Category: Thinkers
Larry Gagosian
Company: Gagosian Galleries
Industry: Art
What makes them Haute: Gagosian is a powerful figure in the contemporary arts scene, as he reps Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and Richard Serra, amongst others.

Category: Billionaires
Larry Silverstein
Company: Silverstein Properties
Industry: Real Estate
What makes them Haute: The prominent developer is governor of the Real Estate Board of New York and is overseeing the World Trade Center reconstruction.

Category: Billionaires
Leon Black
Company: Apollo Management LP
Industry: Finance
What makes them Haute: It’s still all systems go for the private equity swashbuckler-he’s planning on expanding his multi-billion buyout shop with a new real estate platform. He’s also an art world heavyweight, making ARTnews’ 2008 “Top 10 Collectors” list.

Category: Entrepreneurs
Leonard & Ronald Lauder
Company: Estée Lauder
Industry: Beauty
What makes them Haute: Born and raised on the Upper East Side, brothers Leonard and Ronald took their mother’s face cream concoction made in her kitchen and turned it into one of the nation’s largest beauty conglomerates.

Category: Entrepreneurs
Lloyd Blankfein
Company: Goldman Sachs
Industry: Finance
What makes them Haute: As chairman and CEO of one of the most prestigious investment banks in the world, he has been making bold moves to bolster it, like recently securing Warren Buffett’s big vote of confidence-a $5 billion investment in Goldman preferred shares.

Category: Entertainers
Madonna
Industry: Music
What makes them Haute While many have tried, no one can compare to the original Material Girl.

Category: Designers
Marc Jacobs
Company: Marc Jacobs, Inc.
Industry: Fashion
What makes them Haute: He has built an eponymous fashion empire while simultaneously acting as creative director of Louis Vuitton.

Category: Thinkers
Maria Bartiromo
Company: CNBC
Industry: Media
What makes them Haute: In 1995, Bartiromo became the first journalist to report live from the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. In today’s turbulent market, more people than ever are counting on the anchor of CNBC’s The Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo for information. Her nationally syndicated Wall Street Journal Report was recently rated the most watched financial news show in the country.

Category: Power Couples
Marie-Josée & Henry Kravis
Company: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Industry: Finance
What makes them Haute: One of the wealthiest American families, the Kravises are actively involved with several New York institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Category: Entrepreneurs
Martha Stewart
Company: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Industry: Entertainment
What makes them Haute: The doyenne of domesticity, this comeback queen is an American business magnate, television host, bestselling author, and magazine publisher. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising.