Tommy Hilfiger - born March 24, 1951, and raised in Elmira, New York. The second of nine children, Hilfiger knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in fashion. Rather than furthering his education, an 18-year-old Hilfiger decided to work in retail -- apparently he had an innate business sense, even early on. Always aiming to work with a product "for the people," (as seen in his present ads), he opened a store appropriately named "The People's Place", in Elmira in 1969.