Shahid Khan

Shahid Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. When he was 16, Khan came to the United States to study mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. With only $500 in his pocket, he went to work as a dishwasher while in school, until he was hired by Flex-N-Gate, a small automotive manufacturing company. Upon graduating, he became the company’s engineering director.

Seven years later, Khan started his own company, Bumper Works. Before long, the success of one of its products — a one-piece, lightweight, rustproof truck bumper — allowed him to purchase Flex-N-Gate from his former employer and merge the two companies. The business grew dramatically as his truck bumper became an industry standard, adopted by major automakers like GM, Ford, Toyota, and BMW. Flex-N-Gate’s success had made Khan one of the richest men in America.

Khan made further history in 2011 when he purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, becoming the first Pakistani American franchise owner in NFL history. He has hosted naturalization ceremonies at halftime during Jaguars games, personally welcoming the new citizens. Khan knows from experience what opportunities await newcomers to the United States. “You can do anything you want to do,” he told Forbes. “You have to work hard, you have to create your own luck, and you have to have some luck also. But here, it’s possible.”