Bill Gates is a billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, but he’s most known for his role as the co-founder of Microsoft. The thoughtful and bespectacled computer programmer from Seattle, Washington, has been one of the wealthiest people in the world for decades.
Mark Zuckerberg is known worldwide as a co-founder and CEO of Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world. His global fame was cemented with the release of the Oscar-winning 2010 film, The Social Network.
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Inc., one of the world’s largest and most successful technology and personal computer companies. Dell was interested in computers and technology from a young age, going as far as buying an Apple computer when he was 15 so he could take it apart and see how it worked.
Zhou Qunfei is the founder and CEO of Lens Technology, a Chinese technology company that supplies smartphone screens to technology giants like Samsung, LG, and Microsoft. Zhou had a difficult upbringing, losing her mother at an early age and seeing her father go blind.
The co-founder and former CEO of Apple and Pixar, Steve Jobs, is known for his visionary leadership and helping to make Apple what it is today. He died on Oct. 5, 2011 of pancreatic cancer, but not before leaving his mark on the world of technology and computers, as well as the film and animation industry.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson shares at least two things in common with Jay-Z: he’s a billionaire and he dropped out of school at a young age. Specifically, Branson dropped out of school at age 16 and later helped form Virgin Records.
Evan Williams, an entrepreneur and computer programmer, helped co-found Twitter with Jack Dorsey and Chrisopher Isaac Stone. Williams attended the University of Nebraska, but left without earning a degree. This didn’t hamper his success with computer software, though, as Google bought his company, Blogger, in 2003.
Ted Turner is a broadcasting entrepreneur known for creating multiple TV channels, including CNN, Cartoon Network, and Turner Network Television (TNT). Turner hoped to sign up for the U.S. Naval Academy when he was younger, but ended up attending Brown University instead.
David Murdock is the former CEO of Dole Food Company, Inc. and the real estate company, Castle & Cooke. Murdock dropped out of high school his freshman year and later served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was involved in multiple business ventures after returning from overseas, many of which involved food products or real estate.
American rapper and entrepreneur, Jay-Z, is the world’s first rap artist billionaire, a feat he achieved in 2019. Jay-Z came from humble and often turbulent beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, but he persevered through the hardships and ended up starting his own record label, clothing line, and entertainment company.