Tony Fernandes

Malaysia, aviation. Fernandes, a former music industry executive, and his partners bought the loss-making AirAsia in 2001 for a token sum and its debts, then rebuilt it on the low-cost model: one aircraft type, fast turnarounds, online booking and fares cheap enough to compete with buses. Under the slogan "Now everyone can fly", it became one of Asia's largest budget carriers, though the pandemic forced a painful restructuring.