3. Stringer Bell
In a lot of ways, Stringer had more of an impact than Avon (who is absent from this list). While there wouldn't be a show without Avon, there probably wouldn't have been such a lucrative business without Stringer. The business savvy, handsome, and always calm Stringer played it cool even at his death. For a man who had his heart set on becoming a legitimate business man, Stringer did a lot of shady things (other than being number two in Baltimore's drug scene). For one, he ordered the death of his business partner's nephew and played it off as a suicide, all the while, sleeping with said nephew's baby mama. He also conducted a lot of business without the knowledge of the man in charge, which led to the Marlo era.