Arora, Banaji, Chopra and Kewalramani Among Indian-Born Honorees in Andrew Carnegie Foundation’s 2026 Great Immigrants List

BOSTON/NEW YORK–Four India-born Americans—Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks; Mahzarin R. Banaji, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University; Sanjiv Chopra, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; and Reshma Kewalramani, President and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals—have been named to the Andrew Carnegie Foundation’s 2026 Class of Great Immigrants, Great Americans, an annual tribute recognizing distinguished naturalized U.S. citizens whose contributions have strengthened the United States.

The four India-born honorees are among 25 naturalized American citizens from 21 countries selected this year for achievements spanning academia, business, medicine, science, technology, engineering, the arts and sports.

Announcing the list, the New York-based Andrew Carnegie Foundation said this year’s recognition coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, making the 2026 edition particularly significant.

To mark the occasion, the foundation is also recognizing the eight foreign-born signers of the Declaration of Independence: Button Gwinnett (England), Francis Lewis (Wales), Robert Morris (England), James Smith (Ireland), George Taylor (Ireland), Matthew Thornton (Ireland), James Wilson (Scotland), and John Witherspoon (Scotland).

In an essay commissioned by the foundation, philosopher Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah, himself a past Great Immigrant honoree, reflects on the role immigrants have played in founding the nation and shaping the continuing evolution of American identity.

“As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence, our Great Immigrants tribute reminds us of the myriad ways immigrants have contributed to our society,” said Dame Louise Richardson, President of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and a naturalized American born in Ireland.

“In honor of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, himself a Scottish immigrant, we applaud the 2026 Class of ‘Great Immigrants, Great Americans’ for their talent, skills, and achievements as naturalized citizens,” she added.

The foundation noted that the 2026 honorees represent a broad cross-section of American life. Alongside the India-born recipients, this year’s class includes Sunil Amrith (Kenya), Professor of History at Yale University; Jane Fraser (Scotland), Chair and CEO of Citi; Antonio Neri (Argentina), President and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Hock E. Tan (Malaysia), President and CEO of Broadcom; Omar M. Yaghi (Jordan), Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Cristian Măcelaru (Romania), Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de France; Abbas Karimi (Afghanistan), Paralympic swimmer; Michelle Zatlyn (Canada), Cofounder and President of Cloudflare; and several other leaders from academia, business, literature and the arts.

Beyond the Great Immigrants initiative, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation announced $25 million in new funding to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. The grants will support civic institutions and organizations working to reduce political polarization, promote civic engagement and strengthen communities.

The initiative also includes a $10,000 unrestricted grant to each of the nearly 1,400 Carnegie Libraries established by Andrew Carnegie that continue to operate across the United States.

The foundation cited data highlighting immigrants’ continuing contribution to the U.S. economy. According to the American Immigration Council, the United States is home to approximately 48 million immigrants, about half of whom are naturalized citizens. Immigrants account for 14 percent of the U.S. population, 23.6 percent of entrepreneurs, 28.4 percent of health aides and 23.6 percent of STEM workers.

A June 2026 report by the National Foundation for American Policy further found that 59 percent of U.S. startups valued at $1 billion or more were founded or co-founded by immigrants, while 66 percent of billion-dollar companies were established by immigrants or their children.

Launched in 2006, the Great Immigrants, Great Americans initiative was created to raise awareness about the economic and societal contributions of naturalized citizens while honoring the legacy of Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Over the past two decades, the foundation has recognized more than 790 Great Immigrants.