Ten Of The World's Coolest Jewish CEOs

These highly successful CEOs prove that there are many paths to success – many of which start in Hebrew school.

1. Isaac Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment

Age: 71

Perlmutter tops our list as CEO of the best known comic book company on Earth.

Born to a Jewish family in Palestine, he moved to the U.S. after serving in the Israeli army during the Six Day War of 1967. He arrived in New York City with only $250.

At first, Perlmutter earned a living standing outside of Jewish cemeteries in Brooklyn, lending his Hebrew skills to lead funeral services. Later, he sold toys and beauty products on the streets. He never attended college, but he taught himself how to read a balance sheet and earned a reputation for spotting overlooked value in struggling companies.

Perlmutter took over as CEO of Marvel Entertainment in 2005. Even after Disney's acquisition of the company, they kept him as CEO due to his "super" credentials.

He currently splits his time living between New York and West Palm Beach, Florida.

2. Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks

Age: 60

If you've never heard of the company this guy got off the ground, just walk a mile in any direction.

Born in 1953 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, Howard Schultz was the first person in his family to go to college. He attended Northern Michigan University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications in 1975.

In 1982 he joined Starbucks, then a fledgling coffee-bean shop in Seattle, as its director of marketing. In 1986, after leaving Starbucks, Schultz had enough money to open his version of an Italian espresso cafe. He called it. 'Il Giornale'. Two years later, Starbucks management sold its retail unit to Schultz.

Now Starbucks is the largest and most popular coffeehouse company in the world.

3. Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc

This amazing woman has a black-belt in kung fu, has trained women in self-defense, used to dance at a nightclub and has been involved in more social activism scenes than we can count.

Now she's the CEO of Bend the Arc, a Jewish partnership that engages people and communities in creating economic opportunity and promoting social justice.

Prior to joining the organization in 2005, Cotler was the founder and director of an anti-violence organization for women and youth.

She was featured in The Jewish Daily Forward's "14 Jewish Women to Watch" in 2014 as one of the few women leading a national Jewish group of its size.

4. Mark Fields, CEO of Ford Motor Company

Age: 53

Henry Ford might be rolling over in his grave over this. We couldn't be happier.

The newest, soon-to-be CEO on our list, Mark Fields will be the first Jewish CEO of Ford Motor Company. He is scheduled to succeed Alan Mulally on July 1, 2014.

Recruited by Ford in 1989, he quickly moved up the ranks and never hid his Jewish roots. By 1996 he was already running Ford's Argentina operations and at 38 he became the youngest person ever to run a major Japanese company when Ford placed him in charge of Mazda Motor Corporation.

Fields holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Rutgers University and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard.

Most people feel as though they've made it when they can buy a nice car. This guy now has his own car company.

5. Diane von Furstenberg, CEO of Diane von Furstenberg Clothing Line

Age: 67

Born in Brussels to Jewish parents in 1946, just 18 months prior her mother was in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Furstenberg often speaks about her mother teaching her that "fear is not an option."

In 1969, she married Prince Egon of Furstenberg, making her a princess.

She studied Economics in Switzerland, then moved to Paris where she worked as an assistant fashion photographer. In 1970, she began designing women's clothing.

Later, she moved to New York, where Vogue editor Diana Vreeland caught sight of her work. She declared Furstenberg's designs "absolutely smashing" and featured her in the magazine.

The rest is history.

6. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

Age: 30

The youngest person on our list, we're sure many of you are already familiar with his story. After all, his rise to the top of the social media food chain was dramatized in David Fincher's 2010 film, "The Social Network."

At the age of 23, he became a billionaire as a result of Facebook's success. In 2011, Zuckerberg ranked first on the Jerusalem Post's "Most Influential Jews in the World" list.

His salary as Facebook's CEO is $1, but his net worth is estimated at more than $25 billion as of April 2014.

In 2013, he made $970 million in charitable donations, leading the list of philanthropists that year. What a mensch!

7. Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Mondelez International

Age: 61

Rosenfeld's academic credentials are impressive. She holds a Ph.D. in Marketing and Statistics, a Master of Science in Business, and a B.A. degree in Psychology from Cornell University.

If you've never heard of Mondelez International, just look in your refrigerator or pantry. They own the snack food world, including billion-dollar brands Nabisco and Oreo cookies, Trident gums and Kraft.

In 2010, Forbes ranked Rosenfeld the second most powerful woman in the world.

She would have been ranked first had she just given Forbes an extra bowl of macaroni & cheese.

8. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle

Age: 69

In 2014, Forbes listed Ellison as the third-wealthiest man in America and fifth-wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune of $48 billion.

In 1977, with an investment of only $2,000, he founded Software Development Laboratories. After years of success, the company was renamed Oracle Systems Corporation.

Fun fact: the name Oracle comes from the code name of a CIA-funded project Ellison had worked on for a previous employer.

9. Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN (Home Shopping Network)

Mindy Grossman joined HSN in 2006, after spending six years at Nike and five at Polo Jeans. That's not too surprising, as you can tell from the picture that her fashion sense is impeccable.

Since joining HSN she has been responsible for transforming it into a lifestyle network, diversifying its portfolio of brands and personalities, and spearheading efforts to evolve the network into a multiplatform business. She became HSN's CEO just two years later in 2008.

In 2012, Grossman won the Ernst & Young's Corporate Innovator of the Year Award. In 2009, Forbes listed her as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world.

She attended Manhattanville College and George Washington University.

10. Larry Page, CEO of Google

Age: 41

If we have a question, we don't ask someone the answer. We Google it.

Google's co-founder and CEO Larry Page is responsible for PageRank, the foundation of Google's search-engine. Google is so ubiquitous, we can't imagine what life would be like without it anymore.

Born in East Lansing, Michigan, Page's father Carl is considered a "pioneer in computer science and artificial intelligence" in his own right.

While attending the University of Michigan, Page created an ink-jet printer made out of Legos. He graduated with honors and went on to receive a Masters of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University.

In 1998, he and Sergey Brin founded Google. Page officially became the company's CEO in 2011 and is worth upwards of $32 billion. You can Google that.