Allen Klein

An accountant by training, Klein began his career digging through label and publishing reports — and ended up managing both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. At the height of the British Invasion, Klein’s razor-sharp mind and ability to take the bite out of U.K. tax laws made him the go-to adviser for British acts, and after negotiating a new contract for the Stones, Klein became their U.S. manager. But the relationship soured over the way the rapacious Klein dealt himself into their deals. The band spent two frustrating, and fruitless, decades suing him. Klein also dismantled The Beatles’ financially disastrous Apple Records but made an enemy of Paul McCartney — the others wanted to work with him — who ultimately convinced a British court to dissolve the band’s partnership and oust him.