• Forbes SportsMoney, Tuesday, February 9, 2010 10:37 AM

NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol once called wrestling impresario Vince McMahon "the greatest promoter since P.T. Barnum." Blogs Peter J. Schwartz: "That's some high praise for Barnum."

McMahon has an incredible knack for building brands and constantly reinventing his company to stay relevant. In the 1980s, his World Wrestling Entertainment story lines featured cartoonish heroes vs. villains. The product became edgier in the '90s. Now it's featuring "family-friendly" shows with guest hosts like William Shatner and Shaquille O'Neal.

Last year alone, WWE's marquee event, WrestleMania, generated $64 million in revenue from pay TV, gate receipts, sponsorships and merchandise sales. An inveterate risk-taker, McMahon has transformed a company he bought from his father in 1982 from a regional (Northeast) operation into a global powerhouse with a market cap of $1.2 billion, of which, Forbes calculates, 30% can be attributed to the value of its name.

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