24 college dropouts who became billionaires

24 people who dropped out but cashed in

A lot of people grow up believing that a college or university education is key to a successful career and a comfortable life. But with around a quarter of billionaires having dropped out of school and higher education, that belief seems to be something of a myth.

Read on to meet 24 people who’ve made huge fortunes without a degree, ranked by their fortunes today.

All dollar values in US dollars

24. Dylan Field: $1.2 billion (£894m)

Dylan Field is the CEO of Figma, a digital design start-up that enables people to create projects such as websites, logos or apps. He cofounded the company with his Brown University classmate Evan Wallace in 2012, after the pair were awarded a Thiel Fellowship to drop out of college and focus on the business full-time.

By 2022, Figma had four million users and, despite a major setback when a $20 billion (£15bn) acquisition by Adobe fell through, the business rocketed following its debut on the stock market in August 2025.

Forebs estimates he’s currently worth $1.2 billion (£894m) and has been described as “the most humble billionaire I’ve ever met” by Joshua Bowder, CEO of the parking ticket contesting app DoNotPay.

23. Lucy Guo: $1.4 billion (£1.04bn)

California-based Lucy Guo became Forbes’ youngest self-made female billionaire in 2025. The 30-year-old’s net worth surged following the acquisition of her first business, Scale AI, and she’s currently worth $1.4 billion (£1.04bn), according to Forbes.

Guo dropped out after two years of studying computer science and human-computer interactions at Carnegie Mellon University. Like others on this list, her decision was sparked when she was awarded the Thiel Fellowship, a programme that offers budding entrepreneurs $200,000 (£149k) to build their businesses.

Though her parents initially disapproved, it’s clearly paid off and Guo is grateful for the time she did spend at university, saying: “My recommendation for people is that one to two years in college is actually just incredibly great, because you’re going to make the best friends in college, and you’re going to meet the smartest people in college”.

22. Evan Williams: $2 billion (£1.49bn)

Having co-founded digital publishing companies Blogger, Twitter, and Medium, Evan Williams is a self-made billionaire. He grew up working on his family’s soybean and corn farm before attending the University of Nebraska.

After dropping out, he learned to write computer code and, with two friends, created the blogging platform Blogger. Eventually selling the platform to Google, Williams spent two years working for the company before co-founding Twitter (now X). He’s now worth $2 billion (£1.49bn), according to Forbes.

=20. Ted Turner: $2.8 billion (£2.09bn)

Ted Turner dropped out of Brown University to work for his father’s company Turner Advertising, eventually taking control of the business.

The company was rebranded as Turner Broadcasting and grew into a billion-dollar enterprise. Today, Turner has a net worth of $2.8 billion (£2.09bn) and is a dedicated philanthropist committed to restoring America’s natural environments.

=20. Richard Branson: $2.8 billion (£2.09bn)

Worth an estimated $2.8 billion (£2.09bn) today, Richard Branson founded the Virgin brand and its many companies, including the famous Virgin Atlantic Airways.

He originally wanted to become a journalist or an editor, but dropped out of school at 16 to start his first successful business, Student magazine. By the age of 24, he’d snapped up his own Caribbean island, and he was knighted in 1999.

19. Oprah Winfrey: $3.2 billion (£2.39bn)

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has a net worth of $3.2 billion (£2.39bn) today, but the road to her fortune was far from conventional. Born into poverty, Winfrey started studying at Tennessee State University but dropped out at 19 after landing her first radio job. However, unlike most of the other names on this list, she notably decided to return to TSU in 1987 when the university invited her to speak at its commencement.

Despite having her own TV show, an Oscar nomination, and her own company, Winfrey opted to go back and finish her coursework. After turning in her final paper, she was awarded the degree she had originally started studying for – and only then did she agree to give that commencement speech.

18. Travis Kalanick: $3.6 billion (£2.68bn)

Travis Kalanick dropped out of college to focus on his tech start-ups Scour and RedSwoosh, but is best known for cofounding Uber in 2009.

Kalanick stepped down as CEO of Uber in 2017 and left the board in 2019, selling his 4% stake for billions. Having been under the radar in recent years, he launched Atoms in 2026, a start-up robotics company that aims to automate tasks ‌in the mining, food and transport industries.

17. Carl Icahn: $4.2 billion (£3.3bn)

The controversial US investor dropped out of medical school to join the army. Forbes estimates he is now worth $4.2 billion (£3.3bn), having founded his own firm back in 1968.

Icahn became infamous through a series of takeovers and attempted takeovers of some of the biggest companies in America, including Texaco, TWA, and American Airlines.

16. Barry Diller: $5.2 billion (£3.87bn)

After dropping out of college, Barry Diller eventually went on to establish the internet and media giant IAC in 1995. Prior to that, he worked at ABC, Paramount, and Fox, where he launched hit TV shows like Cheers and The Simpsons.

He’s also the chairman of Expedia and is married to designer Diane Von Furstenberg. He’s believed to own a large chunk of her fashion business. Today, he’s worth an estimated $5.2 billion (£3.87bn).

15. Jack Dorsey: $5.7 billion (£4.25bn)

A college degree wasn’t necessary for this founding member of Twitter (now X) and founder and chief executive officer of payments company Square. Having attended Missouri University of Science and Technology before transferring to NYU, Jack Dorsey dropped out to develop Twitter.

He left the company in 2021 and keeps himself busy these days as the CEO of Block (formerly Square Inc), another tech company he cofounded back in 2009. He is currently worth around $5.7 billion (£4.25bn), according to Forbes.

14. Steven Spielberg: $7.1 billion (£5.29bn)

Steven Spielberg was denied entry into college on three occasions due to his mediocre grades. When he eventually did gain entry, he dropped out to focus on making a short film, which earned him a job with Universal.

Spielberg co-founded DreamWorks Studios in 1994 along with Jeffrey Katzenberg and fellow dropout and billionaire David Geffen (who you’ll see shortly on this list). The director’s net worth today is a staggering $7.1 billion (£5.29bn).

13. Azim Premji: $8.4 billion (£6.26bn)

The sudden death of his father led Azim Premji to drop out of Stanford at the age of 21 to run his family’s cooking oil business. He expanded into software and founded Wipro, an IT outsourcing and services company.

However, tired of being called a college dropout, at the age of 50 he returned to Stanford to complete his degree. Dubbed India’s richest tech tycoon, Premji is worth $10.7 billion (£7.9bn) today.

12. David Geffen: $9.3 billion ($6.93bn)

Remarkably, the record label creator dropped out not once but three times: from Santa Monica City College, Brooklyn College and the University of Texas.

He founded his eponymous record label, Geffen Records, back in 1980. The label would go on to sign a string of superstars, including Guns N’ Roses, Cher and Donna Summer. The entertainment mogul is also a noted philanthropist, having donated up to $1.2 billion (£894m) to good causes over the years.

11. Dustin Moskovitz: $9.7 billion (£7.23bn)

The roommate who helped launch Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg from their Harvard dorm is now worth a staggering $9.7 billion (£7.23bn), according to Forbes.

After dropping out of university and leaving Facebook, Dustin Moskovitz cofounded workflow software company Asana. The majority of his net worth today stems from his 2% stake in Facebook.

10. Gabe Newell: $11 billion (£8.2bn)

Gabe Newell attended Harvard but eventually dropped out. He cofounded Valve Corporation in 1998 and is now worth a healthy $11 billion (£8.2bn).

He’s currently the CEO of the company, which plays a big role in PC game sales through its Steam digital game store and has been labelled the iTunes of video games.

9. Ralph Lauren: $13.7 billion (£10.22bn)

Born in the Bronx to Russian Jewish immigrants, Ralph Lauren worked part-time in the garment industry as a teenager before establishing the fashion brand that bears his name. His big break arrived when Neiman Marcus ordered 1,200 of his distinctively designed ties.

The college dropout now has a net worth of around $13.7 billion (£10.22bn). Lauren stepped down as chief executive officer in 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer of the company he founded.

8. Jan Koum: $16.9 billion (£12.6bn)

WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum sold the world’s biggest mobile messaging service to Facebook in 2014 for about $22 billion in cash and stock, the equivalent of over $30.3 billion (£22.6bn) in today’s money.

The San Jose State University dropout worked for Yahoo for nine years until 2007. Between February and May 2016, Koum donated more than six million Facebook shares to an undisclosed recipient, but he’s still worth a sizeable $16.9 billion (£12.6bn) today.

7. Li Ka-shing: $46.2 billion (£34.45bn)

A rags-to-riches story, Li Ka-shing fled to Hong Kong with his family in 1940 after the Japanese invaded China. He left school at 15 to work in a plastics factory after his father died of tuberculosis.

Ka-shing went on to open his own factory and branched out into real estate before buying Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate with interests in container ports around the world. Today, his empire spans from retail to tech, and he boasts an estimated net worth of $46.2 billion (£34.45bn).

6. Gautam Adani: $58.6 billion (£43.69bn)

Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani quit Gujarat University in his second year and moved to Mumbai. He started out working in the diamond business and eventually set up his own company.

As chairman of Adani Group, he oversees a wide range of interests, including coal trading, coal mining, oil and gas exploration, ports, logistics, power generation, and gas distribution. He’s now worth an astonishing $58.6 billion (£43.69bn).

5. Bill Gates: $103 billion (£76.8bn)

The cofounder of the world’s largest software company, Bill Gates left Harvard University to focus on building his Microsoft empire.

Today, he’s worth a mammoth $103 billion (£76.8bn) and previously held the title of world’s richest person for 13 consecutive years. A renowned philanthropist, Gates and his former wife Melinda use their fortunes to fight poverty and disease in countries around the world.

4. Amancio Ortega: $131.3 billion (£97.1bn)

Amancio Ortega left school at 14 to run errands for shirt stores. He went on to establish the fashion empire Inditex, which includes Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Pull&Bear among its brands.

Ortega stepped down as Inditex chairman in 2011 but still rakes in millions annually. He’s the richest man in Spain with a net worth of $131.3 billion (£97.1bn).

3. Michael Dell: $151.2 billion (£112.74bn)

Michael Dell started his computer company in his University of Texas dorm room and later dropped out of college to focus all his efforts on the business.

Dell Computers Inc is now one of the biggest PC manufacturers in the world and has earned Dell an estimated net worth of $151.2 billion (£112.74bn).

2. Larry Ellison: $188.1 billion (£140.26bn)

After dropping out of college twice and being told by his adopted father that he wouldn’t amount to anything, Larry Ellison built the world’s second-largest software company and became a multibillionaire in the process. Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and is its chairman and chief technology officer to this day.

Had this list been written in September 2025, he’d be comfortably top of this particular list. However, a sharp drop in Oracle shares between then and March 2026 means he’ll have to make do with the runner-up spot. According to Forbes, he’s currently worth a none-too-shabby $188.1 billion (£140.26bn).

1. Mark Zuckerberg: $204.2 billion (£152.27bn)

Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook (now Meta) cofounder, chairman, and CEO, famously left Harvard University after his sophomore year to concentrate on the social networking site he started from his dorm room.

He’s now worth a truly astounding $204.2 billion (£152.27bn), making him our richest dropout. He owns around 13% of the company’s stock, but in 2015 he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged to give away 99% of their Meta stake over their lifetimes.

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