30 Billionaires With Only High School Degrees

It is conventional wisdom that you need a college degree to have a successful career and earn money. We have compileda list of 30 high-profile billionaires who didn't complete college, some are considered high school dropouts.
1. Ralph Lauren
Est. Net Worth: $8 billion
Source of Fortune: Ralph Lauren Corporation (Apparel)
Education: Graduated DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx

2. Mark Zuckerberg
Est. Net Worth: $51 billion
Source of Fortune: Facebook
Education: Dropped out of Harvard

3. Bill Gates
Est. Net Worth: Over $80 billion
Source of Fortune: Microsoft
Education: Dropped out of Harvard

4. Larry Ellison
Est. Net Worth: $56 billion
Source of Fortune: Oracle Corporation
Education: Dropped out of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5. Sheldon Adelson
Est. Net Worth: $28 billion
Source of Fortune: Hotels and Casinos (Venetian Hotel, Sands Hotel)
Education: Dropped out of City College of New York

6. Simon Cowell
Est. Net Worth: $500 million
Source of Fortune: Entertainment – American Idol, The X Factor
Education: Dropped out of Dover College

7. Harold Hamm
Est. Net Worth: $9.3 billion
Source of Fortune: Oil (Shale Oil)
Education: Graduated high school

8. Paul Allen
Est. Net Worth: $19 billion
Source of Fortune: Microsoft
Education: Dropped out of Washington State University

9. David Geffen
Est. Net Worth: $6 billion
Source of Fortune: Media & Entertainment– Geffen Records, Dreamworks
Education: Dropped out of Brooklyn College

10. John Paul DeJoria
Est. Net Worth: $3.1 billion
Source of Fortune: Paul Mitchell Hair Products
Education: Graduated high school

11. David Green
Est. Net Worth: $5.8 billion
Source of Fortune: Hobby Lobby StoresEducation: Graduated high school

12. Barry Dille
rEst. Net Worth: $2.6 billion
Source of Fortune: Digital Media (IAC Corporation)
Education: Graduated high school

13. David Karp
Est. Net Worth: $1.1 billion
Source of Fortune: Tumblr (Sold to Yahoo)Education: Dropped out of high school (Bronx High School of Science)

14. John Mackey
est. Net Worth: $100 million
Source of Fortune: Whole Foods
Education: Dropped out of University of Texas at Austin

15. Phillip Green
Est. Net Worth: $5.2 billion
Source of Fortune: Retail (U.K. Corporation Arcadia Group)Education: Dropped out of boarding school at age 15

16. Richard Branson
Est. Net Worth: $5 billion
Source of Fortune: Virgin Group (Virgin Records, Virgin Airways)Education: Graduated high school

17. Steve Wozniak
Est. Net Worth: $100 million
Source of Fortune: Co-Founder of Apple Computer
Education: Dropped out of The University of California at Berkeley

18. Roman Abramovich
Est. Net Worth: $7.8 billion
Source of Fortune: Oil and Mining, Investments
Education: Didn’t complete high school (joined Russian army)

19. Amancio Ortega Gaona
Est. Net Worth: $78.6 billion
Source of Fortune: Apparel (Zara, Inditex)Education: Didn’t graduate high school

20. Francois Pinault
Est. Net Worth: $13.7 billion
Source of Fortune: Luxury Products and Services – Vail Ski Resort, Christie’s Auction House, Formerly owned Gucci
Education: Completed secondary school

United States High Schools, not Nigerian Secondary schools... Large difference dey o

It's better I apply to Harvard University then I drop out to start a business

Lalasticlala FP this thing make my fellow hustlers see new way to hammer

21. Jack Taylor
Est. Net Worth: $8.6 billion
Source of Fortune: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Education: Dropped out of Washington University in St. Louis

22. Micky Arison
Est. Net Worth: $7.2 billion
Source of Fortune: Carnival Cruise Lines
Education: Dropped out of University of Miami

23. Les Wexner
Est. Net Worth: $7.2 billion
Source of Fortune: Apparel – The Limited Stores
Education: Dropped out of Ohio State University

24. Haim Saban
Est. Net Worth: $3 billion
Source of Fortune: Saban Entertainment
Education: Expelled from high school

25. Debbi Fields
Est. Net Worth: $100 million
Source of Fortune: Mrs. Fields Cookies
Education: Dropped out of Foothill Collegein California

26. Invar Kamprad
Est. Net Worth: $43.2 billion
Source of Fortune: Founder of IKEA Furniture
Education: Graduated secondary school

27. Ted Turner
Est. Net Worth: $2.2 billion
Source of Fortune: Turner Broadcasting, CNN
Education: Expelled from Brown University(for having a female student in his dorm room)

28. Jenny Craig
Est. Net Worth: $400 million
Source of Fortune: Jenny Craig Weight Loss
Education: Graduated high school

Rubbish! Are you trying to use this to console people who cannot cope in Nigerian universities? Naija is different from America o. Some graduates here cannot even compete with high school students in the US. Moreso, these people you listed here are natural geniuses; they don't need formal education to change the world. They dropped out not because they failed or were academically incompetent, but because they were so brilliant that they realised that the school would be an impediment to their set goals. See the calibre of schools they dropped out from sef- Harvard, Stanford, etc. You think it's easy to get into such schools. One dropout from Enugu State Polytechnic too go dey draw yeye inspiration from this post. Don't compare them with naija dropouts o. You wan dey compare Mikel with Messi? If Messi drop out from training sef, he go still beat Mikel with daily training. You see the difference?

29. Craig McCaw
Est. Net Worth: $1.9 billion
Source of Fortune: Wireless Communications
Education: Dropped out of Stanford

30. Dean Kamen
Est. Net Worth: $300 million
Source of Fortune: Inventor (Segway Scooter, Medical Devices)Education: Dropped out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Extra*

Oluwaseun Osewa
Est worth: N 1billion
Source of Fortune: Nairaland
Education: Dropped out of Obafemi Awolowo University.

well,it sure does seem like the richest of folks never completed uni op i hope you ain't suggesting folks drop outta school though?

RealJaneDoe:
Extra*
Oluwaseun Osewa Est worth: N 1billion Source of Fortune: Nairaland Education: Dropped out of Obafemi Awolowo University.

Seun is an example of a Nigerian genius! Who told you that's his est worth?

sarzy:



Seun is an example of a Nigerian genius! Who told you that's his est worth?

I saw it in a website plus if Linda is worth 1billion and seun is richer than her even though he doesn't like to show off

geez18:
well,it sure does seem like the richest of folks never completed uni
op i hope you ain't suggesting folks drop outta school though?

The thing is, these people dropped out willingly for a clearly defined goal of creating something. Not the rustication which is common in Naija schools. Interestingly, none of these people is willing to employ dropouts. Therefore anyone who would drop out must have a goal of starting something all by himself.

Their high schools better pass our universities... What should be added is that peeps should have defined goals and pursue it not that they should abandon school. Not all will be like 9ice,p-square etc.

sarzy:
Rubbish! Are you trying to use this to console people who cannot cope in Nigerian universities? Naija is different from America o. Some graduates here cannot even compete with high school students in the US. Moreso, these people you listed here are natural geniuses; they don't need formal education to change the world. They dropped out not because they failed or were academically incompetent, but because they were so brilliant that they realised that the school would be an impediment to their set goals. See the calibre of schools they dropped out from sef- Harvard, Stanford, etc. You think it's easy to get into such schools. One dropout from Enugu State Polytechnic too go dey draw yeye inspiration from this post. Don't compare them with naija dropouts o. You wan dey compare Mikel with Messi? If Messi drop out from training sef, he go still beat Mikel with daily training. You see the difference?

There are lots of Nigerians who didn't go to school and are very rich. I Was opportuned to help my uncle at ladipo sell spare parts and you need to see how much this so called illiterates make in a day. He's not castigating anyone he's just saying if school doesn't work out for you there are a thousand and one things you can do. Find what you are good at and put in effort and you will be successful.

tensazangetsu20:

There are lots of Nigerians who didn't go to school and are very rich. I Was opportuned to help my uncle at ladipo sell spare parts and you need to see how much this so called illiterates make in a day. He's not castigating anyone he's just saying if school doesn't work out for you there are a thousand and one things you can do. Find what you are good at and put in effort and you will be successful.

You and I are saying the same thing, bro. What I'm saying is that the examples of people he used aren't people school didn't work out for, but people who chose to do what they wanted. And I'm trying to caution other people in line with your comment.

Africa/Nigeria is different.

RealJaneDoe:


I saw it in a website plus if Linda is worth 1billion and seun is richer than her even though he doesn't like to show off

Seun go dey one place dey look you like this

What are you telling me?

OP you mean secondary school has begin to offer DEGREE too

This is serious!

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