Carl Icahn, Bill Gross and Charlie Munger. The three men are all power players in the world of business to be sure, but they have a more significant bond. Icahn, Gross and Munger are all veterans.

There have been numerous books and papers written about the leadership attributes of members of the military so it’s no surprise that there are a number of high ranking businessmen who also served in the Armed Forces. But what might surprise you is that the trend is slowing.

According to research from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business, in 1980 some 59% of the CEOs of large, public companies were veterans. Now that number is just 6.2%.

Case in point: Wall Street. Gone are the days of Syndney Weinberg – the godfather, so to speak – of Goldman Sachs (GS) who left the bank as a young man to become a U.S. Navy cook during World War I. Today no CEO of a major bank has served.

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That doesn’t mean no financial leaders are veterans. Bob Benmosche, head of financial insurance firm AIG (AIG), served in the U.S. Army in Korea.

It also doesn't mean Wall Street doesn't value the service of veterans. Most big banks have programs in place meant to recruit ex-servicemen and women. This is true outside of Wall Street as well.

Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz may never have served in the military but he's passionate about hiring veterans. He's written a book on the matter and recently told USA Today: "Business leaders are mainly concerned with one thing: performance... I'm here to tell you these are high-performance people who can add real value to your business."

And there is still a revolving door between business and government. Just look at the new head of the Veterans Administration, Bob MacDonald who previously ran Procter & Gamble (PG). He has started referring to veterans as "customers," a nod to his corporate past.

Oh, and the current CEO of P&G? He's a veteran as well.

Same thing with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). And 7-11. Both are run by veterans; West Point grads, at that.

For more on the top 10 business leaders who are also veterans, including what branch they served in and who served in combat, click on the video above.

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