Billionaires are not in mammoth numbers. This absolutely minuscule number has more wealth than half of the world’s population, which is a completely mind-boggling fact and goes to show how extremely uneven and unequal the share of wealth is. Sure, there are always some exceptions to the rule, such as Microsoft Corporation’s founder Bill Gates, who has spent tens of billions of dollars on philanthropy throughout, and despite being among the richest men, if not the richest, for decades, has seldom been involved in a major controversy. One of the reasons that we consider them as inspirations or role models is the belief that if they did it, so can I. If there’s one thing billionaires like to perpetuate, it is that they’re self-made and came from nothing. You hear about Jeff Bezos starting off in the garage to create Amazon, or Bill Gates created Microsoft, or Elon Musk created Tesla. These people actually came from nothing, had to work hard and persevere, and despite the numerous disadvantages that would inhibit most people from succeeding, these people refused to give up.
Insider Monkey used Bloomberg and CNBC to determine this list of the billionaires who came from nothing, starting with number 15: David Murdock’s father was a travelling salesman while his mother worked as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Alec Gores ranks 14th on our list of the billionaires who came from nothing. One of the richest Black Americans in the world, Oprah Winfrey, is also perhaps one of the most celebrities for the past few decades. There are plenty of Italian immigrants on our list, and John Paul DeJoria is no exception. He grew up in a foster home and had to make it on his own. Mohed Altrad ranks 11th on our list of the billionaires who came from nothing. Having lost his father early, Stephen Bisciotti struggled on his own. He later started a company, now known as Aerotek, which is a staffing company and is counted among the biggest staffing companies in the entire world. Read up on the lives of these special people and their net worth in the article 15 Billionaires Who Came From Nothing.
