Top 20 LinkedIn Founders in 2026 (Ranked by Data)

#20 · Patrick Bet-David, 1,276 median likes

Patrick Bet-David has a headline that holds a single line: an invitation to ask him questions on MINNECT. His Leadership posts earn a 2,138 median, ahead of his Psychology posts (1,495). Our yearly data on him covers 2026 only.

"Merry Christmas from ours to yours." His most liked post of the year: 6,713 likes, the smallest best post in the top 20 and only 5 times his median. Read it

#19 · Codie A. Sanchez, 1,344 median likes

Codie A. Sanchez invests in Main Street businesses and teaches people how to buy them. Business Development is her biggest theme (83 posts) and her weakest, at an 801 median; her Leadership posts earn 1,915.

Her trajectory barely moves: 1,279 in 2024, 1,397 in 2025, 1,264 so far in 2026.

"Most won't get it… who cares." Her most liked post of the year: 9,189 likes and 520 comments. Read it

#18 · Rizwan Sajan, 1,484 median likes

Rizwan Sajan is the founder and chairman of Danube Group in the United Arab Emirates. Real estate is his trade, yet his Entrepreneurship posts earn a 2,309 median, two and a half times his Real Estate posts (917).

His 0.78% engagement rate is the third-highest in the top 20. Our yearly data on him covers 2026 only.

His most liked post of the year, a founder's origin story that starts with a family loss at 16: 19,173 likes, nearly 13 times his median. Read it

#17 · Karishma Mehta, 1,543 median likes

Karishma Mehta is a founder by our classification, though her headline only says she is a storyteller. She posts sparingly (64 posts analyzed), and her medians barely differ by theme: Communication at 1,569, Psychology at 1,464, Leadership at 1,267. Our yearly data on her covers 2026 only.

"Hire for hunger!" Her most liked post of the year: 10,098 likes, six and a half times her median. Read it

#16 · Lara Acosta, 1,552 median likes

Lara Acosta is an entrepreneur and investor who builds businesses online, and the only founder in this top 20 with LinkedIn itself among her leading themes. Her feed talks back the most: 737 median comments, the highest count on this page.

Her yearly median climbed from 226 in 2022 to 1,010, 1,429 and 1,584, and stands at 1,556 so far in 2026. Her Personal Branding posts earn 2,149.

"I feel uncomfortable posting this. This is me in 2022, the year I hit rock bottom." Her most liked post of the year: 7,231 likes and 1,587 comments. The year it names opens our data on her, at a 226 median. Read it

#15 · Richard Branson, 1,604 median likes

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, is the biggest account in this ranking, 18.6 million followers, and has its lowest engagement rate, 0.01%. His profile lists no country, so that cell stays empty.

Public Policy is his biggest theme (27 posts), at a 923 median; his Leadership posts earn 3,931. His yearly median went from 3,007 in 2024 to 2,633 in 2025, then 1,535 so far in 2026.

His most liked post of the year, a message of mourning written with his family: 73,588 likes, 46 times his median, the widest gap in the top 20.

#14 · Zander Whitehurst, 1,610 median likes

Zander Whitehurst is the founder and CEO of Memorisely. Two thirds of his posts are about UI (125 of 187), at a 1,627 median, and they stay short: 42 words on average.

His yearly median dipped from 2,201 in 2024 to 1,534 in 2025, then rose to 1,652 so far in 2026.

"Design is the only profession where everyone in the company thinks they are a designer." His most liked post of the year: 10,586 likes. Read it

#13 · Sibel Terhaar, 1,656 median likes

Sibel Terhaar is an author, the founder and CEO of Minnesota Kind Magazine and LeadershipUp Magazine, and a self-described kindness activist. She posts the most in the top 20 (736 posts analyzed) and, among the top-20 founders we hold writing data for, the shortest: 4 words on average.

Her Customer Service posts earn a 3,823 median and her Communication posts 2,968, both well above her overall figure. Her yearly median went from 2,259 in 2025 to 1,700 so far in 2026.

"Wow so true" Her most liked post of the year carries those three words: 19,985 likes, 12 times her median. Read it

#12 · Will Ahmed, 1,664 median likes

Will Ahmed is the founder and CEO of WHOOP. On 127k followers, the second-smallest account in the top 20, he holds its second-highest engagement rate, 1.31%. Healthcare is his one leading theme (18 posts, a 1,717 median). Our yearly data on him covers 2026 only.

"You have no experience. You've never started a company. You've never had a full time job." His most liked post of the year: 12,651 likes, more than 7 times his median. Read it

#11 · Tim Tebow, 1,726 median likes

Tim Tebow is a Heisman Trophy winner, a bestselling author and the founder and chairman of the Tim Tebow Foundation. His Philanthropy posts earn a 3,969 median, more than double his overall figure and his Leadership posts (1,465). Our yearly data on him covers 2026 only.

His most liked post of the year, a tribute after his father's death: 70,752 likes and 4,076 comments, the most comments on any post in the top 20.

#10 · Rob Dance, 2,001 median likes

Rob Dance is the CEO and founder of ROCK. His audience comments more than almost any other here: 660 median comments, second only to Lara Acosta, or one for every 3 likes. Half his posts are about Leadership (159 of 311), at a 2,395 median.

His yearly median held near 3,200 in 2024 and 2025 (3,184, then 3,197), then fell to 1,789 so far in 2026, on more posts (262 this year).

"Rivalry can make individuals better. It can also make a business worse." His most liked post of the year, built on research about NBA players: 14,653 likes and 957 comments. Read it

#9 · Alex Hormozi, 2,360 median likes

Alex Hormozi is the founder of Acquisition.com and a co-founder of Skool. He has the second-highest posting volume in the top 20 (619 posts analyzed). Among the top-20 founders we hold writing data for, his posts are the second-shortest, 22 words on average.

His Communication posts earn a 4,493 median, nearly double his overall figure. From 501 in 2022, his yearly median rose to 2,880 in 2025, then 2,304 so far in 2026.

"I've lost money on over 9,000 ads I personally wrote." His most liked post of the year: 13,613 likes and 1,126 comments. Read it

#8 · Carsten Maschmeyer, 2,865 median likes

Carsten Maschmeyer is a German entrepreneur, CEO and startup investor who writes in German. His HR posts earn a 4,879 median, the strongest theme in his feed, ahead of Leadership (3,037).

His yearly median more than doubled from 1,639 in 2023 to 3,663 in 2024, reached 3,824 in 2025 and sits at 3,234 so far in 2026.

His most liked post of the year, a German-language take on a European Court of Justice ruling about business travel and working time: 20,836 likes, 7 times his median. Read it

#7 · Nikhil Kamath, 2,950 median likes

Nikhil Kamath, an investor and entrepreneur, posts sparingly: 57 posts analyzed, 34 words each on average. His yearly median went from 4,835 in 2024 to 4,391 in 2025, then 2,599 so far in 2026.

"Here's to delaying gratification. The future belongs to the patient." His most liked post of the year, tagged #ElonMusk: 28,282 likes, nearly 10 times his median. Read it

#6 · Simon Sinek, 3,343 median likes

Simon Sinek, the author of 'Start with Why' and founder of The Optimism Company, is the second-biggest account in this ranking (9.1M followers). His trajectory is the steadiest in the top 20: 3,458 in 2024, 3,696 in 2025, 3,459 so far in 2026.

His posts run short, 34 words on average. His Leadership posts earn a 3,736 median; Public Speaking trails at 1,107.

His most liked post of the year: 118,711 likes, the biggest post in the top 20 and 35 times his median. Read it

#5 · Reese Witherspoon, 3,526 median likes

Reese Witherspoon is an award-winning actress and producer, a bestselling author and a founder. She is the smallest account in the top 20, the only one under 100k followers, and holds its highest engagement rate: 3.56%, more than 20 times our #1's.

She also has the fewest posts analyzed here (52). Our yearly data on her covers 2026 only.

"I turn 50 on Sunday, and I can't help but reflect on the years that shaped me into who I am today." Her most liked post of the year: 13,187 likes, under 4 times her median, the smallest gap here. Read it

#4 · Justin Wright, 3,527 median likes

Justin Wright is the CEO of KnownLeaders and Polished Carbon and a former CIO. He finishes one like ahead of Reese Witherspoon at the median. Leadership fills 60% of his feed (202 of 337 posts) at a 3,517 median, and his 498 median comments rank third in the top 20.

Year by year, his median ran 3,599 in 2024, 4,000 in 2025, then 3,635 so far in 2026.

His most liked post of the year: 16,765 likes and 636 comments. Read it

#3 · Steven Bartlett, 3,964 median likes

Steven Bartlett (see the data biography) is the founder of Steven.com, home to FlightStory and FlightCast, based in the United Kingdom. His Leadership posts earn a 5,123 median, well above his overall figure, and he has the most posts analyzed on the podium (257).

His yearly median fell from 5,217 in 2024 to 4,416 in 2025, then 3,546 so far in 2026.

"She said yes" His most liked post of the year: 70,579 likes and 4,010 comments, nearly 18 times his median, on a personal post rather than a business one. Read it

#2 · Andrew Ng, 4,163 median likes

Andrew Ng has a headline that lists DeepLearning.AI, AI Fund and AI Aspire. Among the top-20 founders we hold writing data for, he writes the longest posts, 378 words on average, two thirds of them about AI.

His yearly median is the only one in the top five that rises every year: 3,994 in 2024, 4,268 in 2025, 4,926 so far in 2026.

"I recently received an email titled 'An 18-year-old's dilemma: Too late to contribute to AI?'" His most liked post of the year: 21,846 likes and 864 comments. Read it

#1 · Dr. Brigette Hyacinth, 6,242 median likes

Dr. Brigette Hyacinth, CEO and founder of Leadership EQ, a keynote speaker and bestselling author based in Trinidad and Tobago, tops this ranking with 6,242 median likes per post, more than 170 times the pool median.

Her split by theme is the starkest on the page: her 76 Leadership posts earn a 7,284 median, her 22 AI posts a median of 90. A number shows up in 67% of her hooks, the top rate among the top-20 founders we hold writing data for.

Her yearly median went from 5,846 in 2024 to 6,838 in 2025, then 5,842 so far in 2026.

Her most liked post of the year: 34,713 likes, more than 5 times her median. Read it

Where do these cards come from? We computed every figure on this page from public posts with MagicPost's LinkedIn analytics: median engagement, engagement rates, themes and trajectories, across 2,375 founders. It works on your profile too, including a side-by-side with anyone on this list.

Which LinkedIn founders have the highest engagement rate?

Raw like counts reward whoever has the biggest crowd. Engagement rate corrects for that: median likes per post divided by followers (accounts with 20k followers and over).

Reese Witherspoon is the only founder in both this cut and the top 20. The other four run accounts between 21k and 29k followers; Chad Janis, founder and CEO of Grüns, draws 733 median likes on 24k.

The top 20 itself runs from 3.56% (Reese Witherspoon) down to 0.01% (Richard Branson). For how these rates compare with ordinary accounts, see our guide to the average LinkedIn engagement rate.

Which LinkedIn founder gets the most comments per post?

Comments relative to likes: the record in our founder pool is held by Eric Djavid, a SaaS and app builder based in France, at 469 median comments against 202 median likes, 2.32 comments for every like (counting accounts with 100+ median likes).

Jitendra Sheth in India (245 against 151) and Boris Verbitsky in Switzerland (205 against 164) follow. The typical top-20 founder gets one comment per 13 likes; Lara Acosta comes closest, at one per 2.

Top LinkedIn founders vs entrepreneurship creators: who ranks where?

This page and our ranking of the top LinkedIn creators in entrepreneurship answer two different questions. That one ranks anyone who posts about entrepreneurship, on those posts alone. This one ranks people our classification marks as founders, on everything they post.

The overlap is small. Five of our top 20 founders also make the entrepreneurship top 20: Steven Bartlett, Alex Hormozi, Rizwan Sajan, Lara Acosta and Codie A. Sanchez.

Entrepreneurship is a leading theme for only three of these twenty founders. Leadership is one for fourteen. Several headlines list more than a company: an actress, a Heisman Trophy winner, a bestselling author.

Running the company does not move a founder to the CEO page. Each profile carries one archetype in our classification, so Will Ahmed and Rob Dance rank here, not in our ranking of the top LinkedIn CEOs, which covers profiles classified as executives.

Ten of the top 20 are based in the United States and four in the United Kingdom. If you are a founder starting to post, our LinkedIn content ideas for founders turns patterns like these into topics.

And if commenting under these founders' posts is how you plan to get noticed, an engagement feed keeps it to a five-minute daily habit.

How we ranked the top LinkedIn founders

All of this is MagicPost's own research. We went through the last 12 months of posts from 2,375 founders and ranked them by median likes per post.

Who counts as a founder: a profile enters the pool when our creator classification marks it as a founder. The archetype (founder, executive, coach, consultant and so on) is our own classification of each profile, not a label the person chose: Karishma Mehta's headline calls her a storyteller.

The same rule applies to every profile in the pool, and every post counts, whatever its topic.

Only creators with at least one post in the last 60 days are ranked. The method:

• Floors: at least 5,000 followers and 30 posts in the window; deleted posts excluded.

• Median rather than average: no single viral post can buy a place.

• Posts analyzed: the posts our dataset holds per founder, sometimes fewer than they published.

• Per founder: themes, yearly trajectories, writing fingerprints, engagement rates and conversation ratios.

Rankings refresh as the data does. No placement here was sponsored; every rank comes straight from the median.

Study them, then study yourself. With MagicPost you can analyze any founder's LinkedIn profile the way we just did (median engagement, engagement rate, themes, trajectory) and benchmark your own against this pool. The data on this page is the product.