17 USA College DROPOUTS Who Turned AMBITION into BILLIONS; The TOP 5 USA BILLIONAIRES and Warren Buffett’s EIGHT GOLDEN RULES.

STEVE JOBS (Apple co-founder): Dropped out of REED College

BILL GATES (Microsoft co-founder): Dropped out of HARVARD University

MARK ZUCKERBERG  (Facebook co-founder): Dropped out of HARVARD University

LARRY ELLISON (Oracle co-founder): Dropped out of the University of ILLINOIS and the University of CHICAGO.

While education provides a SOLID FOUNDATION, it is NOT THE ONLY FACTOR that CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS. Many BILLIONAIRES have LEVERAGED THEIR SKILLS, EXPERIENCE and PASSION  to build successful businesses and ACCUMULATE WEALTH.

This trend suggests that INDIVIDUALS SHOULD NOT BE DISCOURAGED  from pursuing their entrepreneurial ambitions simply because they lack a traditional university education.

The total value of Bill Gates’ assets amounts to $102.2 BILLION, establishing him as a notable figure among historical entrepreneurs. Gates’ decision to leave Harvard University during his second year alongside Paul Allen allowed them to establish Microsoft, thus creating the world’s most prominent software company.

Interestingly, HARVARD refers to him as “their most successful dropout.” More than 1.4 billion users rely on Microsoft Windows in the present day.

Mark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of $211.8 BILLION, dropped out of Harvard during his sophomore year to focus on building Facebook, the social networking platform that transformed how people connect globally.

In 2017, HARVARD awarded him an HONORARY DOCTORATE in recognition of his achievements. Now rebranded as Meta, the company has more than 2.96 billion monthly active users worldwide.

The late Steve Jobs, who was worth $7 BILLION at the time of his death, left Reed College after just one semester to co-found Apple. His vision revolutionized consumer technology with ICONIC  products like the iPhone, MacBook, and iPod.

A calligraphy class he attended at Reed College profoundly influenced Apple’s design aesthetics. In 2022, Apple became the first U.S. company to reach a $3 trillion market valuation.

Larry Ellison, with a net worth of $204.6 BILLION , dropped out of the University of Illinois and later attended the University of Chicago without completing a degree. He went on to co-found Oracle, a leader in enterprise software.

In 2012, Ellison purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, showcasing his expansive vision. Oracle now serves over 430,000 customers across 175 countries.

Paul Allen, who had a net worth of $20.3 BILLION at the time of his death, was ranked as the 44th wealthiest person globally by Forbes. He left Washington State University after two years to co-found Microsoft with Bill Gates.

While his contributions to tech are MONUMENTAL, Allen also had a passion for sports, owning teams such as the Seattle Seahawks. As of 2023, Microsoft’s market value surpassed $2 trillion.

Jan Koum, who is worth $16 BILLION, left San Jose State University to co-found WhatsApp, a messaging platform that has redefined digital communication. Koum’s journey is one of humble beginnings—he launched WhatsApp while living on food stamps.

According to Statista, WhatsApp now has over 2 billion active users globally.

Michael Dell’s journey from college dropout to billionaire highlights the power of bold decisions and entrepreneurial vision. At 19, he left the University of Texas to focus on his dorm-room business, selling custom-built PCs directly to customers—a groundbreaking model that cut out retailers and lowered costs. By the end of his first year, he had made $80,000 in sales, leading to the creation of Dell Computer Corporation in 1984 with just $1,000 in capital.

At 27, Dell became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company. With a net worth of $84.2 BILLION  today, his story proves that success comes from ambition and execution. As he once said, “You don’t have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream.”

Ralph Lauren has a net worth of $10.2 BILLION, as listed by Forbes. He left Baruch College to pursue his passion for fashion. Starting out by selling ties, Lauren built the iconic Polo Ralph Lauren empire.

He would also change his original surname, Lifshitz, to avoid teasing. His company, Ralph Lauren Corporation, is now valued at over $8 billion.

With a net worth of $3.4 BILLION b, Jack Dorsey has made a remarkable impact on social media and financial tech. Although he initially attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology and later studied at New York University without graduating, Dorsey went on to co-found Twitter and Square.

His career began early when he programmed for a dispatch service at the age of 15. Today, Twitter has over 368 million monthly active users.

Dustin Moskovitz, with a net worth of $14.1 BILLION, left Harvard alongside Mark Zuckerberg to help develop Facebook. He later co-founded Asana, a leading productivity software used by enterprises worldwide.

Interestingly, Moskovitz was Facebook’s first-ever Chief Technology Officer. Asana now serves over 131,000 paying customers globally.

Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in January 2021, had a net worth of approximately $29.8 BILLION  at the time of his death. After dropping out of the City College of New York, he founded the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

His entrepreneurial journey began at age 12, selling newspapers. Today, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation generates over $13 billion in annual revenue.

Oprah Winfrey, with a net worth of $3 BILLION , redefined the media landscape. Although she initially left Tennessee State University, she later completed her degree and rose to fame as a news anchor in Baltimore.

Her iconic talk show ran for 25 years, reaching an estimated 20 million viewers weekly.

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 he sold the platform to Google and spent two years working for the company before co-founding Twitter (now X). He’s now worth $2 BILLION, as reported by Forbes.

Struggling with dyslexia, Richard Branson left formal education at 16 to launch Student magazine, which he operated from a church crypt. Though the magazine failed financially, his pivot to selling mail-order records laid the foundation for Virgin Records, which later signed iconic acts like the Rolling Stones.

Today, Virgin Group operates over 500 companies across industries like airlines and space tourism, employing more than 65,000 people globally. Branson’s net worth is $2.5 BILLION. Virgin Records’ first release, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, sold over five million copies, showcasing Branson’s talent for spotting potential. As he famously said, “The brave may not live forever, but the cautious never live at all,” highlighting the importance of taking risks for success.

Tiger Woods, whose net worth $1.3 BILLION , studied at Stanford University for two years before turning professional golf. His career skyrocketed when he won his first Masters Tournament at just 21 years old.

Woods has since achieved an impressive 82 PGA Tour victories. At the height of his career, he earned over $100 million annually, making him one of the highest-paid athletes globally.

Steven Spielberg, with a net worth $5.3 BILLION, overcame early rejection from the University of Southern California’s film program due to low grades. He enrolled at California State University but left in 1968 after landing a groundbreaking directing deal with Universal Studios. Spielberg’s short film Amblin impressed executives and made him the youngest director ever signed by a major studio.

Spielberg, the director of iconic films like Jaws and Jurassic Park, later returned to college and earned his degree in 2002 as a tribute to his parents and aspiring filmmakers. Remarkably, his professors criticized his work without realizing his identity, even waiving the typical graduation film requirement because Schindler’s List far surpassed expectations.

Ted Turner inherited his father’s billboard business in 1963 and transformed it into a media empire, eventually creating CNN, the first 24-hour news channel, in 1980. Turner, famous for his bold vision and unconventional thinking, once said, “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise!”

His entrepreneurial drive helped him amass a net worth of $2.2 BILLION as of 2020, and he is the second-largest landowner in North America. Beyond his media innovations, he’s celebrated for donating $1 billion to establish the United Nations Foundation.

According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, Musk is the richest man in the world as of Tuesday, July 1, 2025, with an estimated net worth of $398.3 billion (although Reuters puts him over $400 billion). He is worth more than $130 billion more than the next person in line, Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Forbes’ current list of 5 TOP USA BILLIONAIRES :

Elon Musk, $398.3 billion

Larry Ellison, $262.5 billion

Mark Zuckerberg, $247.5 billion

Jeff Bezos, $233.4 billion

Warren Buffett, $152 billion

      Warren Buffett. AP Images