola on price while keeping profit margins fat (north of 25% in 2011.) Ubiquiti's product range includes Wi-Fi amplification systems that can provide internet access to as few as 10 people or more than 10,000 customers within a 36-mile radius. Master of Science, University of California, San Diego; Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of California, San Diego