Image: via Forbes.
The Forbes Midas List is an annual list compiled by Forbes magazine that ranks the top dealmakers in technology and venture capital. The list contains 100 of the biggest names in the technology and business industries, and can be quickly sorted by age and gender.
There are definitely undisputed business bigwigs that make the list year after year, but the 2015 Midas List contains a few unexpected newcomers. Explains Forbes’ Alex Konrad, “When it comes to top venture investor by returns, no one’s topping Jim Goetz,” of Goetz’s winning investment in WhatsApp, which landed him in the number 1 spot the Midas List.
Konrad continues,
But as the private valuations of ride-sharing service Uber and Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi soar about $40 billion and exits from Alibaba’s record-setting public offering to Amazon’s billion-dollar deal for streaming site Twitch began to pile up, the ranks of the 2014 Midas List are changing fast.
Some of the Midas List newcomers that Konrad refers to include Anton Levy, who made the list this year for his lead role in General Atlantic’s investment in Alibaba, Rebecca Lynn, a cofounder and general partner of Canvas Venture Fund, and Steven Ji, an engineer and partner at Sequoia Capital China.
Somewhat unsurprisingly (but disappointing all the same), only five women made the Midas List this year. Writes Forbes’ Ryan Mac, “Of the 100 members on this year’s Midas List, you can count all the women on one hand. Though it’s a slight improvement from 2014 when only four female partners made Forbes’ ranking of the world’s top venture capitalists, a male-dominated industry should not thump its chest at only having five female members crack 2015’s club. Jenny Lee ranks the highest of the women on the list at number 10, and the other four include newcomer Rebecca Lynn, Mary Meeker, Anna Lamont, and Beth Seidenberg.
The 2015 Midas List top five include Steve Anderson, Josh Kopelman, Chris Sacca, Peter Fenton, and of course, Jim Goetz at the number one spot. It’s worth pointing out that all of these Midas List members made significant investments in social media, including WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Learn more about the 2015 Midas List by visiting Forbes.
