Billionaires who did not graduate from college to become successful and wealthy

[nicoleivy5]

Billionaires who did not graduate from college to become successful and wealthy

Company: Oracle

School: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Chicago

Net worth: $US51.1 billion

Ellison is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle, the multi-billion dollar enterprise software company.

He left UIUC in his sophomore year, after his adoptive mother died. The next semester he enrolled in University of Chicago, but dropped out again after just one semester.

 

[DGS49]

The Great Myth of the American educational system is that the key to success is to "get a good education."

It is easily disproven, but, as with professional wrestling, the "straight skinny" is difficult to find.

The most promising avenue to wealth in this country has always been entrepreneurship. ALWAYS. The opportunities are limitless, and always expanding, because innovative people are constantly finding services and products that people are willing to pay for, and may not have been willing to pay for in earlier times. When Bill Gates founded Microsoft, most people didn't know what a "microcomputer" was, and barely even understood what "software" was. But he saw into the future.

On a percentage basis, the person who starts his own business is MUCH more likely to achieve great financial success than the person who intends to achieve the same in the corporate world. And yet the corporate future is what is sold in our colleges, universities, and, unfortunately, in our homes, by parents.

Parenthetically, the Government option is outside this discussion. The Government option is taken by people who know it will not lead to riches, but will be fulfilling in other ways, not here relevant.

The problem with quantifying the benefits of entrepreneurship is that small business owners DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO KNOW HOW MUCH THEY MAKE. Not only the IRS, but other people as well. And the ability to manipulate costs, revenues, personal and business affairs makes it almost impossible to find out how much that landscaping contractor (for example) actually MAKES. And he won't disclose it voluntarily.

Make no mistake, most small businesses fail within a fairly short period of time, and some people never make it to even a "middle class" standard of living, but on a percentage basis, the odds of being seriously successful are much, much greater through entrepreneurship than they are in the corporate world.

And for most small businesses, (a) formal education is of minimal value, and (b) the time and money spent on acquiring a college degree are wasted.

 

[Alex.]

Getting a formal education does not insure that a person will be financially successful. The culture of education and the atmosphere of learning was and still is the draw for me.


I was financially successful long before I attained any measure of success in school.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

The Great Myth of the American educational system is that the key to success is to "get a good education."

It is easily disproven, but, as with professional wrestling, the "straight skinny" is difficult to find.

The most promising avenue to wealth in this country has always been entrepreneurship. ALWAYS. The opportunities are limitless, and always expanding, because innovative people are constantly finding services and products that people are willing to pay for, and may not have been willing to pay for in earlier times. When Bill Gates founded Microsoft, most people didn't know what a "microcomputer" was, and barely even understood what "software" was. But he saw into the future.

On a percentage basis, the person who starts his own business is MUCH more likely to achieve great financial success than the person who intends to achieve the same in the corporate world. And yet the corporate future is what is sold in our colleges, universities, and, unfortunately, in our homes, by parents.

Parenthetically, the Government option is outside this discussion. The Government option is taken by people who know it will not lead to riches, but will be fulfilling in other ways, not here relevant.

The problem with quantifying the benefits of entrepreneurship is that small business owners DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO KNOW HOW MUCH THEY MAKE. Not only the IRS, but other people as well. And the ability to manipulate costs, revenues, personal and business affairs makes it almost impossible to find out how much that landscaping contractor (for example) actually MAKES. And he won't disclose it voluntarily.

Make no mistake, most small businesses fail within a fairly short period of time, and some people never make it to even a "middle class" standard of living, but on a percentage basis, the odds of being seriously successful are much, much greater through entrepreneurship than they are in the corporate world.

And for most small businesses, (a) formal education is of minimal value, and (b) the time and money spent on acquiring a college degree are wasted.

myth indeed.one more thing americans have been brainwashed on.

 

[DGS49]

But getting a good formal education will ensure that one knows the difference between "ensure" and "insure."

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

 

[nicoleivy5]

But getting a good formal education will ensure that one knows the difference between "ensure" and "insure."

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

hahah