School Dropouts Who Made Billions

Can education make you rich? Well, education does improve your chances of living a financially healthy life. Most people you see in top management such as CEOs, CFOs, COOs and others usually have a good educational background. That said, quality education does not guarantee that you will become rich. There are exceptions in every field and it applies here as well. There have been several people who dropped out of school or college and went on to become super rich. Here are some examples of school dropouts who made billions.

Li Ka-shing – A Hong-Kong based businessman, Li Ka-shing controls an empire that stretches across multiple industry segments including retail, real estate, logistics & supply chain, energy, and financial services. Li Ka-shing wealth is currently estimated to be around USD 33 billion. He was born in a poor family and had to leave school when he was just 15 years of age. His first job at a plastics trading company required him to work 16 hours per day.

François Pinault – A French businessman, François Pinault is the founder of Kering luxury group and Artémis investment company. His current wealth is valued at around USD 54 billion. Pinault left school when he was just 16 years of age. One reason for leaving school was that other students used to tease him about his peasant family background and his rural accent.

Larry Ellison – Most people know Larry Ellison as the co-founder of Oracle Corporation. He currently serves as the CTO and executive chairman at Oracle. With net worth of USD 93.9 billion, Larry is currently ranked as the tenth wealthiest man in the world. He attended University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Chicago, but quit before completing the terms.

Mark Zuckerberg – Co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg currently serves as the CEO and chairman of the company. His net worth is valued at USD 119 billion. Mark was a brilliant student at both school and college. However, when he was at Harvard, he had dropped out in his sophomore year. He took the decision, as he wanted to focus on his Facebook project.

Bill Gates – The co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates is currently the third richest person in the world. His net worth is USD 145.8 billion. Gates was fascinated with computer programing at an early age. He excelled in school and studied at Harvard College. However, he did not complete the term and left Harvard after two years.

While the above stories may be inspiring, we don’t recommend that you quit college just because they did. There’s no harm in following your instincts. But there can be problems if you are just trying to imitate someone. So, choose wisely. Making mistakes is understandable, but taking unnecessary risks needs to be avoided.