David Vélez, founder and Global CEO of Nubank, has been recognized by Forbes in the inaugural Iconoclast 50, a new list honoring leaders across finance, business, technology, media, entertainment and philanthropy who are changing the game in real time and challenging the status quo.
In David’s profile, Forbes highlights his role in building Latin America’s largest digital bank and notes that Nubank now serves 135 million customers. The publication also points to the recent approval from U.S. regulators for Nubank to open a national bank in the United States, underscoring Nubank’s continued international expansion.
The recognition places David among a group of leaders whose decisions, according to Forbes, reverberate across markets, industries and cultures worldwide. This year’s list includes leaders from across industries, including Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI; Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta; Tim Cook, CEO of Apple; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet; Larry Ellison, cofounder, chairman and CTO of Oracle; Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway; Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; and Taylor Swift, musician.
About Forbes Iconoclast 50
For the first edition of the Iconoclast 50, Forbes methodology followed two straightforward filters. First, every honoree had to already appear on an existing Forbes ranking or list, such as the Forbes 400, the Midas List or The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes. Second, the selection focused on recency: honorees needed to have made a meaningful impact, deployed an innovative or contrarian strategy, or disrupted their market or industry in the past two years.
Forbes launched the Iconoclast Summit four years ago as a forum to convene influential leaders from finance, industry, entertainment, media and technology. The new Iconoclast 50 expands that platform by recognizing leaders who are redefining their sectors and challenging the status quo in a period marked by rapid change across the global economy.
Get Insider Access
Nu is coming soon to the US and many other countries. Get exclusive updates and find out when to sign up for Nu here.
