Sure, they may not be your typical big shot like Bill Gates or any of the Waltons. Far from it. But the people listed below are big shots just the same, ruling a multibillion-dollar industry that only seems to be growing and growing with each passing day. And anyone interested in a career in adult entertainment would do well to get on the good side of these people. They are, after all, the moguls of the adult industry, and if you’re in the business and regularly bump into them, that could only mean one thing: you’ve made it.

1. Hugh Hefner

Countless men have dreamt of living the life that Hugh Hefner has led. After all, this is the man who is currently dating three Playboy Playmates simultaneously at the age of 81. But behind the sexual revolutionary lies a man who has built one of the biggest and most recognizable names (and logos) in adult entertainment, and it will be long before any one adult entertainment company can reach the same heights that Playboy has so successfully scaled in its more than five decades of existence.

2. Larry Flynt

Being trapped in a wheelchair due to an assassin’s bullet didn’t stop Larry Flynt from doing what he does best: churn out porn. To this day, Flynt is still very much involved in the day-to-day operations of Larry Flynt Publications, which continues to publish such magazines and create video titles such as Hustler and the Barely Legal series, which gave rise to some of the most popular starlets in the industry today.

3. Steve Hirsch

Forbes has already dubbed Steve Hirsch “The Porn King”, and we’re not about to argue with that. Hirsch is top dog over at Vivid Entertainment, the world’s largest adult film producer, with an estimated $100 million a year in revenue. He is also known for employing the old Hollywood contract star system into the business, and its contract stars, collectively known as the Vivid Girls, are some of the most popular performers in the industry.

4. Marc Bell

Acquiring Penthouse Media Group Inc. in 2004 makes Marc Bell one of the top porn moguls out there, whether he likes it or not. Bell, a financier who made his name in mainstream business, has often been referred to as an accidental porn mogul since he bought the Gucciones out. Now, however, he has professed big plans for his adult industry venture: he is planning to take the company public in the next few months, and predicted that his company would be “four times the size of Playboy” if and when that happens.

5. Steve Orenstein

Steve Orenstein is the founder of Wicked Pictures, one of the biggest adult entertainment companies today. He is also the genius behind Wicked’s partnership with eventual porn superstar Jenna Jameson in the early 90s, a move which eventually put both Jameson and Wicked Pictures at the top of the adult entertainment world.

6. Joe Francis

Joe Francis may not be producing hardcore titles the way Steve Hirsch et al do, but he pulls in hardcore porn-sized revenues just the same. His Mantra Films, which produces the wildly successful Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series, has recorded sales of over $100 million per year, making Francis one of the biggest success stories in adult entertainment, legal troubles notwithstanding.

7. David Joseph

David Joseph and his company, Red Light District will forever be associated with one of the best-selling adult videos of all time, 1 Night in Paris. But while, distributing the Paris Hilton sex tape and a host of other celebrity sex tapes put Red Light District in the spotlight, it is primarily known as a producer of premium quality hardcore gonzo videos. And at the helm of it all is Joseph, who took over after Red Light co-founder Dion Giarrusso, who also happens to be his brother, left the company.

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