Billionaires, in today’s world, are synonymous with success. They become an inspiration to millions who are still on the ladder to achieving what they are aiming for. When we look at these rich people, we are often blinded by the bling of their immense wealth.
We fail to see that all this wealth was not always there for them, except in some cases. For most of them, it required blood, sweat, and tears to reach where they are today. In this article, we have listed five billionaires, who started with nothing:
Jack Ma
Founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma’s net worth is $22.8 billion. But, this wealth came to him after going through multiple downfalls. Ma recollects that when KFC came to China, 24 people applied for the job and 23 got in. Ma was the only one to get rejected. He was rejected by Harvard ten times! Now, he owns the third-largest e-commerce platform in the world.
Oprah Winfrey
CEO of The Oprah Winfrey Network and Harpo Productions with a net worth of approx $2.5 billion, Oprah did not always have a hunky-dory life. She lived through horrible times that involved incidents of racism, poverty, and sexism. She is now a role model for many and is popular for voicing the needy and the downtrodden.
Jan Koum
Jan was born and raised in a small village outside Kyiv, Ukraine, which is currently in ruins due to the Russian invasion. He was mainly raised by his mother who did odd jobs to make ends meet. Little did anyone know that a man who used to wait in line for food stamps will become a billionaire by selling one of the biggest messaging platforms to one of the biggest tech giants in the world. Jan Koum, the co-founder of WhatsApp, sold the platform to Facebook for $19 billion.
Ritesh Aggarwal
Hailing from a small town in Odisha, Ritesh came from a family with a humble background. A boy, who once used to sell sim cards to earn some pocket money, now sits atop a $10 billion empire. Ritesh, who founded OYO in 2013, is one of the youngest billionaires in the country.
Howard Schultz
Howard’s father could never afford a home. In a battered environment where his family struggled to put food on the plate for a brief period, Howard rose as the owner of the most popular café in the world, Starbucks. As per a report in Forbes, Howard’s net worth is $4 billion.
