Bogle is considered the pioneer of the Index Fund. Created in 1974, Bogle’s Vanguard Index 500 fund has become one of the best performers in the mutual fund marketplace. Though he was initially ridiculed for promoting indexing, Bogle’s fund performance has silenced skeptics. He also won over the public by selling directly to them and eliminating load fees or sales charges. Over the course of two decades, Bogle built the second largest fund company in the world.