A large number of billionaires have gained their success in a variety of industries, but one thing that many of their scions have infrequent 80 of the rich have a Bachelor’s level before really making their fortunes.
The above chart exhibits data from the online privacy firm AdsView to characterize the educational background and working years of the wealthiest 400 on the Forbes 400 list, a list of the elite 400 in America..
IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
Many millionaires in the United States started their journeys at Ivy League universities, a truth that isn’t difficult to understand. Seven of the top ten most successful billionaire-producing universities got this pigeonholing.
Here’s the full count of billionaire graduates from the top 10 universities:
| University | Number of Billionaires | Ivy League? |
|---|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | 19 | Yes |
| Yale University | 13 | Yes |
| Stanford University | 12 | No |
| University of Southern California | 11 | No |
| Harvard University | 10 | Yea |
| Cornell University | 8 | Yes |
| Columbia University | 7 | Yes |
| Dartmouth College | 7 | Yes |
| Princeton University | 6 | Yea |
| University of Michigan | 6 | No |
But billionaire alumni are not limited to schools in the Ivy League. While Stanford and USC rank highly in California, they have also produced 23 billionaires between them.
WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR DEGREES?
Although a degree in economics, finance, or business administration is clearly a step to becoming a Forbes 400 member, it’s interesting to note that many of the world’s biggest earners have chosen to go into liberal arts and social sciences. Politics, history, literature, psychology, and Philosophy are just a few of the top ten disciplines of study.
Degree classification varies depending on the university and degree. A bachelor’s degree in mathematics, for example, might be classified as a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science. A bachelor’s degree in economics, or a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, might be awarded to someone who majored in economics.
THE POWER OF UPENN
While Harvard and Yale, and the most enviable alumni at the University of Pennsylvania are the alumni of its prestigious Wharton School. Here are some notable and raised infamous graduates, including those who graduated from the women’s Wharton School.
| Billionaire | Forbes 400 Ranking | Net Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Buffett* | 3 | $88.3 billion |
| Lauren Powell Jobs | 20 | $20.5 billion |
| Elon Musk | 24 | $19.6 billion |
| Steve Cohen | 36 | $13.0 billion |
| Michael Milken | 207 | $3.7 billion |
| Donald Trump* | 259 | $3.1 billion |
| Steve Wynn | 271 | $3.0 billion |
*Warren Buffett transferred to the University of Nebraska in his sophomore year, while Donald Trump transferred from Fordham University.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON FIRST JOBS?
Many billionaires started off as self-employed or followed in the footsteps of their parents. 11 billionaires got their start in their own business 19 of them started within their families.
However, these people were excluded from the data from Adview’s testing and thus ended up overshooting many veterans who resisted the war.
While there are several routes to financial success in the United States, only a margin of society will flourish financially in their lifetimes. However, studying economics at Wharton would help increase their chances of being billionaires.
University Magazine is part of the 
