Here’s a small collection of billionaire stories to inspire you. Along the way, you might discover that you have something in common with them.
Did you know that out of the top 100 billionaires listed by Bloomberg in 2013, 27 are heirs and 73 are self-made? Out of the 73 self-made billionaires, 18 have no college degree and 36 are children of poor parents.
Still, a few of them neither had a degree nor wealthy parents, just like the following:
- Larry Ellison. He was an orphan but he went on to found Oracle. As of 2017, he’s worth $43.6 billion. As of this writing, he’s the 9th richest man in the world.
- Amancio Ortega. The 3rd richest man in the world is the son of a railroad worker. He went on to become the founder and chairman (now former) of Inditex fashion group, the parent company of Zara. As of 2017, he’s worth $70.4 billion.
- John Fredriksen. The son of a welder and later on, the owner of the world’s largest oil tanker fleet. He’s also the founder of investment companies, Meisha and Hemen Holdings. His net worth is $10.2 billion. As of this writing, he’s the 125th richest person in the world.
- Sheldon Adelson. The 24th richest man in the world is the son of a cab driver. An American casino magnate, he’s the founder of Las Vegas Sands, the owner of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. His net worth is $27.5 billion.
- Ingvar Kamprad. A farmer’s son and the founder of IKEA. As of 2017, he’s worth $39.2 billion and ranks as the 13th richest man in the world.
- Francois Pinault. The son of a lumber miller. The founder of the holding compay, Atermis S.A, which owns Converse, Samsonite, Christie’s auction house, among others. His net worth is $16 billion, making him the 53rd richest man in the world.
Fast forward to 2017, Bloomberg’s current ranking as of this writing has changed. There are currently top 200 billionaires on the list. Out of that, 66 are heirs and 134 are self-made billionaires. Together, these billionaires have a combined wealth of $874.6 billion.
Billionaire with a letter ‘B’ seems too far-fetched for most of us.
We can’t even be millionaires, right?
But you should note that success for these people didn’t happen overnight. Notwithstanding their family or educational background, they’re still self-made – meaning, they’ve worked hard to get to where they are now.
So what do these self-made billionaires have in common?
- Some of them had life-changing deals.
- Some of them recognised trends early.
- Some of them invested during hard times.
- Some of them bought ruined companies.
- Some of them are still eating with their employees.
- Some of them tried different businesses before the most successful one.
And for all of them?
They took enormous risks.
Now, you might be thinking that these people have had at least one advantage that you don’t have. And because of this advantage, you’re thinking that you can’t be like them. But, my friends, success only depends on one thing: it’s you taking action on your dreams.
These people took enourmous risks, alright, but that still counts as taking action. And don’t forget that some of them also experienced challenges before they got their big breaks. It only means that if you don’t get out of your comfort zone, you’ll never know what’s beyond your line of sight. Richard Branson said this,
“Business opportunities are like buses. There’s always another one coming.”
But how many opportunities would you allow to pass?
How many buses will you be waiting for before taking a ride?
Taking action is a decision. Don’t get stuck by what happened to you last year or be fearful of what can happen this year. You’ll never know until you try.
The time to start walking the path to success is now.
The time to start taking action is now.
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