His World Golf Championship NEC win was his fifth this season and the 45th of his career. The winner’s check alone was $1.3 million—his largest payoff so far. In April, Woods’ sudden-death victory gave CBS its best Masters ratings in four years. By the end of the 2005 PGA season, he clinched the PGA Tour money title with a little over $9.9 million. Reportedly, Woods earned $87 million in income between June 2004 and June 2005. AGE: 30
William Young Jr. Military Strategist U.S. AIR FORCE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED AIR AND SPACE STUDIES
Why he’s hot: Maj. William Young Jr. considers war both an art and a science that anyone can master. “I’ve gotten to where I am primarily due to hard work. I’m not the most brilliant or the most talented, I just work really hard…” A graduate of the prestigious Air Force Academy, Young has gone from books to bombs and now books again, developing his training in military strategy—the planning, conduct, and execution of warfare. A student at the most selective Air Force school, the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, Young is pursuing his master’s degree in military operations. This handpicked class of 40 students—a mere 5% of those eligible to apply—learn the skills and knowledge needed to function as senior military strategists. Prior to his studies, he worked at the Pentagon and later served in Operation Enduring Freedom, where, as a navigator, he logged more than 72 hours of combined flying time with more than 1,000 flyovers within enemy lines as a chief within his Fighter/Bomber Team. Upon graduation in June 2006, he will work all of his assignments at the three-star general level, working toward becoming one of the nation’s leading information operations strategists. Well on his way, he is among 123 Air Force majors recently selected from nearly 3,100 candidates for early promotion to lieutenant colonel. AGE: 36
RUSSELL T. WRIGHT JR. Chairman & CEO DIMENSIONS INTERNATIONAL INC.
Why he’s hot: Since inheriting the corner office of a $150 million corporation from his father in 2003, Russell Wright Jr. has become the front man for an international information technology firm with 30 offices around the world. Ranked No. 35 on the 2005 BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 list with $98.6 million in sales, Dimensions International marked the largest acquisition in the firm’s history with the $30 million purchase of SENTEL Corp., a former BE 100S company. In February, the company won an $8.7 million contract from the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, and in April, the U.S. Army granted Dimensions a $4.96 million contract for RSD work. AGE: 38
WYCLEF
Hip-hop Artist/Producer
Why he’s hot: This preacher’s son who became a Grammy Award winning hip-hop artist and producer is cutting deals. After years of producing and remixing hits for a variety of artists, Wyclef Jean has recently teamed up with cable television network HBO to produce and star in a comedy series loosely based on his life. Next year,