100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
48. Louis B Mayer (1884-1957)
“Be smart, but never show it.”
Louis B. Mayer was a Russian born Canadian-American film producer and business executive who turned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer into the most successful motion picture studio in the world. He was a hardnosed negotiator famous for paying actors and actresses below what they were used to, earning a bad name with some, Mayer turned MGM into a powerhouse success, the only motion picture production company that was able to pay dividends during the Great Depression. Mayer became the first American to earn a salary of $1 million, which today would be the equivalent of over $21 million. He held the title as the highest paid man in the United States for nine years.
