The story of
these people will inspire you to belief in yourself and ability. They came from
very poor families, and were poor themselves. Some finds it difficult to even
pay their bills while in school. They all dropped out of school at very young
age, 14-16, and all have to find work to earn money for survival.
From being
bully by school mates to being bored with academic works, and poverty they all
have to face life without formal education at a time when it is difficult to
achieve success without any formal education.
Theirs is a
story of inspiration, motivation, belief, confidence and faith. Read their
stories and find hope that whatever side the coin turns to you is a win. With
hard work, diligence, inspiration and the favour of God they were able to
conquer poverty and acquire fortune for themselves and dependants.
Listed below
are 10 of the world’s richest people who droppedout of high school and still
went ahead to amass billion dollar(s) in their lifetime.
1. Amancio
Ortega Gaona (1936)
Business
tycoon Amancio Ortega Gaona grew up in a poor household, sometimes unable to
afford even basic items.
At age 14 he
dropped out of school but found work as an assistant for a local shirt maker.
During his employment, Ortega learned to make clothes by hand.
As an adult,
Ortega used these skills to build a company selling quilted bothrobes, before
founding fashion empire Inditex, which includes international clothes brand
Zara.
Today,
Ortega's fashion empire has expanded to over 6,000 stores and more than 92,000
employees, making him the second richest person in the world, with a fortune of
$73.1 billion.
2. Francois Pinault
(1936)
Businessman
Francois Pinault is one of the richest men in France, with a net worth of $15
billion. Bullied by his school peers for being poor, Pinault dropped out of
school aged 16 to work at his father's lumber mill. As an adult, Pinault began
to acquire undervalued timber firms, turning them into profitable businesses.
He had a
talent for snapping up companies and soon branched out of the wood industry. He
is now known as the majority shareholder of fashion corporation PPR, owning
high-end fashion houses including Gucci, Stella McCarty, Alexander McQueen, and
Vves Saint Lourent.
3. Carl
Lindner, Jr. (1919-2011)
Carl
Lindner, Jr. was a self made billionaire who dropped out of school aged 14 to
work as a milk delivery boy for his family's dairy.
Together with his brothers,
Lindner opened an Ice cream shop and slowly built a chain of convenience
stores. The stores, known as the United Dairy Farmers chain, allowed family to
sell their dairy products directly to customers.
With more
than 200 dairy stores, Lindner diversified into the insurance industry,
becoming one of the largest insurers in America. By the time of his death in
2011, Lindner was worth an estimated $1.7 billion.
4. Kirk
Kerkorian (1917-2015)
Kirk
Kerkorian was in the 8th grade when he dropped out of school to become an
amateur boxer. After working as a pilot during WW2, Kerkorian made his first
visit to Las Vegas where he bought Trans International Airlines for $60,000. He
sold the Airline just two decades later for $104, million.
With his
growing fortunes, Kerkorian built up Las Vegas. He built the biggest
hotel-casino on the strip three times and made a fortune selling businesses in
the casino, auto, and movie industries.
His ability
to spot lucrative investment opportunities led to him becoming one of the
richest people in the world in 2008, with a net worth of $16 billion.
5. Alan
Sugar (1947)
A famous
rags-to- riches tale, British entrepreneur and TV personality Alan Sugar grew
up in one of the poorest areas in London. He dropped out of school aged 16 and
began his career by selling electrical goods out of the back of his van.
He
later launched Amstrad, a technology company selling electrical goods including
cigarette lighters, aerials, car radios, and hi-fi systems.
Within a few
decades Amstrad was among the market leaders in consumer electronics. But
despite his reputation as a tech entrepreneur, most of Sugar's fortune has been
accumulated through smart property investments, bringing his estimated worth to
more than $2 billion.
6. John
D. Rockefeller (1839 – 1937)
The richest
person in the US history, oil magnate John D. Rockefeller left school aged 16
to work as an assistant bookkeeper.
With a natural talent for accounting and a
nose for business, Rockefeller raised funds to build an oil refinery; this was
while the industry was still in its infancy.
As the
importance of Kerosene and gasoline grew, so did Rockefeller's wealth, and in
1916 he became the first American to be worth more than a billion dollars.
7. James H. Clark (1944)
Considered
the first internet billionaire, Clark dropped out of school aged 16 after
getting suspended. He went on to join the navy and it was during these four
years that he was introduced to electronics. After his stint in the navy, Clark
returned to education, eventually earning a PhD in computer science.
He is now worth an estimated $1 billion.
8. Richard Branson (1950)
Having
suffered from deslexio and poor academic performance Branson was reportedly
told by his headmaster that he 'would either end up in prison or become a
millioneer'.
At age 16,
Branson dropped out of school to start his own business, a magazine named
Student, which eventually led to his own music label, Virgin Records. Expanding
the Virgin Empire, Branson also launched Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin
Trains, and even a soda called Virgin Cola. His latest venture is set to be the
first space tourism company, Virgin Galactic.
In 2015
Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at $5.2 billion.
9. David Karp (1986)
David Karp
was 14 years old when he dropped out of high school due to advice from his mom.
Although Karp's mum was herself a schoolteacher, seeing that Karp was easily
bored at school, she encouraged her son to leave so he could focus on his
passion for computers.
With Karp's
extra free time he developed websites for companies and set up a software
consulting company from his bedroom.
At age 21
Karp launched microblogging websites Tumblr, which as of 2016 hosts over 207.6
million blogs.
In 2013
Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion, keeping Karp as the website's CEO.
10. Walt Disney (1901-1966)
At the age
of 16, Walt Disney dropped out of high school in order to enlist for WW1.
However his application was rejected due to his young age. After a brief stint
as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in France, Disney returned to America
to pursue a career in art and animation.
In 1923 Walt
Disney and his brother Roy moved to Hollywood to set up an animation studio.
There he wrote, produced, voiced, and directed groundbreaking animations,
including the first full-length animation film, Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs. As of 2015 the Walt Disney Company held assets worth a total of $74.9
billion.
That many of
them lived to old age before death is a testimony that making money legally and
living a wealthy life can lead to long life. Money made legally and righteously
is good, and that should be the pursuit of everyone who want to enjoy the best
things of life.
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