Sergey Brin & Larry Page Google

for their integrity. And, well, for Google

"We are what we pretend to be," writes Kurt Vonnegut in the introduction to his 1961 novel Mother Night. It's a useful way to think about Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the young founders of Google, who three years ago articulated a core belief: "You can make money without doing evil."

Saying it was the first step toward living it, says Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of technology publisher O'Reilly & Associates. "The more vocally you say that, the more you force yourself to live up to it, and the more willing you are to aspire to something that matters."

From the start, Page and Brin, two friends who met while they were studying for their Ph.D.'s in computer science at Stanford and formed Google in 1998, sought to protect the purity of their search engine--they never sold rankings. "It is a core value for Google that there be no compromising of the integrity of our search results," reads the company's manifesto. "We never manipulate rankings to put our partners higher in our search results."

Not only that, but the duo didn't even like banner ads, pop-ups, or rich media ads. So they rejected them altogether. "They said, 'We hate those ads. We won't do them. We're going to do something else,'" says O'Reilly. "It turned out that they figured out an advertising method that worked better. And they ended up practically creating a new industry." Google's solution, AdWords, are tasteful (and clearly marked) keyword-targeted ads. Google is the third most popular site on all of the Internet, but the main page is clean and free of advertising.

Of course, there's a more basic reason to love Brin and Page: Google itself. Our own core belief is that life is better because of it.--Bobbie Gossage

Bobbie Gossage is a staff writer.

1. Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
   because "optimism is essential"
2. Betsey Johnson, Betsey Johnson
   for her stylish life
3. Russell Simmons, Rush Communications
   for his powerful example
4. Scott Cook, Intuit
   because he learns, and teaches
5. Sergey Brin & Larry Page, Google
   for their integrity. And, well, for Google
6. David Neeleman, JetBlue
   for creating an airline fit for humans
7. Tom Stemberg, Staples
   for doing it exactly right
8. Jack Stack, SRC Holdings
   for going naked
9. Judy Wicks, White Dog Enterprises
   because she's put in place more progressive business practices per square foot than any other entrepreneur
10. Davin Wedel, Global Protection
    because he's a lifesaver
11. Pat McGovern, International Data Group
    for knowing the power of respect
12. Steve Jobs, Apple Computer, Pixar
    because we like to be seduced
13. Lance Morgan, Ho-Chunk
    because a man must make his own arrows--Winnebago proverb
14. James Goodnight, SAS
    for saying no to Wall Street (repeatedly) and yes to the people who really matter
15. Stella Ogiale, Chesterfield Health Services
    for doing good while doing well
16. Rhonda Kallman, New Century Brewing
    for seizing opportunity-- again and again
17. Laima Tazmin, LAVT
    because she's a lot like other kids--and then again...
18. Laura & Pete Wakeman, Great Harvest Bread
    for living a little --no, a lot
19. Andra Rush, Rush Trucking
    for rolling up her sleeves
20. Kathleen Wehner, Cirrus Aviation
    for refusing to quit
21. Frank Venegas, Ideal Group
    because he parlayed a little bit of luck into a lot of good fortune for others
22. Dan Wieden, Wieden + Kennedy
    because he's a true independent
23. John Sperling, Apollo Group
    because he stirs the pot, and apparently always will
24. John Stollenwerk, Allen-Edmonds
    for his commitment to U.S. workers. We also love the shoes
25. Mel Zuckerman, Canyon Ranch
    for showing the way

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