The authors argue that many of the major global issues of today cannot be adequately addressed by governments with five-year plans or by philanthropic organisations hamstrung by bureaucracy. Addressing them effectively requires creativity and courage, passion and vision, speed and flexibility. These are the attributes of people rather than organisations accountable to stakeholders, they conclude.

Überpreneurs, they say, are entrepreneurs who do more than build businesses or entire industries; they drive economic, social and environmental changes on a global scale.

The book looks at the lives and achievements of 36 such individuals – including Niklas Zennstrom of Skype, Ingvar Kamprad of IKEA and Chuck Feeney of Atlantic Philantrophies – and how their grand visions are changing the world.

Nine are business leaders who have redirected the energies of entire industries from the West to the East, while a further nine are visionaries who are driving innovation in biotechnology, clean energy and ICT.

The authors try to reveal the key characteristics that distinguish überpreneurs from entrepreneurs and the insights that they offer to businesses.