Wealth tends to create more wealth,
but a rich background is not the only
way to the top.
Some of the world's wealthiest people
started out dirt poor.
All from humble beginnings, these 15
people not only climbed to the top of
their industries but also became some
of the richest people in the world.
Although the rich do get richer, these
rags-to-riches stories remind us that
through determination, grit, and a bit of
luck anyone can overcome their
circumstances and achieve
extraordinary success.

15: Kenny Troutt: the founder of Excel
Communications, paid his way through
college by selling life insurance.
Net worth: $1.7 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
Troutt grew up with a bartender dad
and paid for his own tuition at Southern
Illinois University by selling life
insurance. He made most of his money
from phone company Excel
Communications, which he founded in
1988 and took public in 1996. Two
years later, Troutt merged his company
with Teleglobe in a $3.5 billion deal.
He's now retired and invests heavily in
racehorses.

14: Starbucks' Howard Schultz
grew up in a housing complex for the
poor.
Starbucks' Howard Schultz grew up in
a housing complex for the poor.
Net worth: $2 billion (as of Sept. 2013)
In an interview with British tabloid
Mirror, Schultz says: "Growing up I
always felt like I was living on the other
side of the tracks. I knew the people on
the other side had more resources,
more money, happier families. And for
some reason, I don't know why or how,
I wanted to climb over that fence and
achieve something beyond what people
were saying was possible. I may have
a suit and tie on now but I know where
I'm from and I know what it's like."
Schultz ended up winning a football
scholarship to the University of
Northern Michigan and went to work
for Xerox after graduation. Shortly
after, he took over a coffee shop called
Starbucks, which at the time had only
60 shops. Schultz became the
company's CEO in 1987 and grew the
coffee chain to more than 16,000
outlets worldwide.

13: Investor Ken Langone's parents worked
as a plumber and cafeteria worker.
Net worth: $2.1 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
To help pay for Langone's school at
Bucknell University, he worked odd
jobs and his parents mortgaged their
home. In 1968, Langone worked with
Ross Perot to take Electronic Data
Systems (HP) public. Just two years
later, he partnered with Bernard
Marcus to start Home Depot, which
also went public in 1981.

12: Born into poverty, Oprah Winfrey
became the first African American TV
correspondent in Nashville.
Net worth: $2.9 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
Winfrey was born into a poor family in
Mississippi, but this didn't stop her
from winning a scholarship to
Tennessee State University and
becoming the first African American TV
correspondent in the state at the age of
19. In 1983, Winfrey moved to Chicago
to work for an AM talk show which
would later be called The Oprah Winfrey
Show.

11: At one time, businessman Shahid Khan
washed dishes for $1.20 an hour.
Net worth: $3.8 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
He's now one of the richest people in
the world, but when Khan came to the
U.S. from Pakistan, he worked as a
dishwasher while attending the
University of Illinois. Khan now owns
Flex-N-Gate, one of the largest private
companies in the U.S., the NFL's
Jacksonville Jaguars, and Premier
League soccer club Fulham.

10: Mega-resort owner Kirk Kerkorian
dropped out of school in the eighth
grade to become a boxer.
Net worth: $3.9 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
To financially help his Armenian-
immigrant family, Kerkorian dropped
out of school in the eighth grade and
later would become a boxer called
"Rifle Right Kerkorian." During World
War II, Kerkorian worked for Britain's
Royal Air Force. He eventually turned
his interest to constructing many of Las
Vegas' biggest resorts and hotels.

9: John Paul DeJoria , the man behind a
hair-care empire and Patron Tequila,
once lived in a foster home and his car.
Net worth: $4 billion (as of Sept. 2013)
Before the age of 10, DeJoria, a first
generation American, sold Christmas
cards and newspapers to help support
his family. He was eventually sent to
live in a foster home and even spent
some time in a gang before joining the
military. With a $700 dollar loan,
DeJoria created John Paul Mitchell
Systems and sold the shampoo door-
to-door while living in his car. He later
started Patron Tequila, and now
invests in other industries.

8: Forever 21 founder Do Won Chang
worked as a janitor, gas station
attendant, and in a coffee shop when
he first moved to America.
Net worth: $5 billion (as of Sept. 2013)
The husband-wife team - Do Won
Chang and Jin Sook - behind Forever
21 didn't always have it so easy. After
moving to America from Korea in 1981,
Do Won had to work three jobs at the
same time to make ends meet. They
opened their first clothing store in
1984. Forever 21 is now an
international, 480-store empire that
rakes in around $3 billion in sales a
year.

7: Ralph Lauren was once a clerk at
Brooks Brothers dreaming of men's
ties.
Net worth: $7.7 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
Lauren graduated high school in the
Bronx, N.Y., but later dropped out of
college to join the Army. It was while
working as a clerk at Brooks Brothers
that Lauren questioned whether men
were ready for wider and brighter
designs in ties. The year he decided to
make his dream a reality, 1967, Lauren
sold $500,000 worth of ties. He started
Polo the next year.

6. Luxury goods mogul Francois Pinault
quit high school in 1974 after being
bullied for being poor.
Net worth: $15 billion (as of March
2013)
Pinault is now the face of fashion
conglomerate Kering (formerly PPR),
but at one time, he had to quit high
school because he was teased so
harshly for being poor. As a
businessman, Pinault is known for his
"predator" tactic, which includes
buying smaller firms for a fraction of
the cost when the market crashed. He
eventually started PPR, which owns
high-end fashion houses including
Gucci, Stella McCartney, Alexander
McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent.

5. Leonardo Del Vecchio grew up in an
orphanage and later worked in a
factory where he lost part of his finger.
Net worth: $15.3 billion (as of March
2013)
Del Vecchio was one of five children
who was eventually sent to an
orphanage because his widow mother
couldn't care for him. He would later
work in a factory making molds of auto
parts and eyeglass frames. At the age
of 23, Del Vecchio opened his own
molding shop, which expanded to
become the world's largest maker of
sunglasses and prescription eyeware
with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.
4. Legendary trader George Soros
survived the Nazi occupation of
Hungary and arrived in London as an
impoverished college.
Net worth: $20 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
In his early teens, Soros posed as the
godson of an employee of the
Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture in
order to stay safe from the Nazi
occupation of Hungary. In 1947, Soros
escaped the country to live with his
relatives in London. He put himself
through the London School of
Economics working as a waiter and
railway porter. After graduating, Soros
worked at a souvenir shop before
getting a job as a banker in New York
City. In 1992, his famous bet against
the British pound made him a billion
dollars.

3. After his father died, business magnate Li Ka-shing had to quit school to help
support his family.
Net worth: $31 billion (as of March
2013)
Ka-shing fled mainland China for Hong
Kong in 1940s, but his father died when
he was 15, leaving Ka-shing
responsible for supporting his family. In
1950, he started his own company,
Cheung Kong Industries, which
manufactured plastics at first but
would later expand into real estate.

2. Harold Simmons grew up in a shack
with no plumbing or electricity.
Net worth: $40 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
As one of the richest people in the
world, Simmons grew up in a "shack"
without plumbing or electricity. He
managed to get accepted to the
University of Texas where he earned a
bachelor's and masters in economics.
Simmons got his first big break buying
a chain of drugstores, which would
later sell for $50 million. He went on to
become an expert in corporate buyout.
Simmons recently passed away at the
age of 82.

1. Oracle's Larry Ellison dropped out of
college after his adoptive mother died
and held odd jobs for eight years.
Net worth: $41 billion (as of Sept.
2013)
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a single
mother, Ellison was raised by his aunt
and uncle in Chicago. After his aunt
died, Ellison dropped out of college and
moved to California to work odd jobs
for the next eight years. He founded
software development company Oracle
in 1977, which is now one of the largest
technology companies in the world.
Source: m.naij,com

OlaDonroxy Kolington

Net worth : Owns the Globe worth $999.999 trillion !

This a great list, quite inspiring. Watch out for Genesys Engineering Cooperation in the nearest future.
If you believe, u can achieve.

lolade123: This a great list, quite inspiring. Watch out for Genesys Engineering Cooperation in the nearest future.
If you believe, u can achieve.

Better register that name now with cac or risk changing it!
Good luck pal.

Yusuf HABEEB. O
net worth $947,000,000 as at 2023

1st ola: Yusuf HABEEB. O
net worth $947,000,000 as at 2023

Follow the dream with action and you will get there. Good luck, bros.

I have a dream that one day, I will be great.

I have a dream that one day, I will be counting my millions in 2020. Oh God, pls bless me with your unmerited favour. Amen

Good evening

marvis5077: I have a dream that one day, I will be counting my millions in 2020. Oh God, pls bless me with your unmerited favour. Amen

No be small tin atall!
Destinies can never be changed but can be activated through hard works, no matter ur background.......
"DANGOTE CARRY GO, I DEY UR BACK KAMPE"

CARRI GO

i no see any nigerian name there.abi we no follow?