6. Chung Mong Koo
Hyundai Motor Company chairman
A free man running the No. 5 automaker
2008 Rank: 47
Where was he last year? He narrowly avoided prison after he was convicted on charges of embezzlement to set up a political slush-fund. Chung has since donated the equivalent of more than $1 billion to charity and had his sentence suspended.
While all this was going on: This hands-on chairman pushed Hyundai/Kia past Honda Motor to become the world's fifth-largest automaker, by sales volume.
Bet you didn't know: His father and uncles established Hyundai, now the second-largest chaebol in South Korea, in 1940 as an auto-repair shop.
Influence on: First indigenous V-8, the Tau, in Lexus-fighter Genesis. Up next, a V-6-powered Mustang-fighter and the Portico crossover/utility vehicle. Subsidiary Kia's new Soul also looks like a winner.
Success where you wouldn't expect it: Europe.
Bottom line: Hyundai is a rare bright spot in the current automotive environment.
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