20 self made billionaires and their secrets to how they made money

20 self made billionaires and their secrets to how they made money

There are two types of billionaires: those who inherited their wealth and those who built it from nothing. Some of the wealthiest, most successful entrepreneurs take decades to accumulate their fortunes, although others strike gold early. This article has a list of 20 self made billionaires and their secrets to how they made money.

self made billionaires
The majority of people have a notion that the rich were born rich. Photo: @BnBI
Source: Instagram

How many billionaires are self made? The majority of the billionaires in the world are self made. Their current number stands at 1639. That means they struggled from rock bottom to the place where they are today. This article tries to dig deeper and has a list of 20 self made billionaires and their secrets to making money. Keep reading to learn more.

Top self made billionaires list

Self-made billionaires do not get to the three-comma club without first becoming millionaires. The majority of these rich people earned their wealth through founding their businesses or through investments. See the list below:

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1. Bill Gates - Estimated net worth: $132.1B

self made billionaires
His determination, focus, and hard work are the key ingredients for his success. Photo: @Gates
Source: Instagram

Bill started programming computers when he was only 13 years. He founded Microsoft at a young age after dropping out of Harvard. He came from a humble background, and that did not deter him from making it. His determination, focus, and hard work are the key ingredients for his success.

2. Warren Buffett - Estimated net worth: $103.7B

self made billionaires
By 13, he had a small business delivering newspapers. Photo: @Warren
Source: Instagram

Buffet purchased his first stock investment at 11 years old. By 13, he set up and ran a small business delivering newspapers. He says his wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interests.

3. Larry Ellison - Estimated net worth: $116.3B

self made billionaires
He has a massive real estate portfolio. Photo: @Larry
Source: Instagram

Larry went from programming to entrepreneurship to build his fame and fortune. He developed a relational database management system used by the CIA. Besides, he also has a massive real estate portfolio.

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4. Ingvar Kamprad - Estimated net worth: $48.1B

self made billionaires
He currently serves as an informal senior advisor to the board of the IKEA Group. Photo: @Ingvar
Source: Instagram

Ingvar founded IKEA, a Swedish furniture company with some money his father gave him to reward for academic achievement. He currently serves as an informal senior advisor to the board of the IKEA Group, which is now an international furniture retailer.

5. Jeff Bezos - Estimated net worth: $39.8B

self made billionaires
The founder of Amazons. Photo: @Bezos
Source: UGC

Jeff is the founder of Amazons, where he owns an 18% stake. He later founded Blue Origins in 2000, the spaceflight company. His secret to success is being creative and innovative and being up to date with the current trends in technology.

6. Carlos Slim Helú - Estimated net worth: $73.6B

self made billionaires
He has an interest in the financial, industrial, telecommunications, and media sectors. Photo: @Carlos
Source: Instagram

Carlos is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, he was ranked as the wealthiest person globally by Forbes magazine. He founded companies that have an interest in the financial, industrial, telecommunications, and media sectors.

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7. Mark Zuckerberg - Estimated net worth: $130.8B

self made billionaires
He started Facebook during his early years at Harvard University. Photo: @Zuckerberg
Source: Instagram

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American media magnate, philanthropist, and internet entrepreneur. He is the brain behind Facebook. He started Facebook during his early years at Harvard University. He later relocated to California to nurture the company's growth.

8. Wang Jianlin - Estimated net worth: $35.2B

self made billionaires
He is the brain behind Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate development company. Photo: @Wang
Source: Instagram

Wang is a Chinese self made billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He served the Chinese military from 1970 to 1986 before turning around a government real estate venture before he ventured into business. He is the brain behind Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate development company, and the world's largest movie theatre operator.

9. Michael Bloomberg - Estimated net worth: $59B

self made billionaires
He was the Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. Photo: @Mic
Source: Instagram

Michael is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He was the Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013 and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the United States. He was born in a humble background, and he credits his success to his parents, who instilled values in his life to be who he is today.

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10. Larry Page - Estimated net worth: $116.2B

self made billionaires
Together with Brin, they started Google. Photo: @Larry
Source: Instagram

Larry is an American business magnate, computer scientist, and Internet entrepreneur. He is famous as one of the co-founders of Google, along with Sergey Brin. Together with Brin, they started the Google project in their dorm rooms while doctoral candidates in computer science at Stanford University.

11. Lee Shau-kee - Estimated net worth: $32.4B

self made billionaires
He found Henderson Land Development Company. Photo: @Lee
Source: Instagram

Lee Shau-kee GBM is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate interested in property, hotels, restaurants, and internet services. He co-founded a property company in 1963 and left in 1973 to found Henderson Land Development Company on his own.

12. Alwaleed bin Talal - Estimated net worth: $19.6B

self made billionaires
The richest man in Saudi Arabia. Photo: @Talal
Source: Instagram

Talal Al Saud is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist, and royal. He was listed on Time magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world, in 2008. The grandson of the first ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz al Saud, Prince Alwaleed is the richest man in Saudi Arabia.

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13. Jorge Paulo Lemann - Estimated net worth: $26.2B

self made billionaires
The richest man in Brazil. Photo: @Paulo
Source: Instagram

Lemann is a Brazilian billionaire investment banker and businessman with dual Brazilian and Swiss citizenship. As of June 2021, Lemann was ranked 65th wealthiest person in the world by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated net worth of US$26.2 billion. The richest man in Brazil, Lemann founded and ran financial firm 3G Capital, which has stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev, Burger King, and Tim Hortons.

14. Jack Ma - Estimated net worth: $44.5B

self made billionaires
He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group. Photo: @Jackma
Source: Facebook

Jack Ma Yun is a Chinese business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. Despite his humble beginnings as an English teacher, Ma became captivated by the internet during a visit to the US in 1995. He saw several business opportunities in it and eventually founded his e-commerce site in 1999.

15. George Soros - Estimated net worth: $8.6B

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self made billionaires
He began his philanthropic work in 1979. Photo: @Soros
Source: Instagram

George Soros is a Hungarian-born American billionaire investor and philanthropist. He began his philanthropic work in 1979, funding scholarships for Black African university students. Under Soros' leadership, Quantum Fund became one of the most successful hedge funds of all time.

16. Carl Ichan - Estimated net worth: $15.6B

self made billionaires
He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises. Photo: @Carl
Source: Instagram

Carl Celian Icahn is an American businessman. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified conglomerate holding company based in New York City, formerly known as American Real Estate Partners. Even though he is 85 years, Icahn remains a powerful force in the finance world.

17. Steve Ballmer - Estimated net worth: $84.9B

self made billionaires
He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association. Photo: @Ballmer
Source: Instagram

Steven Anthony Ballmer is an American businessman and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association. After leaving the tech world, Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers for a record-breaking $2 billion — the most considerable amount ever paid for an NBA team.

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18. Phil Knight - Estimated net worth: $50.7B

self made billionaires
He founded Nike. Photo: @Phil
Source: Instagram

Philip Hampson Knight is an American billionaire businessman. Knight and his old track coach put up $500 to start the athletic shoe company known as Nike. Today, more than 50 years later, the company is worth $86.2 billion.

19. Elon Musk – Estimated net worth: 182.1B

self made billionaires
He is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX. He also owns Tesla, the car company. But that's not it! Photo: @Elon
Source: Instagram

Who is the fastest self-made billionaire? Elon Musk of Tesla is regarded as the fastest-made billionaire. He is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX; early-stage investor, CEO, and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI.

20. Austin Russell – Estimated net worth: 1.9B

self made billionaires
He is the founder and CEO of Luminar. Photo: @Russel
Source: Instagram

Who is the youngest self-made billionaire? Austin, at age 26, is the world's youngest self-made billionaire now that Kylie Jenner, 23, has fallen from the ranks. He spent his teens researching at the University of California at Irvine's Beckman Laser Institute. He is the founder and CEO of Luminar, a startup in Silicon Valley that makes LIDAR sensors for self-driving cars.

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Above is a list of self made billionaires. The richest self made people believe that there is no perfect formula for becoming a billionaire, but the right attitude and mindset can put you there. Creative thinking, gut instincts and a lifetime of hard work are commonly used as a formula to the journey of riches.

READ ALSO: A list of 10 youngest millionaires in South Africa 2021

Briefly.co.za reported on March 22, 2021, about the 10 youngest millionaires in South Africa. It feels great to accomplish this dream at a young age because you get more time to enjoy your wealth.

The top ten youngest millionaires in South Africa inspire many young people worldwide. Read more to get the full list of these millionaires and some fascinating facts!

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Bennett Yates avatar

Bennett Yates (Lifestyle writer) Bennett Yates is a content creator with over five years of working experience in journalism and copywriting. He graduated from the University of Nairobi (2017) with a Bachelor's in Information Technology. In 2023, Bennett finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. He started working for Briefly in 2019. You can reach him via email at bennetyates@gmail.com.