&gt; I&#x27;d really love to see a contribution from a single brilliant programmer that generates a billion in profit.<p>While I am not answering your question directly, Jeff Dean and Shel Kaphan come to mind, in their key, fundamental roles of building massive scalable systems - information search and retail selling, respectively.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;research.google.com&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;jeff.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;research.google.com&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;jeff.html</a><p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.geekwire.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;meet-shel-kaphan-amazoncom-employee-1&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.geekwire.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;meet-shel-kaphan-amazoncom-empl...</a>