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Summary
- There are 2,000 billionaires currently in the world, many started off from humble beginnings.
- Jeff Bezos is the wealthiest person three years in a row, with a current net worth of US$196.3 billion.
- George Soros won a famous bet in 1992 against the British pound that made him a billionaire; hence he is famously known as The Man Who Broke the Bank of England.
- Elon Musk worked as a cleaner of a boiler room in a lumber mill.
- Oprah was born into poverty, but it didn't stop her from being the first African American TV Correspondent in Nashville, USA.
Have you ever wondered what most successful people did before they were rich and famous? What did they do when they were young, and how did they get so successful? It is interesting to note that some of the wealthiest people were not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They did have a hustle the same way as you do. Some of these self-made millionaires and billionaires do have a notably humble start, they did simple jobs, and they spent nights sleeping on the road, in their cars.
We have seen that wealth creates more wealth, but it is not the only way to get on the top of the game. Some of the wealthiest people started as dirt poor. These rags-to-riches stories are inspiring not just in order to make money but also to understand that with determination, grit and a bit of luck, anyone can overcome difficult circumstances and achieve success.
According to the Forbes billionaire list, there are over 2,000 billionaires currently in the world. Not just entrepreneurs like Amazon's Jeff Bezos but also real estate developers, directors, writers and fashion moguls.
Interesting read: Australian Billionaires Riding the Market Tide Adding More Billions?
Let us take a glance at these five self-made wealthy people and admire their achievements.
- Jeff Bezos
He is currently the world's richest man, according to Forbes, once held a job as a cashier at McDonald's. He started selling books on the internet, founding Amazon in 1994 in his early career years. Today, Bezos is the wealthiest person three years in a row and the first centi-billionaire on the Forbes wealth index.
Bezos gave $36 billion worth of his Amazon stock to his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos as part of their divorce settlement. Despite this arrangement, he's still worth $196 billion, buoyed by a 15% rise in Amazon's shares since Forbes 2019 list.
The e-commerce giant Amazon has been in the latest news amid the pandemic for hiring 100,000 full- and part-time workers. The company had to meet with the increased demand from the consumers shopping online in the lockdown.
Must read: Amazon's Jeff Bezos sets a new record as world's richest person, with net worth above $171 billion
- Elon Musk
Before building spaceships and electric cars, technology buff Elon Musk worked as a cleaner of a boiler room in a lumber mill. He is famously known as the real-life Iron Man. Musk is an engineer, industrial designer, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the CEO, CTO and chief designer of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., aka SpaceX. Elon Musk also an early investor and product architect of Tesla, Inc. Apart from these, Musk has founded many other companies as well.
Related read: Elon Musk Sets 15 September 2020 as Battery Day, Petrolheads Mark your Calendar
- George Soros
Founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, George Soros is a legendary investor, survived Nazi occupation in Hungary and arrived in London. In his teenage, he posed as a grandson of an employee in Hungarian agriculture ministry to stay safe from Nazi occupation, eventually fleeing to London. He then worked as a waiter and railway porter to get through the London School of Economics.
Soros worked at a souvenir shop before starting his career in finance. His famous bet in 1992, against the British pound, made him a billionaire hence he is famously known as The Man Who Broke the Bank of England.
- Oprah Winfrey
Oprah was born into poverty, but it didn't stop her from being the first African American TV Correspondent in Nashville, USA. Her first job as a teenager was at a local grocery store. After winning the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant at the age of 17, she attracted the attention of the local black radio station WVOL which hired her to do the news reporting. Oprah now hosts a wildly popular talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, she's also a media executive, actress and billionaire philanthropist.
Also read: Meet Australia’s Seven Billionaires Amid Technology Wealth Boom
- François Pinault & family
Pinault is now a luxury goods mogul, but at one time, he quit high school because he was bullied harshly for being poor. Pinault is known for his predator tactics which include buying smaller firms at less cost when the market crashes. He then started Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) which owns high-end fashion houses like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen. Currently, Pinault is the 3rd-richest person in France.
Many of us know the value of unbridled work ethic in theory, but many top billionaires live and breathe that core value!
Also read: Billionaires Of Two Different Generation: Warren Buffett & Mark Zuckerberg
