The Most Successful College Dropouts In History

Written by Michael | Posted in Blog | 86 comments

Successful Entrepreneurs Who Were High School or College Dropouts

To celebrate us college dropouts I thought I would compile a list some of the top entrepreneurs who dropped out of college and then went on to make it big in the business world!

Top 30 College Drop Outs Who Made It Big In Business

Rank	Name	Business	Dropped Out At	Age	Networth
1	Henry Ford	Ford Motor Company	16	Dead	$188 Billion (in 2009 dollars)
2	Bill Gates	Microsoft	19	53	$59 Billion
3	Larry Ellison	Oracle	20	64	$27 Billion
4	Sheldon Adelson	Las Vegas Sands Corp.	19	77	$26 Billion
5	Larry Page	Google	Graduated University of Michigan	35	$18.5 Billion
6	Kirk Kerkorian	Tracinda	12	91	$18 Billion
7	Michael Dell	Dell	19	43	$17.3 Billion
8	Paul Allen	Microsoft	20	56	$16.0 Billion
9	David Geffen	Geffen Records	21	65	$6.5 Billion
10	Steve Jobs	Apple	18	53	$5.4 Billion
11	Richard Branson	Virgin	16	58	$4.4 Billion
12	Takafumi Horie	Livedoor	22	35	$3.6 Billion
13	Ralph Lauren	Ralph Lauren	20	69	$3.6 Billion
14	Subhash Chandra Goel	Zee TV	12	58	$2.3 Billion
15	Jerry Yang	Yahoo	Graduated Stanford	40	$1.9 Billion
16	Mark Zuckerberg	Facebook	19	23	$700 Million
17	Russell Simmons	DefJam	19	52	$340 Million
18	Matt Mullenweg	WordPress	18	25	$200 Million
19	Mahesh Murthy	Pinstorm & SeedFund	19	43	$200 Million
20	Jawed Karim	YouTube	21	30	$64 Million
21	Kevin Rose	Digg	21	31	$60 Million
22	Jared Isaacman	United Bank Card	17	26	$50 Million
23	Kevin Sproles	Volusion	18	26	$17 Million
24	Shawn Fanning	Napster	19	28	$7.5 Million
25	Scott Wainner	ResellerRatings	20	26	$7 Million
26	Rob Benwell	Blogging To The Bank	18	23	$5 Million
27	Graham Langdon	Entrecard	19	21	$3.2 Million
28	Kristopher Tate	Zooomr	17	20	$3 Million
29	Aaron Levie	Box.Net	20	23	$3 Million
30	Reed Caldwell	ServInt	19	32	$2.5 Million

An Inspiring List Of Entrepreneurs

Interesting and inspiring selection I think you will agree. Not all are complete dropouts – some actually have pretty impressive academic achievements to their name but alas the call of their Entrepreneurial Ventures took them to leave those studies and instead go on to create considerable wealth plus businesses that in some case have touched Billions of people.

Take for example Jerry Yang of Yahoo, who created Yahoo as a graduate student at Stanford University to monitor his personal interests in the early days of the Web. Yang’s official biography even contains the standing joke that he is “currently on a leave of absence from Stanford’s electrical engineering Ph.D. program,”

And there is of course Larry Page of Google – another Stanford doctoral program dropout.

One entrepreneur who in particular impressed me was Michael Dell – who started a computer company called PCs Limited while attending the University of Texas in Austin. It became so successful that Dell dropped out of school to operate it, and the company eventually became Dell, Inc, with revenues of $57.4 billion in 2007. In 2006, Dell and his wife gave a $50 million grant to the University which he attended but never graduated from.

One remarkable fact I noted when compiling this list, was the number of businesses that started of in a garage. Take for example the HP corporation which started life in a tiny 12×18 foot garage. And then there is also Google and Apple who started life in a garage.

And the Most Notable Young Entrepreneurs Of Recent Times?

Well it is Mark Zuckerberg of course.

Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion and believed by some to be the wealthiest man younger than 25 in the USA. Mark Zuckerberg, like Bill Gates, is a Harvard dropout.

After launching Facebook school-wide from his dorm room at Harvard in February 2004, Zuckerberg began devoting more and more time to his program, gradually spreading it to other schools. By that summer, Zuckerberg and his roommate Dustin Moskovitz had released Facebook to nearly 30 schools, and the website was growing too popular to be run part-time.

Where to go from here

Retireat21 is packed with helpful information and advice from some of the leading entrepreneurs in the world. For inspiration I would suggest you read some of our high profile interviews and check out our young entrepreneur rich list!

About Michael

Michael created this website back in 2007. Since then, it has gone on to receive millions of visitors, featured in newspapers, magazines and some of the worlds top websites. If you want to do something similar, keep reading.

86 comments so far… Leave a reply

Rachna
February 10, 2009 10:35 am

Very interesting post Michael, love your site!

Melissa Michaels
January 10, 2012 8:11 pm

Great comment!

Michael
February 10, 2009 10:42 am

Thanks Rachna! Means a lot coming from you.
Brandon Eley
February 10, 2009 10:54 am

It's important to note that most of these people didn't quit school until they were already successful. The truth is that the vast majority of college students (i.e. 99.999%) will never reach this level of success. Finishing college gives you something to fall back on later in life if things don't go your way. It's also worth noting that many of these people are Harvard or Stanford dropouts... and their families were worth considerable amounts of money before they ever went into business. It almost sounds like this post is encouraging college students to drop out by showing all the successful entrepreneurs who have "made it," when the vast majority of new businesses fail.

Mohamed Cassim
September 21, 2011 5:54 pm

Hi Brandon, My dear friend, now education and medicine are industries, businesses just like any other businesses. That's what 99.999% are not reaching that success after years of hard studies and spending thousands. I know it, why I without any money and with little education with my raw sweat, tears and hard work, I started a small business about ten years ago and built it up to three world class factories employing over 700 workers among them many are college graduates. This sums up present day college education, the bold and brave always conquer the world, come what may, with or with out education - its always the rock hard will and determination to achieve some thing for them and the society push them to this heights which the college graduates lack, most of them simply think the college degree would bring every thing.

Abdulrehman
February 10, 2009 11:54 am

Great post, by the way Graham is 23, not 21!
Stephen
February 10, 2009 1:03 pm

Wow. Bill Gates is a dropout?!
Shonika Proctor, Teen Biz Coach
February 10, 2009 3:10 pm

@Brandon, Well said. And if I may add, you sometimes hear of remarkable stories of people who quit whatever they were doing to pursue something like music, acting or sports careers. And entrepreneurship is the same but different. Yes, you should fully pursue your passion, but I think Seth Godin says it best when he says that 'You don't know what people will take to.' So just because Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook doesn't mean if you decide to go out and build a better, cooler version that people will jump to that. You just never know what will excite people. Also, most people who tend to want to support you in your endeavors (financial or otherwise) focus more on what you have done vs. what you will do. So it helps to have some track record of your success. What you think is cool is relative. People basically will take you more seriously if they see that you have produced something and are showing slow and steady sales growth. And lastly, the people who are most successful also realize that everything around them is a tool to their success, not an obstacle. Your school is a resource. Your community is a resource. Your parents and your friends parents are resources. Remember how Facebook got started---within the university with the primary target audience being college students. So in some respects Mark Zueckerberg was still managing the resources that he had alloted to him at that time. So folks, bottom line, choose to run to something not from something in your entrepreneurial pursuit. And best wishes to all of you emerging entrepreneurs regardless of your personal or professional endeavors. @teenbizcoach
Yan Susanto
February 10, 2009 3:24 pm

What a powerful list, Michael! You've set the bar higher for Retire@21. It's definitely worthy of Digg or Stumble. Yan PS: Coincidentally, I dropped out of college too so hopefully I could get into the list soon.
Michael Dunlop
February 10, 2009 3:28 pm

Shonika, great point! A lot of people do dropout and work really hard and never make it! You have to have a plan b... just in case. Yan, Thanks very much mate! Hopefully we will see both of us on the list soon.
Charlie
February 10, 2009 3:31 pm

Good post, $59 billion for Bill Gates :O
Katie
February 10, 2009 5:38 pm

I like the fact that all these people have been so successful and did not complete college. I like that the majority still make money online today with their big venture or side shifted slightly to another area. It shows that it is possible for anyone to make money and progress to something exceptional
Ben Jacob
February 10, 2009 6:36 pm

Do you think that Larry Page and Jerry Yang where drop outs when they found their company ? I don't think so, They must be Graduates then.
Michael
February 10, 2009 6:49 pm

Actualy Ben they had to drop out of College to work on their business, when they became a success they completed their courses. Thanks Katie and Charlie!
Robby G
February 10, 2009 8:03 pm

@Yan: Just give it time, it'll come. Keep up the good work as you've been doing and it's bound to happen. Best of luck to everyone. Nice post.
Top 30 College Drop Outs Who Made It Big In Business : COED Magazine
February 10, 2009 9:30 pm

[...] To celebrate us college dropouts I thought I would compile a list some of the top entrepreneurs who dropped out of college and then went on to make it big in the business world! [Retire At 21] [...]
acompanhantes
February 10, 2009 10:30 pm

always looking for something interesting subject and always think. thanks and great job acompanhantes
player
February 11, 2009 5:58 am

Wow, impressive list. Although dropouts, they certainly didn't lack in the brainpower category. Or, the work ethic....
Randy
February 11, 2009 7:02 am

i like it keep it up but where is the info the black entrepreneurs like myself i need more info on like how and where to get funding.
Alvin Yudistira
February 11, 2009 8:48 am

Outstanding posting, keep your great work Michael.
wert
February 11, 2009 10:48 am

great post mic.
Best CSS Gallery
February 11, 2009 11:22 am

Great post! Really interesting and inspiring selection.
Xscape
February 11, 2009 1:27 pm

Yea, to reiterate what Brandon said, don't take this has motivation TO drop out of school. I believe a statistic said that 90% of small business owner creators had a college degree. If you're able to find success, then run with it, but don't believe the road to success is dropping out.
James Rayers
February 11, 2009 3:08 pm

It's a nice list but how do people who graduated qualify for a college dropout list?
dhiren
February 13, 2009 9:38 am

Nice post. But how could you miss out the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani?
Creative Writing Tips
February 13, 2009 2:59 pm

James, I was thinking that they probably got their degrees AFTER their business became hugely successful from dropping out. This list just reinforces the power of the technology industry. So many big tech companies were created by people who just had a dream and a desire to pursue it.
Play Games Win Prizes
February 15, 2009 12:31 am

The thing is with some of these guys is that they had money in the background of their life already, so none of this success really mattered to them. -Mike
ByronOrpheus
February 15, 2009 12:54 am

It's worth noting that Hotmail.com co-founder Jack Smith didn't just drop out of college, he flunked out. 12 years later he sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400,000,000.
RetireAt21: Young Entrepreneurs Making Money Online - Review » Blogussion
February 18, 2009 12:35 am

[...] Most of the inspirational writings are posted there, and even more list posts. Awesome lists like The Most Successful College Dropouts in History, and others are posted there a lot. Like I said before, RetireAt21 is huge on motivating you to [...]
Some Other Cool Crap Around The Internet Before You Go To Bed | GuyFix - F*ck Work!!! Be Entertained.... Entertainment. Gadgets. Cars. Guy Stuff...
February 19, 2009 3:00 am

[...] THE MOST SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE DROPOUTS IN HISTORY [...]
Marketing Man
February 21, 2009 1:32 pm

There is hope for non-conformists, it seems! My favourites amongst these are Matt Mullenweg (I really love WordPress and its success is only but a taste of things to come!) and Jawed Karim.
Marting Lewis
February 21, 2009 9:24 pm

With a bit of luck, some of these guys will become professors at a University of Real Life.
jheLo
March 10, 2009 5:57 am

This is very much impressive! It's very surprising that those people behind the most successful names in I.T. are college dropouts back then.
Bob Wainner
July 30, 2009 4:33 pm

For Brandon Eley above: Brandon...as Scott Wainner's Father, I can promise you, that Scott did not come from a WEALTHY FAMILY...Scott is a total self-made man. Got his 1st computer at the young age of 6 and he was hooked! He developed 2 successful websites while he was in High School. You might also be interested to learn that Scott earned his pilot's license in a Cessna aircraft at the age of 15...he's just a very bright young man. But, I think the thing that makes my Son so successful is that he is very "grounded" and keeps his success in "perspective". He is now 31 and has 4 very successful websites...along with a very successful book he co-authored about "over-clocking computers"...can you tell his Father is very proud of his Son?! *smile*
Mindie
December 1, 2009 2:04 am

How about the women?
Juan Jones @ Make money online free
February 1, 2010 9:06 pm

Very good post. I hope to see my face up there someday.
Scott Duncan
March 2, 2010 10:11 pm

I am looking for exactly the information on this post for my winners bible... the bit with the heroes and mentors in it... I did not steal the photo's, I am just looking for inspiration.
Hack James
April 14, 2010 2:10 am

It made me laugh knowing that the hottest site of today (Facebook) was created by a college dropout.
Stella
April 15, 2010 2:22 pm

Going to college does not determine anything except that the student will spend countless hours in a classroom following someone else's lesson plan (for better or for worse) and either spending a lot of money or securing plenty of scholarship for it. Now comes the time of the autodidact. At the end of the day, who's going to get commissioned for work? Who will have the knowledge and motivation? The "renaissance men" or the "formally educated" people? Whichever ones learn and apply out of a sense of wonder. The money and jobs are a byproduct of a deep curiosity in pure research that drives us on. Every dropout on this page, no matter his trade or business, is a scientist with a vision. Of course, life's comforts can be obtained from other viewpoints, but the emptiness is felt despite any material aquisition.
Stella
April 15, 2010 2:23 pm

And, yes, Mindie, how about the women? ;)
Kantis Simmons
April 23, 2010 8:59 am

Hey Michael, Great looking redesign. Love your content and this article. This article and this topic has been baffling me the last few months because I work heavily in the school industry. As an Academic Success Strategies who delivers speeches and develop resources for students to succeed in school (and a recipient of many college degrees myself) many students need to understand both the concepts of Education and HUSTLE! Working smart, staying focused, and sticking to a plan is something that needs to be re-emphasized in our school systems over and over. The perception that having a college degree or getting and education is the Key to success is so NOT true. But its the application of the things you learn in school plus smart hustle with diligence is the key to amazing success. Great article and thanks for all you do Michael. ** And yes where are the women?
Brandon
April 23, 2010 1:24 pm

nice list, but I do have a question... the list is about college drop outs, not people who graduated college (i.e. Larry Page, and Jerry Yang) they shouldn't be in the list if you are talking about college drop outs... why put them in the list?
aditia
April 24, 2010 11:14 pm

Wew, Matt Mullenweg and Kevin Rose I never though about them leaving college, btw great post michael
Azad Shaikh
April 27, 2010 9:50 pm

Awesome list man. I was too thinking of dropping out of my college but i didn't. What are the chances of success for non dropouts. LOL Thanks!
stephanie
May 5, 2010 3:19 pm

wow. i cant believe they're all drop outs..inspirational! well, as they say, you only get to use 10% of your learning in the classroom in real life. i like your posts..really interesting. keep it up!
diana
May 13, 2010 6:52 pm

that Jared guy is my new business hero !
Man
May 14, 2010 4:52 am

List was good, but if you see lot of those business are having a shaky ground, they will wipe out in next few years and even there wealth, there is lot of competition in the market to be success. You don't need to drop out from any school to be success, what you need is a out of the box thinking brain.
Amit kumar
May 22, 2010 6:35 pm

Hi Really great post ...they are really heroes of the internet world ....
Aaron Darko
May 27, 2010 1:11 am

WOW, So many people didnt know these guys quit uni. So inspiring to know that you too can be one of these mega successes. Always remember this, whats possible for one is possible for all
Stclair
May 31, 2010 2:14 pm

Michael, Thanks a billion for this site and these articles. I had to quit school due to financial reasons and plan on finishing but success doesn't come from following someones curriculum, it comes from following your heart and being driven to succeed. I will be on this list sooner than later.
Suds
June 1, 2010 5:14 pm

Another college dropout/entrepreneur/billionaire/genius is Rush Limbaugh. He's estimated to be worth at or just over a billion dollars.
francesco
July 2, 2010 11:09 pm

you should mention Gurbaksh Chahal too He left school at 16 and sold his first company at 18 for 40 millions and his second company for 300 millions (bluelithium) to yahoo
thushy
July 13, 2010 6:28 pm

very nice post, good to a lot of the high tech guys are drop out's, but in my case nothing happen so far :)
Maryagirl
July 17, 2010 9:09 am

Its hard to believe but I know some of the college dropouts who is very successful in their career now. Thanks for sharing this, I really like your blog and i really appreciate the excellent quality content you are posting here.
Amandeep Singh
August 25, 2010 11:58 pm

A very inspiring an informative post Michael :) They rock the internet :)
Raizel
September 16, 2010 12:54 pm

Hey - for strong fantastic black entrepreneurs, I think Farrah Gray is a super person to model - read his books - adopt his winning 'can do', positively focused attitude - this is a common theme for every single person on this list as well. The amount or type of education is somewhat coincidental. It's the attitude, drive, and positive focus that ends up creating the success. No one ever accused Ford of having a 'proper education' - in fact many people who Did have the 'proper education' accused him of not 'being smart enough' to be so successful! I tool I love that has really helped me 'retrain my brain for success' is regularly playing Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad "Cashflow 101"- lots of fun and totally worth the time put in. I am female and I have gone from a lifetime of negative cashflow and debt to just now (in this economy) starting to see positive cashflow and my pathway to spiral up to success. The key is not the external education, but how you push to learn for yourself and get into action, make your mistakes faster and learn to build and maintain feeling good and having a positive attitude regardless of what is externally "happening." My world started shifting in a success direction once I accomplished these foundations inside myself. I am training my 3 teenage daughters in this path also. Michael, THANK YOU for your inspiring information and attitude. It really helps!
Ryan
October 10, 2010 12:55 am

You're missing Mike Lazaridis. Net worth $1.7 Billion. Dropped out of the University of Waterloo to start Research in Motion, the developer of the Blackberry
Usama
October 25, 2010 3:45 pm

So dropping out means success doesn't it? No, passion, hard work, research and originality means success.
Mads
December 31, 2010 10:28 am

Janus Friis, the co-founder of Skype was a high school dropout too. ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_Friis You write on this page http://www.incomediary.com/30-richest-internet-entrepreneurs/ that he is worth $1.3 Billion, so he takes a 16th place. Thank you for a great website. Mads
EDdys VElasquez
January 4, 2011 4:43 am

Loving all these lists!! woo! Keep posting them :)
allen
January 7, 2011 9:13 pm

One missing is gurbaksh chahal he dropped out at 16 becuase he start a business and sold it for 40 million and then made another business and sold it for 300 million :)
Javad
January 11, 2011 6:13 am

Great post Micheal. Very inspiring!!
ela
January 24, 2011 12:28 pm

nice! so inspirational! keep it up! this site is cool! :)
martin delolmo
February 19, 2011 7:01 am

i want to know if there is anyone out there that can help a church with a school and a security company.all non profit.to succeed in life and be well known thru out the world.please help.god bless
Sudhir Ranjan Chaudhury
February 20, 2011 5:01 pm

Great work......Michael...very motivating stuff!
stanley
February 24, 2011 12:55 pm

great work mate, someday i hope to be in this list, though am a graduate never wish to be a drop out. school is good thats where you get the basic knowledge of how to start......
stanley
February 24, 2011 1:16 pm

nice one mate, you are a great guy, but school is the basics to starting any bussiness.....
Greg
February 26, 2011 12:54 am

Impressive list. Thanks for making this post available on your blog. You are doing a great job.
jhon
March 3, 2011 6:15 am

Larry Page is not a dropout, he was a Phd candidate.
Mightee
March 13, 2011 6:23 pm

i didn't know that larry page was also a dropout and he is just years old and CEO of Google amazing :O
James
March 16, 2011 11:04 pm

Hi this is so awesome. i have dropped out of college, and started my own youtube show on youtube. check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ziv-G4NhsM
GEOFF KINGS
March 25, 2011 7:05 pm

Helo Micheal,i realy enjoy your work,just keep it up,i thin k you have touched and changed many life through posting,i thank GOD for you guy,but i need a solution to my problem,i think the only software i can use is only joomla but i don't realy know most of the extensions and there work,please can you just help me on the type of software i can use that will be more easy for me to get a profesional site like incomdiary or retire21
antispyware
March 26, 2011 8:06 pm

your blog is very informative. keep blogging.
Master Elvis
March 29, 2011 10:03 pm

that is such an inspirational article..hope we also get to be so great as we also start out....http://www.254joblink.blogspot.com
fazal mayar
April 14, 2011 5:28 am

This is a catchy title, the term '' College Dropout '' seems to shock people as it gives message to people that he had hard times in life or he ruined his life but he survived! And he is now successful! Good list.
Fisayo @ Secrets of Entrepreneurship
April 15, 2011 8:32 pm

Great list Mike, Thanks for the inspiration.
Example
April 27, 2011 11:56 pm

It is not just drive that makes these people successful. Nor is it luck. It is hustle. It is a crazy concoction of skill, luck, and hustle. My favorite of these entrepreneurs is Russell Simmons. It says something that he did not build a technology, but helped build a lifestyle. I wish that Hollywood would make documentaries on each of these guys. I love the list. Thanks!
notadropout
June 6, 2011 3:52 pm

I must say great post and guess what I m too old and too late to see this. Anyhow, In India we have many successful businessman with no education at all. They eventually learn the trick.I did a research and found surprisingly most dint do basic schooling. Though they do not own billion dollars but they own millions at least. Some of them are in to heavy equipment manufacturing which to my surprise need basic education. However, it all comes down to who learns more to do great business and the above greats show education in college is not necessary, right attitude is! Great post!! And yeah good to see Subash Chandra there.

Sanaulislam
December 1, 2011 4:51 pm

You are right

kenal
July 3, 2011 7:47 am

This is inspiration. All it took was a billion dollar idea and hard work.
Rick
July 9, 2011 2:21 pm

What's most interesting to me is how quickly the decline of American industrialization came (Henry Ford) after the Gate's era, and our prized GDP is Facebook. Just how far off course can we drift before a melt down. At some point folks will grow old of all this gadget tech and social media stuff. As for the education, well it's a good thing, but once your able to read and comprehend there is little to stop anyone from expanding knowledge on your own. As for the recent economic decline, it's at the hands of the wildly well educated and they have failed hugely. Raw materials into finished product, that's how you build a nation, just ask Mr. Ford.
Giselle
July 15, 2011 6:48 am

Wow no love for the females huh? ;-)
Utah Saint
October 4, 2011 6:31 pm

Cannot believe Henry Ford would have been worth so much more than Bill Gates or anyone else on the list!
puttaraja bv
December 28, 2011 4:58 pm

All are college expelled or droped out.. but I have been expelled from a company (I don't want to mention the company), I am very impressed after seeing this list of great peoples... I think my name also will be jn this list from 5 years from now... Hmmm Puttaraj bv
Ronie
January 20, 2012 5:07 pm

cool this will help with my project thanks but i think you need to update steve jobs is dead...