James Sinegal

Sinegal co-founded Costco and ran it until 2011, paying warehouse staff well above retail norms with health cover, and capping mark-ups at around 14 per cent even when analysts said he could charge more. Wall Street analysts openly complained that shareholders were losing out to employees and customers. Over the following decades Costco's low staff turnover and membership loyalty produced returns that comfortably beat most of the retailers those analysts preferred.