John Collison

Irish co-founder and President of Stripe — the payments infrastructure company he built with his brother Patrick — one of the most consequential technology entrepreneurs of his generation.

Stripe as infrastructure: John Collison and his brother Patrick identified that internet payments were inexplicably difficult for developers — and built Stripe as developer-first payment infrastructure. Became the most valuable private fintech company, enabling the growth of the internet economy. John Collison's specific role: international expansion, operations, and the meticulous infrastructure-building that supports Stripe's scale. Co-founded at age ~20, becoming one of the world's youngest billionaires.