IMG Models exec Ivan Bart controls the careers of some of the world's most highly paid mannequins.

Raised in Bensonhurst by a single mother, Bart joined IMG as a creative director in the mid-1990s, rising up the ranks to become senior veep. Bart's helped launch the careers of countless models like Jessica Stam, Gemma Ward, and Liya Kebede. He's also guided the careers of Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen, who went from runway models to entrepreneurs.

Now one of the most powerful agents in the industry, Bart has controlled the careers of famous clients like Alek Wek, Lily Cole, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, and Shalom Harlow. He also works with the occasional social fixture-turned-model, too, like Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Theodora Richards, and it was Bart who reportedly poached Amanda Hearst and Lauren Bush away from Elite. [Image via Getty]