Who

Anderson is a former magazine publisher who now runs the annual tech conference TED, a three-day festival for brainiacs and the millionaires who love them.

Backstory

Born in Pakistan to medical missionaries who worked throughout Asia and the Middle East, Anderson originally wanted to be a doctor like his parents, but instead became a journalist after graduating from Oxford. Following a brief stint working at a pirate radio station in the Seychelles, he started a magazine publishing company in the UK; in 1994 he moved to San Francisco and launched a series of computer-focused titles like PC Gamer, MacAddict, and Business 2.0 as well as the website IGN.com, the owner of sites like AskMen and RottenTomatoes. He's now sold off most of his media interests— Business 2.0, for example, was acquired by Time Inc. in 2001, and IGN by News Corp—and turned his attention to the high-powered meet-and-greet TED, which he acquired in 2001.

Of note

TED—"technology, entertainment, and design"—was founded by graphic designer Richard Saul Wurman, who called the conference "the dinner party I always wanted to have but couldn't." It's now a place for musical prodigies, science geeks, artists, and designers to gather for three days and discuss their "ideas" in front of rapt, wealthy audiences and consistently boasts a solidly A-list (albeit quirky) lineup of speakers. The March 2007 conference in Monterey, California featured Phillipe Starck, Paul Simon, Richard Branson, Paola Antonelli, Tracy Chapman, JJ Abrams, Liz Diller, Bill Clinton, and venture capitalist John Doerr, among others. Interesting in going? Tickets, which go for $6,000, sell out fast. And it's invitation only, which means you have to prove you're worthy before they'll accept your check.

For the record

Anderson should not be confused with the other Chris Anderson famous in tech circles, the Berkeley-based editor-in-chief of Wired and author of the bestselling The Long Tail.

Habitat

Anderson lives in a hyper-modern, 4,000-square-foot loft in Tribeca. His office boasts a copy of Bhutan, the world's largest printed book, which is a whopping five-by-seven feet and weighs in at 150 pounds.