Francis Holder

Francis Holder founded and runs Groupe Holder, a French baking conglomerate with annual revenues of $1 billion.His Paul bakery-cafe chain counts 740 stores in 43 countries, and its high-end macaron house Laduree has 85 shops in 50 countries.His white-label firm Chateau Blanc sells more than 500 kinds of breads, pastries and macaron to more than 200 clients worldwide, including McDonald's.Chateau Blanc's factory in Lille, France makes more than 30,000 macaron shells an hour.Holder took over his family's small bakery at 18 years old, after his father died of a heart attack at 51 years old.