Some of the most successful people globally are millionaires and billionaire college dropouts. These people include Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. While dropping out of college may seem like a recipe for disaster, these individuals have shown that it is possible to be successful without a degree.
There are many reasons why someone might choose to drop out of college. For some, the cost of tuition is too high. Others may feel that they are not getting the education they need or want. And still, others may find that they are not well suited for traditional academic settings.
Despite dropping out of college, these individuals have achieved great things. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft, and Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College after one semester. Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to create Facebook.
Successful Millionaire And Billionaire College Dropouts
10. John Mackey
SaferWay in John Mackey is the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, one of the most significant natural and organic foods supermarkets in the United States. He dropped out of college to start his own business and became a multimillionaire and billionaire.
Despite his success, Mackey remains down-to-earth and gives back to the community. He is a strong advocate for self-education and believes that anyone can achieve great things if willing to work hard for it.
9. Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick his success as a millionaire and billionaire college dropout. Kalanick is the co-founder and CEO of Uber, a transportation network company. Uber is one of the most successful startups in history and is currently valued at $68 billion. Kalanick was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1976.
He dropped out of college at UCLA to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. In 2009, he co-founded Uber with Garrett Camp. Kalanick has been involved in many other businesses, including Red Swoosh (a file-sharing company) and Scour (a peer-to-peer search engine). He is also a significant investor in companies such as Airbnb, Pinterest, and Stripe. Kalanick is a self-made millionaire and billionaire who has achieved great success without a college degree.
8. Jan Koum
Jan Koum was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1976. When he was 16, his mother immigrated to the United States with him and his younger sister. They settled in Mountain View, California, and Koum’s mother worked as a house cleaner.
He attended San Jose State University but dropped out after one year to work at Yahoo! as an engineer. Koum met Brian Acton while working at Yahoo!. In 2009, they left Yahoo! and founded WhatsApp. Facebook acquired the company for $19 billion in 2014.
7. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s richest men, is a college dropout. After two years, he left the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to start his first company with a friend. That business, Ampex, made hardware and software for data processing.
Ellison’s net worth is estimated at $43 billion, but he didn’t always have it so easy. He was once homeless and sleeping on a friend’s apartment floor. But through hard work and determination, Ellison has become one of the most successful businessmen in the world.
Ellison is also a champion sailor and owns several expensive yachts. He is known for his lavish lifestyle and often attends celebrity events. But despite his wealth, Ellison remains down-to-earth and approachable.
6. Mark Zuckerberg
There are many successful college dropouts, but none quite like Mark Zuckerberg. After founding Facebook while still a student at Harvard, Zuckerberg dropped out to focus on the company full-time. He was only 20 years old at the time.
Now one of the wealthiest people globally, Zuckerberg’s net worth is estimated at $53.7 billion. He has been named one of the most influential people globally and one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”
Despite his success, Zuckerberg has faced his share of challenges. In 2010, he faced criticism for how Facebook handled user data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. More recently, he has been criticized for how Facebook has been used to spread misinformation and fake news.
5. Evan Williams
Evan Williams is one of the most successful college dropouts in history. Thanks to his work with Twitter and other startups, he is a millionaire and billionaire. But his road to success was not easy.
Williams was born in Missouri in 1966. He grew up in a modest home, and his parents were both college professors. Williams showed an early interest in computers, and he taught himself how to program at a young age.
In high school, Williams started a computer company with a friend. The company was successful, leading to Williams dropping out of college to focus on his business ventures.
Williams has had many successes over the years. He co-founded Twitter, which is now one of the world’s most popular social networks. He has also founded several other startups, including Medium and Obvious Corporation.
4. Bill Gates
Bill Gates is a very successful millionaire and billionaire. He is also a college dropout. He was one of the most famous college dropouts of all time. When he dropped out of Harvard, he had already founded Microsoft. Gates is now the second richest person globally, with a net worth of over $80 billion.
Gates has always been willing to share his knowledge with others despite his success. He has contributed to various philanthropic organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates has also been praised for his business skills and ability to think outside the box.
3. Julian Assange
Julian Assange is a self-made millionaire and billionaire who has never completed college. He is the founder of WikiLeaks, which he started in 2006. Assange was born in Australia in 1971. He began hacking into government and corporate computer systems when he was a teenager. In 2006, he started WikiLeaks as a way to release secret information to the public anonymously.
In 2010, WikiLeaks released thousands of classified U.S. military documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This led to him being wanted by the U.S. government for treason. In 2012, Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador and living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London ever since. Despite being confined to the embassy, Assange has continued to work on WikiLeaks projects.
2. Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is the quintessential example of a successful millionaire and billionaire college dropout. He was born in San Francisco, California, on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah Jandali, a Syrian immigrant. Jobs was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs when he was only a few months old.
Jobs never had an easy life. His biological parents didn’t want him, and he was adopted by a family who couldn’t even afford to keep him fed. However, this didn’t stop Jobs from becoming one of the most successful people in the world.
In 1974, at the age of 19, Jobs dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon. A year later, he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer Inc. In 1986, after being fired from Apple, Jobs founded NeXT Computer Inc.
1. Michael Dell
Michael Dell is a successful millionaire and billionaire who, along with his partner, founded Dell Inc. in 1984 when he was just 19 years old. After dropping out of college, Dell started the company in his University of Texas dorm room with just $1,000. With a little hard work and innovation, Dell turned its small startup into one of its most significant technology companies.
Today, Dell’s net worth is estimated at $21.8 billion, making him one of the world’s wealthiest people. Yet, Dell has remained down-to-earth and humble despite his immense wealth and success, attributing much of his success to good luck and hard work rather than innate genius or privilege. In addition to being an accomplished businessman, Dell is also a philanthropist who has given millions of dollars to charity over the years.