20th-century American businesspeople

Joe B. Foster (July 25, 1934 – May 9, 2020) was an American businessman, oilman and philanthropist from Texas. From 1989 to 2005, Foster was chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Newfield Exploration Company, headquartered in Houston. Previously, Foster was chairman of Tenneco Oil Company and executive vice president and director of its parent, Tenneco Inc. He was with Tenneco for 31 years and also served as chairman of the Tenneco Gas Pipeline Group.Foster was born in Arp, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering and a bachelor of business administration degree in general business. In May 1997, he was named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M University. Foster served as chairman of the National Petroleum Council, an industry advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, and in 1995–1996 served as chairman of the Offshore Committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. He was a director of Memorial Hermann Hospital System and served as chairman of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Greater Houston YMCA, and the Texas A&M Development Foundation. He also served on the boards of Baker Hughes Incorporated and New Jersey Resources Corporation. Foster was chairman and a senior advisor at Tudor, Pickering, and Holt 2008–2016.

John Cowles Jr. (May 27, 1929 – March 17, 2012) was an American editor and publisher, son of John Cowles Sr. (1898–1983). Cowles sat on the boards of directors of the Associated Press and Columbia University's Pulitzer Prizes and had been CEO of Cowles Media Company, founded by his grandfather and until 1998 the parent of the Star Tribune.

Barry Allan Ackerley (April 15, 1934 – March 21, 2011) was an American businessman. He was the former chairman and CEO of the Ackerley Group media company. He was also the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics basketball franchise from 1983 to 2001 and the Seattle Storm basketball franchise from 2000 to 2001.

Henry Ridgely Horsey (October 18, 1924 – March 3, 2016) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1978 to 1994. During his tenure as a justice, Horsey authored more than 200 published opinions.

Charles Morrell Jordan (October 21, 1927 – December 9, 2010) was an American automotive designer, born in Whittier, California.Jordan is widely known for his work on the 1959-1960 Cadillac Eldorado and the 1992 Cadillac Seville STS — and his role as vice president of design for General Motors from 1986 to 1992.

Richard Oseran is an Arizona-born Jewish American lawyer and entrepreneur. A third-generation Arizonan, Oseran practiced law for many years arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. He and his wife Shana have been instrumental in the early 21st-century revitalization of Downtown Tucson, Arizona. Together they redeveloped the boutique historic Hotel Congress, the Cup Café, Club Congress, Maynards' Market and Maynards' kitchen.Oseran was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 8, 1945, and moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1963 to attend the University of Arizona and the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Richard and Shana were married in 1979 and spent a year in New Zealand.In the early 1980s Oseran practiced civil litigation.

Harry L. Lewis (April 1, 1920 – June 9, 2013) was a supporting actor in films and was the founder, along with his wife Marilyn, of the Hamburger Hamlet restaurant chain.

Herbert E. Selwyn (April 25, 1925 - February 3, 2016) was an American attorney and businessperson. Selwyn worked as a criminal defense attorney and was counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1950s. His role as an LGBT rights advocate led to the incorporation of the first gay organization, the Mattachine Society.

Richard Palmer Kaleioku Smart (1913–1992) was an American musical theatre actor and singer who became owner of the largest private ranch in Hawaii.

Mervyn Lee Adelson (October 23, 1929 – September 8, 2015) was an American real estate developer and television producer who co-founded Lorimar Television.