Chief Executive and Chair, Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc.

Smidt was 17 years old when he turned his father’s phone-sales business into a mail-order tool business. Smidt co-founded the Calabasas-based Harbor Freight, a discount tool retailer, in 1977. In 1985 Smidt became Harbor Freight’s president. He took on the role of chief executive in 1999, when he bought out his father. Harbor Freight operates more than 1,300 stores and has 35,700 employees. The company generates about $6.5 billion in annual revenue. Smidt, an avid art collector, serves on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 6