Forbes.com: Rags To Riches Billionaires

hiake · Sep 20, 2007

Rags To Riches Billionaires

Tatiana Serafin, 06.26.07, 6:00 PM ET

While inheriting a billion dollars is still the easiest way to land on our list of the world's wealthiest, it certainly isn't the most common. Almost two-thirds of the world's 946 billionaires made their fortunes from scratch, relying on grit and determination, and not good genes.

Fifty of these self-made tycoons are college or high school dropouts. The most famous billionaire dropout is Microsoft's Bill Gates, who finally got his honorary degree from Harvard University in June, 30 years after quitting the prestigious school to sell software. ''I did the best of everyone who failed,'' joked the world's richest man in his official graduation address. With failure like that, who needs success?

Other billionaires, such as media maven Oprah Winfrey, made their fortunes against far greater odds. Born in rural Mississippi, she spent her early years living in poverty on her grandmother's farm. Wanting a way out, she moved to Wisconsin to be with her mother, but was sexually molested by her male relatives. At age 14, she reportedly gave birth to a premature baby who died. Only after moving to Nashville to be with her father did her luck finally start to turn.

In honor of the world's self-made billionaires, we're recounting 10 of our favorite real-life Horatio Alger tales.

Roman Abramovich
Steve Jobs
Ralph Lauren

The stories of these bootstrapping billionaires are as diverse as the 10 individuals themselves. They range in age from 40 to 91, hail from diverse industries such as fashion and oil, and live in five different countries. Russia's richest man, Roman Abramovich, was an orphan. Apple's iconic Steve Jobs was adopted. Jobs dropped out of Reed College when he couldn't pay the tuition; his net worth today could support nearly 40,000 students at Reed for four years. Three others, including Ralph Lauren, are also college dropouts.

Richard Desmond

Another five are high school or grade school dropouts, proving that street smarts can often trump book smarts. The U.K.'s publishing magnate Richard Desmond, for instance, quit high school when he realized he could make more money working in the cloakroom of a club; at age 16, he borrowed his older brother's suit to get a sales job. He's been selling ever since, peddling music, porn and celebrity titles including OK! magazine.

Li Ka-Shing
Kirk Kerkorian

Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing dropped out of school at age 15, after his father died, to work in a factory. Kirk Kerkorian quit during the eighth grade to take up boxing. He later flew airplanes on daredevil missions across the Atlantic during World War II, before sinking his money into his own airline and reinvesting profits in Las Vegas.

Sheldon Adelson

Sin City has also been good to Sheldon Adelson. The son of a Boston cabdriver borrowed $200 at age 12 to start selling newspapers; he later held stints as a mortgage broker, investment advisor and financial consultant. The high school dropout and Broadway enthusiast studied voice in his teens, but it was another kind of stage that called him--trade shows, where he made his first fortune.

Adelson later gambled on casinos in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, and took his Las Vegas Sands public in December 2004. Says Adelson, ''I loved being the outsider.''

James Cayne

Good luck and good timing is also helpful when creating vast fortunes from scratch. James Cayne, for instance, moved to New York to play bridge full-time; he was spotted by Wall Street legend Alan "Ace" Greenberg, who was impressed by Cayne's card skills and hired him to be a stockbroker at his firm Bear Stearns. Cayne is now chairman.

JKR

The world's wealthiest novelist, J.K. Rowling, was on welfare raising her little girl when her agent called to tell her that Bloomsbury would publish her book about an adolescent wizard named Harry Potter.

One thing is for sure: There is no lack of chutzpah among our rags to riches bunch.

Source: Forbes.com
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Is that supposed to be an advocating campaign for dropping out of school??? -huh

wind2000 · Sep 20, 2007

Now im getting out of Uni and going to start something to be a billionaire.

nyckeion · Sep 20, 2007

yea there are many rags to riches but compare it to all the ppl that are in poverty and in a dead end job for the rest of their lives...........even if ALL 946 ppl are think about the 387084760293845 ppl that are living in poverty cause of dropping out

dim8sum · Sep 20, 2007

nyckeion said: ↑

yea there are many rags to riches but compare it to all the ppl that are in poverty and in a dead end job for the rest of their lives...........even if ALL 946 ppl are think about the 387084760293845 ppl that are living in poverty cause of dropping out
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^ there are around 6 and a bit billion people in this world

i do admire the people who worked their asses off to become super rich

robsh · Sep 21, 2007

well in ten yrs time my name will be on that list too
but sure i needsome great determination to do anything
i am so dead lazy

Taxloss · Sep 23, 2007

My best try to become rich would be trying to sell my drawings or paintings to filthy rich persons for absurd prices adding some bs story about the metaphors in the work etc.

master_g · Sep 23, 2007

dim8sum said: ↑

^ there are around 6 and a bit billion people in this world

i do admire the people who worked their asses off to become super rich
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you usually have to sacrifice family for this though working all hours, im more of a family guy

fearless_fx · Sep 24, 2007

i will be the next li ka sing.. come on fate, hook me up

Forbes.com: Rags To Riches Billionaires

hiake Vardøgr of da E.Twin

wind2000 Self Schemata

nyckeion ....Boo....

dim8sum ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪....

robsh Well-Known Member

Taxloss Stripper Vicar

master_g .

fearless_fx Eugooglizer