The 8 most successful entrepreneurs without degrees

From an early age, most of us are taught that the path to success is pretty straightforward. You finish school, go to university, graduate, and then you find a good, well-paid job. Sounds easy, right?

If you’ve been keeping up with HBO’s Succession, the story of Logan Roy’s rise from humble beginnings as a self-made man, to the owner of a powerful global media empire, shows that there’s more to being successful than earning a college degree. And although it’s fiction, the show is rooted in truth. Many of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs achieved their goals without walking the straightforward path.

Because while a degree is certainly useful, it never guarantees success. Instead, some of the most accomplished people are where they are today because of their drive and motivation; their unique vision, and an ability to translate ideas to the public, and investors, in a way that sells. Like Logan Roy, a good number of them have made it on sheer ruthless ambition, too. And the one common factor is that they are often unafraid to take risks.

Facebook, Microsoft, Disney and Ford Motors were all founded by men who never got to wear the gown at a graduation ceremony. Here are eight of the most famous entrepreneurs who made it without university degrees – both contemporary and from the past.

If this list had a Mount Rushmore, the Zuck would be the latest addition carved into silicon presidency. Although his awkward social skills and odd behaviour have made him somewhat of a meme today, the Facebook co-founder has a well-documented ruthless streak. The events are depicted in the film ‘The Social Network’, showing Zuckerberg dropping out of Harvard in 2004 to pursue Facebook as a full-time job. It paid off. He has since amassed over 122 billion USD, continuing to be a prominent player in today’s media, and recently unveiling his mysterious Meta Platforms, Inc.

The late Apple founder left college after just six months to focus on his business, and the rest is history. Jobs was a wizard at branding his product, recognising that technical jargon and specs weren’t enough to bring the general consumer on board. By the time he was 25, he was worth $250 million – one of the youngest to achieve that sum without inherited wealth. His narcissistic personality made him difficult to deal with, and lost him many friends, but Jobs strongly believed in his product. And as Apple continues to dictate the market today, it’s plain to see he was right all along.

Branson is proof you can make it on charisma as much as academic merit. The British business magnate began his career selling advertising in a magazine called The Student, before opening record stores in swinging sixties England. This would later expand into the Virgin Group. From magazines, to record stores, to airlines, and now to the stars, Branson is currently focusing on his Virgin Galactic project. Currently worth $4.2 billion, he is admired for his philanthropy, as well as his star-studded parties in the Caribbean.

Everyone’s heard the adage: if Bill Gates dropped a $100 note, it wouldn’t be worth his time picking up. This is because the Microsoft founder makes an estimated $1,300 per second. The fourth-richest man in the world planned on graduating at Harvard, but dropped out to focus on his business in 1975. And while he has tried to avoid the public eye, his tough approach is well documented. Gates’ ex-business partner Paul Allen has depicted him as ruthless and competitive, as shrewd in business as he is sitting behind a computer.

Another college dropout, Michael Dell went on to become the founder of Dell Inc., one of the world’s largest technology infrastructure companies. From a young age, Dell was fascinated in understanding what made computers work, taking apart an Apple II just to see how it was created. An award-winning, allegedly friendly family man, the curious entrepreneur is now worth $54.6 billion. His book Play Nice But Win explores his leadership philosophy, showing that you don’t need to be a power-hungry megalomaniac to make it to the top.

Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp, speaks during the opening keynote of Oracle OpenWorld 2011 in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Larry Ellison

Unlike the other tech ayatollahs on this list, Oracle founder Ellison didn’t make his first billion until he was 49. The Bronx-born entrepreneur is now worth an estimated $118 billion, all without finishing a college education. His early life was not easy, having been put up for adoption by his mother, and growing up in humble surroundings. Apart from his successful tech ventures, Ellison is famous for his playboy lifestyle – a self-fashioned real-life Tony Stark (he even made a cameo in the Iron Man movie).

Walt Disney was quoted as saying, “If you can dream it, you can do it,” and his rise from rejected cartoonist to the most influential animator in history is proof of this. Disney never went to college, but his imagination (and hard work) ushered the Golden Age of Animation. The House of Mouse is now one of the most influential entertainment corporations; the scope of his vision, and wealth, nearly leaving us the bizarre ‘Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow’ (EPCOT) project – a utopian autocratic company town. Sadly, he passed just before that particular dream could become a reality.

Few men have changed the world as much as Henry Ford did. He remains the blueprint for the solution-oriented entrepreneur, introducing the innovative assembly line to his factory operations. The founder of the Ford Motor Company went on to become one of the richest men in history. This is a long way from his beginnings in abject poverty. He might not have graduated with a college degree, but his revolutionary ideas are now studied in business schools around the world.

Read next: How to retire at 30, according to the entrepreneurs who made it happen

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