Some say a college diploma is the start to a long, successful career. Billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg might disagree.
The two ex-Harvardians are among the world’s most famous college dropouts — but certainly not the only people who have left school to make it big elsewhere. Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell left the University of Texas at age 19, for example, while Oracle co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison dropped out of the University of Illinois.
Indeed, the list of non-Harvard dropouts is surprisingly deep: Many of the world’s wealthiest people didn’t attend particularly prominent schools. Here’s a list of 10 universities some of the most successful people in the world once called home:
1. Harvard University
Getting the biggest name out of the way first: Harvard University did indeed host both Bill Gates and Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz for a spell.
Zuckerberg and Moskovitz, who roomed together on campus, both dropped out while launching Facebook. Moskovitz later founded work-management app Asana in 2008.
Combined, these three men alone have amassed a wealth of over $300 billion.
2. University of Michigan
The University of Michigan makes this list based on the success of one man: Larry Page, who co-founded Google with Sergey Brin. Page returned to Michigan and graduated — but later dropped out again, from the university’s PhD program.
3. University of Illinois
Oracle founder and software billionaire Larry Ellison consistently ranks among the richest people in the world alongside Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and others. He also dropped out of the University of Illinois
If making billions in the software industry isn’t enough to measure his success, consider this: In 2012, Ellison purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai. At the time he said he wanted to build a “health utopia.”
4. University of Texas
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, launched his company in the 1980s after dropping out of the University of Texas at age 19. He is currently worth $51 billion, according to Forbes, ranking him among the wealthiest of the world’s university drop-outs.
Serial entrepreneur David Geffen, perhaps best known for co-founding DreamWorks Pictures in 1994, also dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin.
5. Missouri University of Science & Technology
One man and his chatty bluebird can call the Missouri University of Science and Tech his would-be alma mater: Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey dropped out a semester short of graduation in 1999. Since he founded Twitter fifteen years ago, the company has made him a multi-billionaire with an estimated net worth of $14.7 billion.
It’s not all Twitter money: Dorsey is also the co-founder and CEO of financial payments company Square.
6. University of Miami
Plenty of successful people have graduated from the University of Miami, from Gloria Estefan to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But some of Miami’s most famous ex-students never finished.
Micky Arison dropped out of the university to work for his father’s company, Carnival Cruises. Today, he’s the chairman of Carnival and the owner of the NBA’s Miami Heat. Footwear designer and fashion mogul Steve Madden also left the University of Miami after his grades suffered and his father stopped paying his tuition.
One former University of Miami student certainly lived long and prospered off after dropping out: In 1966, after he left the school, television screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry first brought sci-fi series “Star Trek” to the small screen. Roddenberry also spent time at Columbia University and the University of Southern California, but never graduated.
7. San José State University
Upon getting a job at Yahoo, Jan Koum left San José State University in 1997. Fast forward 12 years: In 2009, the Ukranian native went on to launch WhatsApp, which he and co-founder Brian Acton sold to Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion. The move sent his current net worth to an estimated $10.9 billion.
8. City University/College of New York
CUNY boasts a handful of notable drop-outs like Ralph Lauren, chairman and CEO of Polo Ralph Lauren, and actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. Record executive Russell Simmons left the City College of New York to promote local musicians like Run-D.M.C and went on to make millions.
9. Tennessee State University
In 1975, a young student named Oprah Winfrey left Tennessee State University one credit shy of graduating. Like others on this list, she eventually returned to complete her degree, but only after launching her successful talk show, earning an Oscar nomination in 1986, and becoming a national icon.
10. Chicago State University
This list would be incomplete without including the university that inspired “The College Dropout,” Kanye West’s 2004 debut album. West attended both Chicago State University and the Chicago-based American Academy of Art, but graduated from neither. Since West left school, he’s won 22 Grammy awards and launched his Adidas clothing partnership, Yeezy.
Dropped out before university
A few more of the world’s richest people didn’t wait until college to drop-out. Sir Richard Branson, for example, left the Cliff View House School in Sussex, England, at age 15. “I was dyslexic,” said Branson in a 2007 TED Talk. “It was one of the reasons I left school when I was 15 years old.” The school doesn’t exist anymore. Branson, meanwhile, became the first billionaire in space last month.
Spanish retail entrepreneur Amancio Ortega is the highest-ranked non-American on the list of wealthiest drop-outs according to Edubirdie. Ortega, founder of retailer Zara, left school at only fourteen years old and thirteen years later opened his first store.
Ranked the 30th richest person in the world Li Ka-shing is also the seventh-highest ranking drop-out in terms of wealth. The businessman from Hong Kong was forced to leave school early at age 15 after his father’s death.
Source: CNBC
