Self-Made Billionaires That Dropped Out of College

SELF MADE BILLIONAIRES THAT DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGEby Doug MacFaddin

Bloomberg recently crunched the numbers on “self-made” billionaires in the United States and found an interesting statistic. Turns out that one-in-four self-made American billionaires is a college drop out. One didn’t even attend college: Harold Hamm. !Here is a list of self-made American billionaires that all dropped out of college.

One in four self-made American billionaires dropped out of college

• SHELDON ADELSON IS A BUSINESS MAGNATE, INVESTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST.

• CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF THE LAS VEGAS SANDS CORPORATION, PARENT COMPANY OF VENETIAN MACAU LIMITED, WHICH OPERATES A NUMBER OF LAS VEGAS CASINOS.

• ALSO OWNS THE ISRAELI DAILY NEWSPAPER, ISRAEL HAYOM.

• AS OF JULY 2014, FORBES LISTED ADELSON AS THE 10TH RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

SHELDON ADELSON (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $36.4 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK

• PAUL ALLEN IS A PHILANTHROPIST, INVESTOR AND INNOVATOR, BEST KNOWN FOR CO-FOUNDING MICROSOFT WITH BILL GATES.

• AS OF AUGUST 2014, HE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE THE 55TH RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

• HE IS ALSO THE CO-FOUNDER OF VULCAN INC., WHICH MANAGES HIS VARIOUS BUSINESS AND PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVES.

• HE IS ALSO THE OWNER OF THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (NFL), AND PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (NBA), AS WELL AS PART-OWNER OF THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS (MLS).

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

PAUL ALLEN (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $16.2 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

• ANDY BEAL IS AN AMERICAN BANKER, BUSINESSMAN, INVESTOR, POKER PLAYER, AND AMATEUR MATHEMATICIAN.

• BEAL IS FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF BEAL BANK AND BEAL BANK USA, AS WELL AS OTHER AFFILIATED COMPANIES.

• A SELF-TAUGHT NUMBER THEORIST, BEAL IS KNOWN FOR THE BEAL CONJECTURE, A MATHEMATICAL GENERALIZATION OF FERMAT’S LAST THEOREM.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

ANDY BEAL (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $11.1 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

MICHAEL DELL (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $15.3 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

• MICHAEL DELL IS AN AMERICAN BUSINESS MAGNATE, INVESTOR, PHILANTHROPIST, AND AUTHOR.

• HE IS MOST WELL KNOWN AS THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF DELL INC., ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING SELLERS OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS.

• HE WAS RANKED AS THE 41ST RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD IN 2012.

• ON JANUARY 5, 2013 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT MICHAEL DELL BID TO TAKE DELL INC PRIVATE FOR $24.4 BILLION IN THE BIGGEST LBO SINCE THE GREAT RECESSION.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

LARRY ELLISON (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $52 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

• ELLISON IS AN AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN, BEST KNOWN AS THE CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF ORACLE CORPORATION, AN ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE COMPANY.

• IN 2014, FORBES LISTED HIM AS THE THIRD WEALTHIEST MAN IN AMERICA AND THE FIFTH WEALTHIEST MAN IN THE WORLD.

• ELLISON HAS SERVED AS ORACLE’S CEO THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY.

• ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2014, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT ELLISON WOULD BE STEPPING DOWN TO BECOME EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN AND CTO.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

• BILL GATES IS AN AMERICAN BUSINESS MAGNATE, INVESTOR, PHILANTHROPIST, COMPUTER PROGRAMMER, AND INVENTOR.

• GATES IS THE FORMER CEO AND CHAIRMAN OF MICROSOFT, THE WORLD’S LARGEST PERSONAL-COMPUTER SOFTWARE COMPANY, WHICH HE CO-FOUNDED WITH PAUL ALLEN.

• DURING HIS TENURE WITH MICROSOFT, GATES HELD THE POSITIONS OF CEO AND CHIEF SOFTWARE ARCHITECT, HE WAS ALSO THE LARGEST INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDER UP UNTIL MAY 2013. HE HAS ALSO AUTHORED AND CO-AUTHORED SEVERAL BOOKS.

• GATES IS ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE PERSONAL COMPUTER REVOLUTION. IN THE LATER STAGES OF HIS CAREER, GATES HAS PURSUED A NUMBER OF PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS, DONATING LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAMS THROUGH THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION, ESTABLISHED IN 2000.

• GATES’S LAST FULL-TIME DAY AT MICROSOFT WAS JUNE 27, 2008. HE STEPPED DOWN AS CHAIRMAN OF MICROSOFT IN FEBRUARY 2014, TAKING A NEW POST AS TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR TO SUPPORT NEWLY APPOINTED CEO SATYA NADELLA.

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TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

BILL GATES (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $81.6 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

JAN KOUM (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $7.5 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

• JAN KOUM IS AN AMERICAN INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR AND COMPUTER ENGINEER.

• HE IS THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDER WITH BRIAN ACTON OF WHATSAPP, A MOBILE MESSAGING APPLICATION.

• WHATSAPP WAS ACQUIRED BY FACEBOOK, INC. IN FEBRUARY 2014 FOR $19 BILLION.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

THOMAS PETERFFY (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $6.4 BILLION)

DROPPED OUT OF AN UNSPECIFIED UNIVERSITY

• THOMAS PETERFFY IS A HUNGARIAN-BORN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEUR. • HE IS THE FOUNDER AND HEAD OF INTERACTIVE BROKERS, AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE

IN FOUNDING THE BOSTON OPTIONS EXCHANGE. • PETERFFY WORKED AS AN ARCHITECTURAL DRAFTSMAN AFTER IMMIGRATING TO THE

UNITED STATES TO BECOME A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER. • IN THE 1970S, PETERFFY PURCHASED A SEAT ON THE AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE

AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN DEVELOPING THE ELECTRONIC TRADING OF SECURITIES. !

TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

JACK TAYLOR (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $11.4 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

• JACK CRAWFORD TAYLOR IS AN AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN AND BILLIONAIRE WHO FOUNDED THE ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR COMPANY.

• CRAWFORD LEFT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY TO JOIN THE U.S. NAVY DURING WWII.

• TAYLOR IS HIGHLY INVOLVED IN PHILANTHROPIES IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA, DONATING GIFTS TO THE ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDENS, AND WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.

!TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA

MARK ZUCKERBERG (ESTIMATED NET WORTH: $33.1 BILLION) DROPPED OUT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

• MARK ZUCKERBERG IS AN AMERICAN COMPUTER PROGRAMMER AND INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR. HE IS BEST KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FIVE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITE FACEBOOK.

• AS OF APRIL 2013, ZUCKERBERG IS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF FACEBOOK, INC. AND HIS PERSONAL WEALTH IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND $33.1 BILLION.

• ZUCKERBERG RECEIVES A ONE-DOLLAR A YEAR SALARY AS CEO OF FACEBOOK.

• ZUCKERBERG LAUNCHED FACEBOOK FROM HIS DORMITORY ROOMS WITH HIS FOUR OTHER CO-FOUNDERS, AND THEN INTRODUCED THE NETWORK TO UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE.

• IN 2007, AT THE AGE OF 23, ZUCKERBERG BECAME A BILLIONAIRE AS A RESULT OF FACEBOOK’S SUCCESS.

• FACEBOOK REACHED A TOTAL USERSHIP OF 1 BILLION IN 2012. • SINCE 2010, TIME MAGAZINE HAS RANKED ZUCKERBERG IN THE TOP

100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD AS PART OF ITS “PERSON OF THE YEAR” DISTINCTION.

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TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA