Politics & Law:
* Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States (Columbia College)
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt: 32nd President of the United States (Columbia Law School)
* Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (Columbia Law School)
* Al Gore: 45th Vice President of the United States (Columbia College)
Literature & Journalism:
* Jack Kerouac: Author (Columbia College - though he didn't graduate)
* Toni Morrison: Nobel Prize-winning author (Columbia University - though her degree is sometimes disputed due to being an unofficial 'special student')
* John Jay: Founding Father, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Columbia College)
Science & Technology:
* Isaac Asimov: Author and professor of biochemistry (Columbia University)
Arts & Entertainment:
* Robert De Niro: Actor (Columbia University - though he didn't graduate)
* Richard Rodgers: Composer (Columbia University)
Business & Finance:
* Warren Buffett: While he attended but didn't graduate from Columbia Business School, he is often associated with the university due to his studies under Benjamin Graham.
This is just a small sampling. Many other prominent figures in various fields graduated from Columbia. To find a more exhaustive list, you can search online for "Columbia University notable alumni." The university's website likely also has a resource dedicated to its famous graduates.