17. Bill Bowerman - $400m

17. Bill Bowerman - $400m

You may not know his name, but you've almost certainly worn his clothes, and you've seen his logo everywhere your whole life. Bowerman was a track and field coach, and the man who introduced the concept of jogging to America, but what really made him money - and continues to make money for his estate - was the brand he launched. Wanting to create a more comfortable running shoe for athletes, he founded Blue Ribbon Sports. The company would eventually be rebranded as Nike.

The first Nike trainers were hand made by Bowerman using his wife's waffle iron, which he ruined in the process. His experimental approach involved heating plastics and materials in an enclosed space, and the resulting fumes gave him nerve damage, eventually leaving him unable to walk. His biographer later noted that Bowerman had sacrificed his ability to walk in order to give the world better shoes to run in.

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Did You Know...

I

Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.

II

Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.

III

Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.

IV

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.

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