Formal education has its advantages. Millions of people are being forced out of educational institutions around the world after earning degrees designed to make their lives a lot easier. However, many didn’t exactly envision the idea, had the privilege, or simply couldn’t collaborate on the educational line. Regardless, they have achieved a high level of innovation and the fulfillment of their dreams. Being a “dropout” or being labeled as one didn’t fare well for many people, some others just had the courage to really break the stereotype. Recent research has shown that entrepreneurship skills can improve your standard of living and that of your community. The world has recorded an impressive list of billionaire college dropouts, who have done extremely well themselves with their breathtaking achievements and innovations have immaculately closed relevant social gaps in the world. Let’s take a look at some of them.
21.Ty Warner
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Sector: Assorted store
Ty Warner is a plush toy manufacturer, hotelier, former actor, and sole owner of Ty Inc. He is best known for his philanthropic efforts with children. The 70-year-old entrepreneur graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. However, his involvement in several companies went well and earned him commendable recognition.
20. Kirk Kerkorian
Fortune: 4.2 billion
Sector: Assorted store
Kerkorian is a business mogul and philanthropist who dropped out of 8th grade and decided to venture into several businesses that became profitable. He was a senior board member of entertainment company MGM before resigning in 2011. Although he remains the company’s largest shareholder with a 19% stake, he has also teamed up with the American auto industry. The 97-year-old Armenian-American has donated over $1 billion to charities in Armenia.
19.David Murdock
Net worth (income and earnings): $3.3 billion
Industry: food
David Murdock suffered from dyslexia and as a result, he dropped out of school in the 9th grade. He founded the Dole Food Company, Castle and Cooke and Pacific Clay. He is also the founder of the California Health and Longevity Institute (CHLI). Following the death of his wife, the billionaire philanthropist dedicated his business to nutrition, health and disease prevention. He oversaw the production of the Encyclopedia of Foods, A Guide to Healthy Eating and supports the quest for a cure for cancer.
18.David Geffen
Net worth: $6.9 billion
Industry: entertainment
David Geffen is an entertainment mogul, another dyslexic fall billionaire dating. David attended several schools and made attempts to stay in school and be successful, but all were unsuccessful. Instead, fate and hard work led him to start Asylum Records, Geffen Records and Geffen Film Company. He is also a co-founder of DreamWorks Animation SKG Studio. He is as much an avid art collector as he is a proponent of medical research.
17. Donald Newhouse
Net worth (income and earnings): $8.1 billion
Branch: publication (journalism)
Donald Newhouse and his brother Samuel inherited Advanced Publications from their late father. He later dropped out of Syracuse University in New York to focus on his father’s business. Together with his brother, they own a variety of print and media content, including cable television company The Bright House Network. The Newhouse brothers also have a significant interest in Discovery Communications.
16. Francois Pinault
Net worth: $13.7 billion
Branch: economy
Francois Pinault dropped out of school and began his entrepreneurial journey with the family timber trading business. Today he is one of the richest men in France. His retail company Kering owns part of the Gucci group as well as other design houses including Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. He also owns Christie, an art shop and auction house in London, UK. Francois is an art collector.
15. Li Ka Shing
Assets (income and earnings): $34 billion
Sector: Assorted store
Sir Li is the richest person in Asia. The 86-year-old golf enthusiast and business mogul is chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa and the Li Ka Shing Foundation. 15-year-old Li dropped out of school after the death of his father. He worked in a plastics company where he was able to gain some business experience. From plastic manufacturing to real estate business to electricity and retail, Li Ka-Shing has demonstrated his skills in the business world. Its companies, which hold a 15% stake in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, have granted 250,000 job opportunities in 52 countries.
14. Ted Turner
Net worth (income and earnings): $2.2 billion
Industry: Media
Ted is a media mogul and one of the largest landowners in the United States today. He founded the first 24-hour cable news channel, CNN. He is also on the list of philanthropists who have donated at least $1 billion to the United Nations. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors Foundation of the United Nations. Ted built his empire from his father’s advertising business. He attended Brown University, where he was vice president of the Brown Debating Union and captain of the sailing team until he was expelled for having a female student in his dormitory.
13. Mickey Arison
Net worth (income and earnings): $7.1 billion
Industry: cruise operations
Mickey is the Chairman of the largest cruise line operator, Carnival Corporation. He owns about 12% of the company. The American businessman also owns the Miami Heat basketball team. He is Forbes 191st richest man in the world and 66th richest in the United States. Mickey Arison was born in Israel in 1949. He finished college in Miami to work in Carnival’s sales department, which his father, Ted Arison, founded in 1972.
12.Ralph Lauren
Net worth (income and earnings): $7.1 billion
Industry: fashion
Ralph Lauren is a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. As a young man, Lauren sold ties to his classmates and in 1967 opened a tie shop under the brand name “Polo”. Ralph left Baruch College after studying business for two years. After another two years of military service, he worked as a salesman in a few shops. The last one was a tie shop. He literally turned rags into ties. Lauren is also a chronic automobile collector.
11.JackTaylor
Wealth (income and earnings): $12. 6 billion
Industry: automotive
Jack Taylor was an economics student at Washington University, St. Louis before he broke up from the army (World War II). He worked as a sales manager at a Cadillac distribution store. Working with the business, he started his Rent-A-Car business with just 8 cars. Company sales in 1992 totaled up to $2 billion. He has also participated in several sponsorship and charity events inside and outside the United States.
10.Mukesh Ambani
Assets (income and earnings): $21 billion
Industry: Oil and Gas
Mukesh is the first son of the late Indian business tycoon, Dhirubhai Ambani. He is Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, the second largest company in India. He holds a 48% stake in the company. In addition to his oil and gas expertise, he also owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians. He has served on the boards of directors of Bank of America Corporation and other petrochemical associations. He left Stanford University to further the family business.
9.Sheldon Adelson
Net worth (income and earnings): $31.4 billion
Branch: economy
Sheldon is an American business mogul who dropped out of City College of New York. He is the founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, also the founder of COMDEX, the Adelson Family Charitable Foundation and Freedom’s Watch. He also owns Israel HaYom, an Israeli daily newspaper. Sheldon has experimented with various small businesses since he was young. It is known for its hotels, resorts and casinos in several countries. Sheldon’s political flair and interest has not been forgotten. He has donated millions of dollars to many embattled politicians in the United States.
8.Amancio Ortega
Net worth (income and earnings): $67.8 billion
Industry: fashion
Amancio is currently one of the richest people in the world. He is co-founder of the Inditex fashion group and holds around 59.29% of the shares. He owns and founded the Zara brand with designs he created with his wife in the living room. In his youth he worked for a local shirt manufacturer. The Spanish business mogul owns several other brands besides Zara, with thousands of stores around the world and over 90,000 employees.
7. Elizabeth Holmes
Net worth (income and earnings): $4.6 billion
Industry: Healthcare
Elizabeth Holmes is another Stanford dropout billionaire. She left a year after her enrollment to study chemistry. As an intern at the Genome Institute of Singapore, she was involved in finding new ways to detect SARS in blood. Elizabeth comes from a family with a strong health background. In 2003, she founded her company, Theranos, with savings set aside for college. Theranos is a health technology and medicine laboratory. She owns 50% of the company. Elizabeth Holmes is Forbes youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
6. Michael Dell
Net worth: $18.7 billion
Industry: Technology
Michael Dell is from Texas. The 50-year-old business mogul and entrepreneur began building and selling computers during his studies. At the time he was a medical student at the University of Texas, Austin. Young Michael decided to drop out to focus on designing and manufacturing his computers. He is the founder of Dell Inc, a privately held multinational computer technology company based in Round Rock, Texas. In 1999 he penned his biography, That Revolutionized an Industry. Dell served on the US President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth (income and earnings): $54.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Larry Ellison is a software programmer, internet entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist. From its inception in 1977 to 2014, he was Chief Executive Officer of the software company Oracle Corporation. Larry was named the third richest American and fifth richest man in the world by Forbes. Ellison is a certified pilot and has worked with the CIA. In 1997 he worked with Steve Jobs as a director of Apple Computers. In 2013, the 70-year-old earned a salary of $77 million. Larry Ellison has holdings in several well-known companies.
4. Sergey Brin and Larry Page
Net worth: $28.3 billion / $28.8 billion
Industry: Technology
Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google, a company we all love and use today. While Larry is the CEO, Sergey is the director of Google X and Special Projects. They each own about 16% of the company. Google is an American multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing and software. Both friends ditched their computer science PhD programs at Stanford University to start what we now know as Google.
3.Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $35.1 billion
Industry: Social Media / Technology
Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO and co-founder of Facebook. The 31-year-old billionaire was a psychologist and computer scientist and undergraduate before dropping out to start his own company. Facebook was first started in partnership with his roommates from Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm. From there it spread to other campuses. There are currently over 1 billion Facebook users. Regardless of his personal net worth, Zuckerberg’s salary is only $1.
2. Steve Jobs
Net worth (income and earnings): $8.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Think Apple, think Steve Jobs. He was an American entrepreneur, marketer, designer, and inventor who was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. Through Apple, he was widely recognized as a charismatic and design-led pioneer of the PC revolution and for his influential career in computing and consumer electronics, “transforming industry after industry from computers and smartphones to music and movies.” Steve dropped out of school six months after enrolling at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011.
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $79.7 billion
Industry: Technology
Bill Gates remains one of the richest men on the planet. A position he has held since 1995 to this day. Gates dropped out of school to start his small Microsoft company in Seattle with his bosom friend Paul Allen. According to Forbes, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world for the 16th time.