Chris Wright — the American businessman and government official who has served as the United States Secretary of Energy since February 2025 — was born on this day — January 15, 1965 — in Colorado.

He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and completed graduate studies in electrical engineering at both the University of California, Berkeley and MIT.

Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, Wright was a prominent executive in the energy sector, serving as the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy. He is widely recognized for his work in the development of hydraulic fracturing technology and has been a vocal advocate for the role of fossil fuels and nuclear energy in global energy security.

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Jeff Bezos — the American entrepreneur, media proprietor, and investor best known as the founder of Amazon — was born on this day — January 12, 1964 — in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He is a graduate of Princeton University, where he earned degrees in electrical engineering and computer science, graduating summa cum laude.

Prior to starting Amazon, Bezos worked on Wall Street in various related fields, including the hedge fund D. E. Shaw & Co. In addition to his work with Amazon, he is the founder of the aerospace company Blue Origin and the owner of The Washington Post.

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Zack de la Rocha — the American musician, lyricist, and activist — was born on this day — January 12, 1970 — in Long Beach, California.

He is best known as the vocalist and frontman for the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Throughout his career, de la Rocha has been recognized for his blend of hip-hop and punk vocal styles, as well as his commitment to social and political activism. Beyond his work with Rage Against the Machine, he has collaborated with artists like Run the Jewels and fronted the duo One Day as a Lion.

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Bradley Charles Cooper — the American actor and filmmaker — was born on this day — January 5, 1975 — in Abington Township, Pennsylvania.

He is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in French, and the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Acting.

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Douglas Coupland — the influential Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist who popularized the term “Generation X” — was born on this day — December 30, 1961 — at the Royal Canadian Air Force station Baden-Soellingen in West Germany.

He is a graduate of the Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Coupland rose to international prominence following the March 15, 1991, publication of his debut novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Beyond his literary success, which includes thirteen novels and several non-fiction books, he is a prolific visual artist whose work, such as the Digital Orca in Vancouver, explores the intersection of technology, 21st-century culture, and the human experience.

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Dominic LeBlanc — the Canadian lawyer and politician who currently serves as the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs — was born on this day — December 14, 1967 — in Ottawa, Ontario.

He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science; the University of New Brunswick, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws; and Harvard Law School, where he earned a Master of Laws.

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Gita Gopinath — the Indian-American economist who is the Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics at Harvard University — was born on this day — December 8, 1971 — in Kolkata, India.

She is a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College at the University of Delhi, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts, and the Delhi School of Economics, where she earned a Master of Arts. She furthered her studies with a second Master of Arts from the University of Washington and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University.

Gopinath is a leading authority on international finance and macroeconomics. She served as the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2022 until August 2025, acting as the organization’s second-highest official. Previously, she served as the IMF’s Chief Economist. In late 2025, she returned to the faculty at Harvard to continue her research on global trade, exchange rates, and sovereign debt.

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Kristi Noem — the American politician and rancher who has served as the 8th United States Secretary of Homeland Security since January 2025 — was born on this day — November 30, 1971 — in Watertown, South Dakota.

She is a graduate of South Dakota State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Prior to her appointment to the Cabinet, Noem served as the Governor of South Dakota from 2019 to 2025, the first woman to hold that office. She previously represented South Dakota’s at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years. Before entering public service, she was a small business owner and helped manage her family’s ranch and farm in Hamlin County.
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Pamela Jo Bondi — the American attorney and politician who has served as the United States Attorney General since January 2025 — was born on this day — November 17, 1965 — in Tampa, Florida.

She is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, and the Stetson University College of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctor.

Prior to her appointment as Attorney General, Bondi served as the 37th Attorney General of Florida from 2011 to 2019, the first woman to hold that office. Before entering the Cabinet, she worked in private practice and served on the commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.

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John Ratcliffe — the American politician and attorney who has served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency since January 2025 — was born on this day — October 20, 1965 — in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies, and the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor.

Prior to his appointment as CIA Director, Ratcliffe served as the Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021. He represented Texas’s 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2020. Earlier in his career, he served as the Mayor of Heath, Texas, and as a federal prosecutor, holding the role of acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.

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