however, not a guru as such, and doesn't put himself out there that much, but seen him speak at seminars, and been in a skype group chatting before, Jason Akatiff (A4D & smaxor from WickedFire years ago). That guy really knows his shit, and picked up some absolute bombs from him on the ways he works. His blog.. oooff.com/php-affiliate-seo-blog/
Listening only to successful people can make you fall victim to survivorship bias. I like hearing from some people even that I know are NOT successful because it can be a lesson in what not to do.
Also I watch what guru's do and how they make money vs what they say ie "it's what you do not what you say". That's where the real lesson usually is IMHO.
As for who I look up to in the industry, well none of them have any books or anything like that as far as I know or sell advice. The best info usually is free but can be tough to catch in a sea of BS.