How does it sound to your ears that most of the world’s richest men and women were school drop outs?

[nhassall]

Do you feel dejected or left behind by your peers becauseyou don’t have a college degree? Do you see your supposed illiteracy as alimitation to achieving your dreams? Or are you in the group that thinkseducation is the ultimate yardstick for success? If any of these questions bestdescribes you, then please read on.
How does it sound to your ears that most of the world’srichest men and women were school drop outs? Well don’t be surprised; it’s thetruth.
Today, I will be sharing with you a brief compilation of theentrepreneurial success stories of self made men and women; who took the bullby the horn by building a business, without being held back by the lack of acollege degree. These men and women found their entrepreneurial spirit,surmounted business challenges, completed the entrepreneurial process andbecame successful entrepreneurs.
Warren Buffett, Mo Ibrahim, Mike Adenuga, Oprah Winfrey,George Soros, John D. Rockefeller, Sam Walton, Jerry Yang and David Filo, AnitaRoddick, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Pierre Omidyar, MarthaStewart, Henry Ross Perot and Aliko Dangote; the richest black man in the worlddid not make the list because they possessed college degrees. Without wastingmuch of your time, below is a comprehensive list of some of the world’s richestschool drop out billionaires.

TheWorld’s Richest School Drop Out Billionaires
1. BillGates: He is the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, the worldlargest software company. Dropped out of Harvard to focus on buildingMicrosoft. According to Forbes magazine, Bill Gates has held the position ofthe world richest man for thirteen consecutive years and he not showing a signof letting go that position.
“Towin big, you sometimes have to take big risks.” – Bill Gates
“Wewere young, but we had good advice good ideas and lots of enthusiasm.” – BillGates

2. ThomasEdison: Thomas Edison was labeled dumb and scatterbrain by his school teachersbut he went on to become one of the world’s greatest inventors and foundedGeneral Electric; one of the most powerful companies in the world.
“Manyof life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were tosuccess when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

3. OrjiUzor Kalu: He is one of the richest men on the soil of Africa. This youngbillionaire was rusticated from college for his participation in a student’sprotest. Instead of lamenting over his predicament; he started trading on palmoil and from that humble beginning, he grew his business into a conglomerate“Slok Group.” Though he was later pardoned by the school authorities, herejected the amnesty offer thereby refusing to return to school.
“Agood businessman must have nose for business the same way a journalist has nosefor news. Once your eyes, ears, nose, heart and brain are trained on business,you sniff business opportunities everywhere.” – Orji Uzor Kalu

4. Li KaShing: Billionaire owner of Hutchinson Whampoa; one of the largestconglomerates in Hong Kong, with operations that span over fifty countries andmore than 220,000 staff worldwide. Dropped out of school at the age of 15 andstarted out by selling watch bands.
“Thefirst year, I didn’t have much capital so I did everything myself. I had tokeep my overhead low by learning everything about running a business, fromaccounting to fixing the gears of my equipment. I really started from scratch.”– Li Ka Shing

5. RichardBranson: Best known for his adventurous spirit and outrageous business tactics.He dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start his first successfulbusiness venture; Student Magazine, bought his own 79-acre Caribbean islandwhen he was just 24 and he was knighted in 1999. He is the billionaire founderof the Virgin brand and its 360 companies. His companies include the famousVirgin Atlantic Airways.
“Iwanted to be an editor or journalist. I wasn’t really interested in becoming anentrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keepmy magazine going.” – Richard Branson
Successful Entrepreneurs and World’s Richest School Drop OutBillionaires

6. LawrenceJ. Ellison: Larry Ellison dropped out of college twice and was told by hisadoptive father that he would never amount to anything but he went on to becomea billionaire by building Oracle, the world’s second largest software company.

“Ihave had all the disadvantages required for success.” – Larry Ellison
7. MichaelDell: He dropped out of college at the age of 19 to start PC’s Limited; laterrenamed Dell Computers Inc. Dell became the most profitable PC manufacturer inthe world making Michael Dell a billionaire.
“I hadto give it a full go and see what happened.” – Michael Dell


8. SteveJobs: Billionaire co-founder of Apple Inc and Pixar; dropped out of ReedCollege to start Apple.

9. HenryFord: This automobile billionaire was born in abject poverty. He never saw thefour walls of school but he went on to build Ford Motor Company and become oneof the richest men that ever lived.
“Thinking is the hardest work to do, that’s why so few people areengaged in it.” – Henry Ford

10. WaltDisney: Walt, regarded as the most influential animator because of hiscreativity with cartoons. He dropped out of high school at 16 and founded WaltDisney; a company which now has an annual revenue of about $30billion.
“Ifyou can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
Successful Entrepreneurs and World’s RichestSchool Drop Out Billionaires

11. Ray Kroc:Billionaire Ray Kroc never saw the four walls of school and spent most of hislife working as a salesman. He bought McDonald’s in 1961 for $2.7m and grew it intoa multi billion dollar company.
“Presson. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not;nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; theworld is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone areomnipotent.” – Ray Kroc

12. DebbiFields: A 20 year old housewife with no education and business experiencestarted Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery and became the most successful cookiecompany owner. She later renamed, franchised, and then sold Mrs. Field’sCookies.

“Youdon’t have to be superhuman to do what you believe in.” – Debbi Fields
13. CosmosMaduka: Nigerian Elementary school drop out and billionaire founder of theCoscharis Group.

14. IngvarKamprad: Billionaire founder of IKEA. He dropped out of high school at the ageof 17 to start IKEA; now the top home furniture retailer in the world, withover 90,000 employees working in its 200-plus stores, and annual revenues inexcess of $10 billion.
“I’mnot afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don’t have time fordying.” – Ingvar Kamprad

15. CarlLindner: Billionaire investor and founder of United Dairy Farmers. He droppedout of high school at the age of 14 to deliver milk for his family diary.
Successful Entrepreneurs and World’s Richest School Drop OutBillionaires

16. SimonCowell: Famous for his involvement in American Idols, he dropped out of schoolat age 16 and started his own record label “Fanfare” at the age of 23.
“Goodis not enough; you’ve got to be great.” – Simon Cowell

17. Mary Kay Ash: Founder of Mary Kay Inc andbest known as the most outstanding business woman in the 20th century. Marynever saw the four walls of school.
“Whenyou reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. Youcan overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be aloser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Gothat extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to beexhausted from success than to be rested from failure.” – Mary Kay Ash

18. CocoChanel: Fashion magnate and founder of the Coco Chanel brand, she never saw thefour walls of school.

19. WayneHuizenga: Wayne is the only person in history to build three Fortune 1000 companiespractically from scratch: Waste Management Inc, Blockbuster Entertainment andAutoNation. He is the only person to have developed six NYSE-listed companies.
He also owns the Miami Dolphins and is previous owner of theFlorida Marlins baseball team and the Panthers hockey team, making him the onlyperson ever to own three pro teams in a single market, two of which wonnational championships. He dropped out of college to join a friend in a garbagecollection business.

20. BarryDiller: This billionaire media magnate dropped out of college to start FoxBroadcasting Company. He is chairman of Expedia, and was once the CEO ofIAC/InterActiveCorp which includes Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster.
“There’s a world in which reasons are made up because reality is toopainful.” – Barry Diller
21. AndrewCarnegie: Founder of Carnegie Steel Company and one of the richest men thatever lived. Born in abject poverty, Andrew never saw the four walls of school.
“I shall argue that strong men converselyknow when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve agreater purpose.” – Andrew Carnegie
Successful Entrepreneurs and World’s Richest School Drop OutBillionaires

22. SirPhilip Green: Billionaire retail mogul and owner of the Arcadia brand, hedropped out of school at the age of 16. After four business failures, PhilipGreen made his first million at the age of 33.
“Ifyou’ve got a natural talent, I think it’s fantastic. If I wasn’t in retail,being a singer or a tennis player would be a better idea.” – Sir Philip Green

23. Madame C.J. Walker: She was born into the family of ex-slaves and farmers. Despite beingwidowed at the age of 20 and faced with extreme hardship, she started acosmetics business and went on to become the first American self made femalemillionaire.
“I hadto make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down andwait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them” – Madam C.J. Walker
24. MarkZuckerberg: The youngest billionaire in the world, dropped out of Harvard topromote his social networking platform; Facebook. As at 2010, he was 23 yearsand worth $4billion.

25. TedTurner: Billionaire drop out media mogul and founder of CNN; pledged a billiondollars to the United Nation.
“Allmy life, people have said that I wasn’t going to make it.” – Ted Turner
“Overa three year period, I gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my handsshook as I signed it away. I knew I was taking myself out of the race to be therichest man in the world.” – Ted Turner

26. CorneliusVanderbilt: Dropped out of school at the age of 11, began operating his ownboat at the age of 16 and became one of the richest men in history.
“If Ihad learned education, I would not have had time to learn anything else.”- Cornelius Vanderbilt
27. MayerAmschel Rothschild: was born in a ghetto; started business as a money lenderand built the largest private fortune in history. He never saw the four wallsof school.
“Giveme control over a nation’s money supply and I don’t care who make the laws.” –Mayer Amschel Rothschild
28. TyWarner: Billionaire real estate investor, hotel owner, sole owner, CEO, andChairman of Ty, Inc. Ty Warner is a savvy, yet private business man. Ty, Inc;made $700 million in a single year with the Beanie Babies craze withoutspending money on advertising. He has since expanded to include Ty Girlz dolls,directly competing with Bratz dolls.
29. HowardHughes: Dropped out of California Institute of Technology and Rice University;founded Hughes Aircrafts and Co and went on to become a billionaire.
“I intend to be, the richest man in the world.” HowardHughes

30. GiorgioArmani: Billionaire founder of the fashion brand; Giorgio Armani S.P.A. Droppedout of medical school at the University of Bologna because he couldn’t standthe sight of blood.
“Remain true to yourself and your philosophy.” – Giorgio Armani
Successful Entrepreneurs and World’s Richest School Drop OutBillionaires
31. AsaCandler: Founder of the Billionaire company and world’s most popular brand;Coca Cola. He dropped out of school at the age of 10.
32. JennyCraig: With no college degree, this woman started Jenny Craig Inc from scratchand grew it to become one of the largest and most recognized companies in theweight management industry.
“If Imake a commitment to something, I will stick to it no matter what.” – JennyCraig

33. RachaelRay: Despite having no formal training in culinary arts, Rachel Ray made a namefor herself in the food industry. With numerous shows on the Food Network, atalk show and cookbooks, high-energy Rachael never slowed down. She has alsoappeared in magazines as well has having her own magazine debut in 2006.

34. MiltonHershey: With only a fourth grade education, Milton Hershey started his ownchocolate company. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate became the first nationallymarketed chocolate.

35. FrankLloyd Wright: surpassed all odds to become the most influential architect ofthe twentieth century. Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 1,100 projectswith about half actually being built. He never saw the four walls of highschool.

36. DavidGeffen: billionaire founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks.
“Inever went to business school. I was just bumbling through a lot of my life. Iwas like the guy behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz.” – David Geffen

 

[Laigwanan76]

They simply knew wht they want ,so they dedicated all of their resources to achieve what they belive it will take them there besides facing these:frusty:

 

[georgeallen]

How about Reginald Abraham Mengi? What was his route to success like?

 

[Mwanahisa]

Much said about dropouts ending up being successful,
tusijifariji maana 98.9% wako USA, the most power full economy in the world,
Wingi wa idadi ya watu katika nchi ni kigezo pia, wingi wa fursa na mazingira yanayowazunguka.
Ilimchukua miaka 25, John Davison Rockefeller wa Standard Oil, kumiliki $1 billion hapo hapo USA, mazingira na wakati ni vitu muhimu kabla hajafikiria kukacha umande.

 

[Laigwanan76]

Much said about dropouts ending up being successful,
tusijifariji maana 98.9% wako USA, the most power full economy in the world,
Wingi wa idadi ya watu katika nchi ni kigezo pia, wingi wa fursa na mazingira yanayowazunguka.
Ilimchukua miaka 25, John Davison Rockefeller wa Standard Oil, kumiliki $1 billion hapo hapo USA, mazingira na wakati ni vitu muhimu kabla hajafikiria kukacha umande.

I agree with you,lakini isiwe akilini mwa watu kuwa kusoma sana ndio kuwafanikiwa kimaisha,nadhani cha msingi ni kuelimika.......na kuelimika si lazima iwe darasani pekee......most of the time real and right life experience matters.......kuna watu wengi tu hawana hizo degree lakini maisha wameyapatia.Huwezi kusema au kujustify kutokuwa kwao na elimu iwe kigezo tosha kwamba wenine nao wataweza kufika walipo bila elimu......cha msingi ni mtu kuwa serious and content na anachokifanya na kuwa tayari kujifunza njia mpya kila siku kufikia malengo yake.

 

[Mwanahisa]

I agree with you,lakini isiwe akilini mwa watu kuwa kusoma sana ndio kuwafanikiwa kimaisha,nadhani cha msingi ni kuelimika.......na kuelimika si lazima iwe darasani pekee......most of the time real and right life experience matters.......kuna watu wengi tu hawana hizo degree lakini maisha wameyapatia.Huwezi kusema au kujustify kutokuwa kwao na elimu iwe kigezo tosha kwamba wenine nao wataweza kufika walipo bila elimu......cha msingi ni mtu kuwa serious and content na anachokifanya na kuwa tayari kujifunza njia mpya kila siku kufikia malengo yake.

Mkuu Laigwanan76, heshima yako kwanza maana hizo mmvi ni ishara tosha yakua hekima zako hazitiliwi shaka, ila nakuomba angalizo hapa, ili mandazi yawe mandazi lazima uyaweke kwenye mafuta moto, na sio maji moto.

 

[MD25]

Kuhusu haya maswala ya ujasiliamali, 'school drop-out', 'young billionear' etc, kusema kweli sisi waTZ bado tunadanganyana, hatuambiani ukweli... Okay, kwa mfano, hapa TZ tuna 'role modo' wetu, Mr. A. Mengi, je kuna clear records au kuna hata mmoja wetu anaweza kutupa 'stepping stone' za huyu jamaa? Au tunaishia kusema tu 'successful bussnessman'... Pia, hawa wakina 'Bill Gates', inatupasa tutambue kuwe, hadi kufika hapo ni mkono wa Govt, hao ni watu wa serikali, kama alivyo Abromovic... Je, niwangapi wanajua kuwa 'hawa wavumbuzi' wa technolojia za mawasiliano (akiwemo Gate), ni lazima hiyo tech iwe tested jeshini... Pia, ifahamike kuwa, uchumi wa US ni tofauti na bongo... Hata ufanye biashara usiku na mchana, labda ufanye 'cross boarder' business...

 

[MTAZAMO]

Kuhusu haya maswala ya ujasiliamali, 'school drop-out', 'young billionear' etc, kusema kweli sisi waTZ bado tunadanganyana, hatuambiani ukweli... Okay, kwa mfano, hapa TZ tuna 'role modo' wetu, Mr. A. Mengi, je kuna clear records au kuna hata mmoja wetu anaweza kutupa 'stepping stone' za huyu jamaa? Au tunaishia kusema tu 'successful bussnessman'... Pia, hawa wakina 'Bill Gates', inatupasa tutambue kuwe, hadi kufika hapo ni mkono wa Govt, hao ni watu wa serikali, kama alivyo Abromovic... Je, niwangapi wanajua kuwa 'hawa wavumbuzi' wa technolojia za mawasiliano (akiwemo Gate), ni lazima hiyo tech iwe tested jeshini... Pia, ifahamike kuwa, uchumi wa US ni tofauti na bongo... Hata ufanye biashara usiku na mchana, labda ufanye 'cross boarder' business...

Yeah! you have a point especially that bolded on red!

 

[Laigwanan76]

Mkuu Laigwanan76, heshima yako kwanza maana hizo mmvi ni ishara tosha yakua hekima zako hazitiliwi shaka, ila nakuomba angalizo hapa, ili mandazi yawe mandazi lazima uyaweke kwenye mafuta moto, na sio maji moto.

Bila shaka I agree with you.....kila kitu kama nimekuelewa ni kuwa kila kitu kina taratibu zake.........elimu lazima hata kama ni ndogo kiasi gani imwezeshe mlengwa kuyakabili maisha yake ya kila siku

 

[ZeMarcopolo]

Its statistically insignificant. Angalia total number of dropouts then angalia percentage of them who just made it to descent living leave alone being billionaires. Statistically its correct kusema mtu anapoamua kudrop out from school anaelekea kwenye maisha magumu na umasikini. If you want to get a bigger picture always consider statistics...

 

[HIMARS]

Msiache shule aiseee

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 using JamiiForums

 

[Maundumula]

I find it very missleading.

 

[chash]

Most of these people ni University drop outs sio shule za msingi au secondary school dropouts. Mimi naona ata kama utawaiga hawa at least jitahidi umalize angalau form 6. utakuwa umeweza kutathmini au kujionea mwenyewe njia za kupita. Isitoshe pia kule kwao kuna career counselling hivi unaweza ukapate walipita huko wakaambiwa kuwa kazi wanazotegemea kufanya haitajalisha sana kama watakua wamemaliza shule au la. Kuusu opportunity za kutajirika sana mimi naamini hapa Afrika na hasa Tanzania kuna opportunity nyingi zaidi za kuwa bilionare wa nguvu. Watu wanajiwekea vikwazo wenyewe kwamba hawawezi.

 

[KVM]

Lets not think that for one to be successful s/he must drop from school. Some people think that is the route to success. It is not. Some of the school dropouts simply got lucky after dropping from school - they had no idea that they would end up being entrepreneurs (very few of them are like that); a good number of them resolved to show their colleagues or the world that they can do better even if they had dropped fom school; a majority had a business idea which they knew for sure that it will work or were already running a business and thus dropped from school to continue with their businesses.

The common thread running through all successful business people is hardwork and perseverance. It does not matter whether you you inherited the business or you started it yourself.

 

[mwaxxxx]

mmmmmh

 

[Zvi]

school drop outs are many in tz, do they look like the one u have mentioned above? i think there might be some other reasons behind their success.

 

[Raia Fulani]

opportunity boosts risk takers in those developed worlds.

 

[Tram Almasi]

Much said about dropouts ending up being successful,
tusijifariji maana 98.9% wako USA, the most power full economy in the world,
Wingi wa idadi ya watu katika nchi ni kigezo pia, wingi wa fursa na mazingira yanayowazunguka.
Ilimchukua miaka 25, John Davison Rockefeller wa Standard Oil, kumiliki $1 billion hapo hapo USA, mazingira na wakati ni vitu muhimu kabla hajafikiria kukacha umande.

Ni kweli Mkuu. Japo wao ni school dropouts lakini mazingira ya nchi yanawasaidia kutoka. Huku kwetu ni kinyume kidogo,ukiwa na elimu avenues za kutoka kiuchumi zinaongezeka. Na ndio maana,kwa mfano, bongo matajiri ambao walikacha skuli wapo wachache sana kwa sbb bila shule mambo hayaendi.

 

[JF2050]

Hawana elimu kivipi? Ninachojua ni kwamba wana taaluma kuhusu vitu walivyokuwa wanafanya ndio maana wamefanikiwa.

Maarifa hayapatikani darasani tu, kama mlitaka kuwaona wanaingia na kutoka darasani imekula kwenu.

 

[Mtanganyika]

Nadhani hii topic ni nzuri, despite the facts kwamba kuna factors ambazo wengi mmezignore. Kuwatumia watu kama Michael Dell, Steve Job, Bill Gates au mark zuckerberg kwamba sababu wao wameacha shule basi school model doesn't work, nadhani hapo tutakuwa tunamanipulate data. Lakini nini tunaweza kusema? Hawa wote walikuwa na kitu kimmoja in common walikuwa na scarcity products ambazo zilikuwa needed at their time, kwa wao kuendelea kusoma pale Harvard au University of Texas ingekuwa ni sawa na kupoteza bahati ambayo inakuja once in million years.

Lakini kumbuka hawa sio mazuzu, these are elites, top people in their class, high understand of Global na mengine mengi. Kama wewe ni school drop out usie na uweleo hata wa kuajiri top notch people who are well educated then your business will collapse, angalia Bill Gate alikuwa na nani kwenye team yake mwanzoni? Walikwenda kuajiri top notch people ambao wanajua business strategies. Angalia mark zuckerberg amemuajiri nani kuwa COO Sherly Sandberg (Economist/MBA) kutoka Harvard, what does Sherly knows about computer? May be nothing, but what does she know about business everything. That is how it works.

Let me tell you how American business works, hizi Start-up aka small business who want to be big always zinataka Mkopo, na mtoa mkubwa mkopo wa hizi high risk, high failure business ni Venture capitalist, maarufu kama VC au angles investors. Na hawa jamaa ni brutal in strategy, they cares about numbers na sio yale yale.. You can't even talk to them kama hujui unachongea.

Mwisho, behind all this drop-out world changer mind, kuna very smart top notch people. Now sijasema kwamba kuna MBA/MSA/PHD no. but i said high educated people, this doesn't mean masters and masters and masters.

Now nije Tanzania. What we have in Tanzania is catastrophe ya degree ambazo hazisaidii kitu, bure zero. I denied kusoma masters sababu tuu I don't see how masters degree zilizojaa Dar zimewasaidia nini Watanzania. Tanzania computer science graduate anashindwa kutengeneza program ambazo zitaungaunisha wakulima kupata price quote ya mazao kutoka dar kwa kutumia sms, au bei ya usafiri kutoka Mwanza kwenda Dar kwa kutumia sms. This are simple programming language ambazo in the West mtoto wa High School anaaandika. In short Tanzania graduate ni msiba unless tubadilishe methodology ya ufundishaji. Mtu amesoma mechanical engineer anashindwa kudesign hata conveyor belt ambayo inaweza kuleta mapinduzi.

Mnabaki kulalamika, oooh resources, ooh this, entreprenuer anachofanya ni kuangalia muda alikuwepo, resource alizokuwa nazo, na needed za wateja wake, then anakuja na product ambayo itafit hiyo market yake under competitive cost. That is how people like Bakhresa did, wanajua Africa kuna 1 Billion people, wote need kula three times a day, so unachofanya ni kudeliver product for this people. Akaajiri top notch people ona Azam leo. Mengi ni Muhasibu, he knows the Balance sheet. Kama hujui the Balance Sheet i dont care what you want to do, be ready to hit the wall. Unless ajili washauri.

Simple.