After helping to found Sun Microsystems in 1982, Bill Joy remained with the company until 2003, during which time he is credited with contributing to the creation of Java, Jini (aka Java Workspaces), and' Sun's network file system (NFS). Joy even played a key role in designing the architecture for Sun's Sparc processors and the Solaris operating system.

Since leaving Sun in 2003, Joy has focused his energies on the venture capital space, forming HighBar Ventures before joining Kleiner Perkins in 2005.

While most of Joy's creativity has been focused on creating a better infrastructure for computing systems, he has also of late broadened those interests. In 2006 Joy helped start a multi-million dollar fund to design a more holistic approach to defend against biological viruses.'

And for a man who it is said never even owned a rowboat, Joy is now building, according to Money Magazine, a $50 million high tech "green" yacht. The 190-foot wind-powered ship, the Ethereal, will be as green as Joy and his design team can make it, using among other things light-emitting diodes instead of incandescent light bulbs, a lithium-ion battery system to control fluctuations in electrical current, and propellers powered by diesel and electric motors in case the wind is out of the sails.

-- Ephraim Schwartz