20 Self-Made Billionaires: How They Started

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Self-made billionaires: How they started

6 days ago  Source:  http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/self-made-billionaires-how-they-started/ss-AA91vPu

What is it that makes these individuals rare? Is it their strong conviction, ability to take risks, or self-efficacy?

Here’s a look at the people who made it on their own to the billionaires’ list. 

Their current net worth is as of January 31, 2015.

1. Larry Ellison

Growing up in a middle-class neighbourhood, he dropped out from the University of Illinois at Urbana as 

well as the University of Chicago. One of his early jobs included making database for the CIA. Soon he 

became interested in software development and founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) with 

two partners. SDL was officially renamed Oracle in 1982.

Net Worth: US $52.1 billion

  

2. Howard Schultz

Coming from a humble background, Schultz earned a football scholarship in the Northern Michigan 

University. He started as a salesperson with Xerox Corp. Later, he joined Starbucks as director of 

marketing, which he later bought in 1988 for $3.8 million.

Net Worth: US $2.4 billion

 

3. Oprah Winfrey

Oprah won an oratory contest, which helped her secure a full scholarship in the Tennessee State University. 

Soon, she started working part time with WVOL, a local radio station, before anchoring news at Nashville's 

WLAC-TV. Oprah, a black woman in white-dominated media business, soon rose to fame with her talent to 

become the most popular TV presenter.

Net Worth: US $3 billion

4. Richard Branson

Branson started his record business while running The Student magazine from the crypt of a church. 

The magazine used to carry interviews of famous personalities of the late 1960s as well as advertisements of 

popular records. Eventually, he opened a records shop at Oxford Street, London, and launched label Virgin 

Records. Today, Virgin Group is a multinational venture capital conglomerate with interests in airlines, 

mobile phones, financial services, music, internet and more.

Net Worth: US $4.8 billion

5. Jeff Bezos

Quitting his job as a vice president at the financial-services firm D.E. Shaw in 1994, Bezos set out to take 

advantage of the growing internet market by starting up Amazon. The eCommerce portal operated from a 

garage before settling into its current elegant headquarters in Seattle.

Net Worth: US $32.5 billion

6. Roman Abramovich

The extravagant Russian businessman started his first business of selling plastic ducks from a Moscow

apartment. He soon acquired a stake in the country’s largest oil firm Sibnet through strong connections with 

Russian government officials. He amassed wealth by entering into various sectors like oil, steel, gold, real 

estate and yachts. He also owns the Chelsea Football Club.

Net Worth: US $9.6 billion

7. Elon Musk

Moving to Canada at the age of 17, the South Africa-born Musk shifted to the University of Pennsylvania in 

the USA as a transfer student. He made his mark by co-founding Pay Pal, and later went on to launch electric 

car company Tesla and aerospace venture SpaceX.

Net Worth: US $7.8 billion

8. Jan Koum

The founder of WhatsApp had a knack for computers from an early age. Before staring the widely popular 

mobile messaging service that was acquired by Facebook in 2014, Koum worked as a security and 

infrastructure engineer for nine years at Yahoo.

Net Worth: US $7.2 billion

9. Bill Gates

Bill Gates entered the tech world by writing a programming language called BASIC for the Altair computer 

system while he was still studying in Harvard. With its success during 1976, he went on to co-found 

Microsoft which later specialised in creating operating systems, including MS-DOS and Windows.

Net Worth: US $78.7 billion

10. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, along with his several friends, started Facebook in 2004, allowing the students of his 

university (Harvard) to connect with each other and share information. In September 2006, the system was 

opened for everyone.

Net Worth: US $33.5 billion

11. Elaine Wynn

Receiving her undergraduate degree from George Washington University, Elaine and Steve Wynn became 

college sweethearts at the University of Pennsylvania. Elaine co-founded casino empire Wynn Resorts with 

ex-husband Steve three decades ago.

Net Worth: US $2 billion

12. Sheldon Adelson

The man who runs the largest casino company in the world, Las Vegas Sands, has come long way. He was 

just 12 year old when he took a US $200 loan from his uncle to buy his first newspaper corner. He went on 

to build his fortune by selling newspaper ads, running vending machines, developing condos and hosting 

trade shows.

Net Worth: US $28.5 billion

13. Jack Ma

Jack M convince 17 of his friend to invest in his vision of an online marketplace called Alibaba. 

The company, which soon started attracting members from different parts of the world, has raised millions 

from various banks, including Goldman Sachs and Softbank. In 2005, Yahoo paid $1 billion for 40% stake 

in the company.

Net Worth: US $20.7 billion

14. John Fredriksen

Fredriksen ventured into oil trading in 1960s, and bought his first tankers in 1970s. With Frontline Ltd., 

he established himself as the king of the tanker trade in the 1990s.

Net Worth: US $9.4 billion

 

15. Amancio Ortega

The founder of fashion giant Zara, Ortega started as a gofer at a shirt store. He later started making dressing 

gowns and lingerie along with his then-wife Rosalia Mera. Over the decades, he has also ventured into real 

estate.

Net Worth: US $62.1 billion

16. Warren Buffett

Owner of the multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet exhibited an entrepreneurial 

streak from an early age. Doing odd jobs like teaching and working as a stock broker during his formative 

years, Buffett invested in the loss-making textile company in 1962. Later on, he ventured into insurance.

Net Worth: US $70.5 billion

17. Mark Cuban

Cuban, who started his career as a bartender, founded his first tech company called MicroSolutions in 1980s.

He made it big by selling the video portal Broadcast.com to Yahoo for US $5.7 billion in 1999, and reinvested

the money in multiple ventures, including television network AXS TV, cinema chain Landmark Theaters and

movie studio Magnolia Pictures. He also owns NBA team Dallas Mavericks.

Net Worth: US $2.7 billion

18. Shahid Khan

While attending college, Khan started working part time at Flex-N-Gate - automotive manufacturing company.

He was eventually hired by them as an engineer after graduation. In 1978, he started his own company 

Bumper Works, which made car bumpers. Two years later, he dissolved the company and bought 

Flex-N-Gate from his former employer. Today, besides owning this company, Shahid Khan owns 

Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham Football Club.

Net Worth: US $4.4 billion

19. Robin Li

With a master’s degree in computer science, Li started as a consultant at a subsidiary of Dow Jones. After a 

brief stint with the search engine company InfoSeek in Silicon Valley, he co-founded China's No. 1 search 

engine Baidu in 2000. Baidu’s shares hit record high at the Nasdaq this year.

Net Worth: US $15.8 billion

20. Michael Bloomberg

Born and raised in a middle-class home in Medford, Massachusetts, Michael Bloomberg attended Harvard 

Business School. In 1966, he was hired by a Wall Street firm, Salomon Brothers, for an entry-level job. 

With a vision to bring transparency and efficiency to financial securities transactions, he launched Bloomberg

from a one-room office. Today, the company has offices in 73 countries with more than 15,000 employees.

Net Worth: US $35.6 billion

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내 경험은 40대중반이 정점이고 그후는 다운힐 ㅠ.ㅠ

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포스트닥 다 마치고 지금은 교수님이 되어 있을텐데