Age: 62
Occupation: Actor, screenwriter, Conservative peer
As the creator and writer of Downton Abbey, Fellowes is the driving force behind the period-drama sensation that has swept the U.K. and the U.S. The networks are happy and so are retailers, which are hawking everything from novels about the Edwardian aristocracy to clothing inspired by the period. Fellowes' other writing credits include The Young Victoria and Gosford Park, for which he won an Oscar.