19th century American author Mark Twain once famously remarked, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”, and in the 21st century, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Larry Page and other wealthy self-made billionaires reinforced that sentiment by dropping out of college and founding billion-dollar companies.
Life is a process of learning, and organised education is imperative to an individuals overall growth and progress. Educational qualifications give individuals credibility in the real world and open up doors of employment and means to earn money.
But it’s probably not for everyone. The world’s richest self-made billionaires are in fact college dropouts. This doesn’t endorse the idea that everyone must follow the same path, because these individuals dropped out of Ivy League colleges.
While their success cannot directly be attributed to their dropping out of school or college, it cannot also be attributed to their enrolment in these institutions. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to check out the ‘ultimate drop-out list’ based on their current estimated net-worth.
10 richest invididuals who did not complete this education. (Source: edubirdie.com)
1: Bill Gates – Estimated Net Worth: US$149 billion ($197.61 billion)
Gates didn’t drop out of Harvard on a whim. The world’s most successful dropout took a calculated decision to drop out, not once but twice, from the same university to focus on his flourishing software company Microsoft. The dropping-out was certainly worth it with Microsoft growing to become one of the world’s most valuable companies – currently worth more than $300 billion.
2: Mark Zuckerberg – Estimated Net Worth: US$129 billion ($171 billion)
Zuckerberg quit Harvard in 2005 to focus on growing Facebook, which was at the time not yet known as Facebook (As of 29 October, 2021 Facebook has been rebranded as Meta). He started the social media platform while studying at the esteemed college.
3: Larry Page – Estimated Net Worth: US$117 billion ($155 billion)
While Google co-founder Larry Page actually graduated university, he failed to complete his studies for a PhD, which earns him a spot on the ‘dropouts’ list. Alphabet Inc is estimated to be worth more than $220 billion, so he’s definitely not regretting skipping out on that PhD.
4: Larry Ellison – Estimated Net Worth: US$101 billion ($133.9 billion)
Oracle founder Ellison dropped out of the University of Illinois. He withdrew without attending the final exams of his sophomore year due to the death of his adoptive mother. Ellison later attended University of Chicago but didn’t graduate from there either. However, this is where he first encountered computer design through which he went on to make billions.
5: Amancio Ortega – Estimated Net Worth: US$74.7 billion ($99 billion)
Spanish retail magnate Amancio Ortega dropped out of school at age 14. Destiny had bigger plans for him. Thirteen years after he dropped out of school he opened his first Zara store. The fashion company grew exponentially making Ortega Spain’s richest man.
6: Michael Dell – Estimated Net Worth: US$49 billion ($65 billion)
Michael Dell initially enrolled in medical school. (Source: Reuters) · Jana Asenbrennerova / Reuters
Michael Dell was 19 when he dropped out of the University of Texas and founded the technology company Dell in the 1980s. An inherent businessman, Dell only enrolled in pre-med at the university at the behest of his parents. But once he realised he had the knack of making money, there was no point wasting any more time trying to be a doctor.
7: Li Ka Shing – Estimated Net Worth: US$34 billion ($45 billion)
While living as refugees from the Sino-Japanese war, Hong Kong business magnate and founder of Cheung Kong Group, Li Ka Shing, was forced to leave school at 15 after his father’s untimely death.
He found a job in a plastics-trading company and later went on to start his own company, Cheung Kong Industries in 1950. He then branched out into real estate investment and his company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972. A true beacon of hope for the less fortunate.
8: Dustin Moskovitz – Estimated Net Worth: US$20.9 billion ($27.7 billion)
A second co-founder of Facebook, Dustin Moskovitz, also dropped out of Harvard along with roommate Zuckerberg. While Moskowitz quit Facebook and founded Asana in 2008, he still owns a 2.34 per cent stake in the company. He was declared the youngest billionaire in history by Forbes in In 2011.
9: Jack Dorsey – Estimated Net Worth: US$13.7 billion ($18 billion)
Jack Dorsey dropped out of the Missouri University of Science and Technology to pursue building Twitter. (Source: Reuters) · Jim Bourg / reuters
Twitter founder Dorsey dropped out of the Missouri University of Science and Technology to give his bugeoning social media platform his full attention. More than 330 million active users turned him into a multi-billionaire.
10: Jan Koum – Estimated Net Worth: US$13.2 billion
The founder and CEO of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, dropped out of San Jose University at the age of 21 in 1997 when he started working for Yahoo. He then went on to create WhatsApp which would later be acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. He personally earned $6.8 billion from this sale.
Top 10 universities with the most valuable dropouts
Further interesting findings of this report reveal that three universities — Harvard, University of Michigan, and University of Illinois – account for the most valuable dropouts.
At a glance, here are the top 10 universities with the world’s most valuable dropouts in the world.
