Earle M. Jorgensen*

The only son of Danish immigrants living in San Francisco, Earle Jorgensen was born in 1898. His father, a sea captain, died when Jorgensen was in high school, forcing the boy to drop out at age 14 and get a job to help support his widowed mother.

Jorgensen earned $25 a month working as an office boy, and then he served in World War I in the U.S. Army Tank Corps. After the war, he settled in Los Angeles and went into business for himself as a salvage broker. With a $20,000 loan from a stranger who befriended him, Jorgensen created an empire that became the largest independent steel distributor in the nation.

As part of their friendship, Jorgensen helped persuade Ronald Reagan to move into politics. He served on Reagan's informal "kitchen cabinet" but declined any job in Washington in the Reagan administration, preferring to stick to his business.

Jorgensen's favorite slogan was, "Hustle, that's all."