An extract from an article I read a while ago that shaped my thinking and pushed me to levels I never thought were possible. College is a great way to improve your life but it’s not for everyone. With hard work and determination you can be successful even without a college degree. These people made names for themselves without going to college at all and prove that it’s possible to get a real world education outside the ivory tower. Millionaires & Billionaires College will improve your lifetime earning potential, but it didn’t make a difference for these people. 1.John D. Rockefeller, Sr.: This high school dropout was the first American billionaire. 2.Kirk Kerkorian: Kirk Kerkorian is said to be the richest man in Los Angeles with a personal fortune of $16 billion, although he dropped out of school in the 8th grade. 3.Mark Zuckerberg: This young billionaire started Facebook on summer vacation. 4.Sheldon Adelson: Sheldon Adelson dropped out of City College of New York before earning enough credits for a degree. 5.Stanley Ho: The King of Gambling left college after a couple years. 6.Kevin Rose: Rose used house down payment money to start the website Digg, although he dropped out of UNLV. Artists & Musicians Check out these artists that didn’t need formal training. 1.Frank Lloyd Wright: Frank Lloyd Wright left high school behind to work in the University of Wisconsin’s Engineering department. 2.William Eggleston: William Eggleston attended Vanderbilt and the University of Mississippi without graduating from either. 3.Ansel Adams: Photographer Ansel Adams was educated through homeschooling and grammar school. 4.Christina Aguilera: Christina was pulled out of high school because of kids who were jealous of her fame. 5.Ray Charles: Beloved musician Ray Charles left school at 15 after his mother died. 6.Andre Benjamin: More commonly known as Andre 3000, Andre Benjamin earned a high school equivalency degree. 7.Eminem: Eminem’s education ended in high school. 8.Cher: Cher’s career began at the age of 17. 9.Louis Armstrong: Louis Armstrong dropped out of the Fisk School for Boys at 11, and joined a quartet of boys. 10.Tom Petty: Tom Petty dropped out of high school at 17 to join the band Mud Crutch. 11.Glen Campbell: By 18, Glen Campbell was on tour as part of the Western Wranglers. 12.Sheldon Harvey: Sheldon Harvey left high school to care for his wife and son, and later attended community college without graduating. 13.Coco Chanel: Her work is studied in colleges, but Coco Chanel did not attend one. Entrepreneurs These respected entrepreneurs did it all without a degree. 1.Mary Kay Ash: Mary Kay Ash’s family could not afford to send her to college, but she was able to build a successful cosmetics company. 2.Jack Taylor: Jack Taylor founded Enterprise Rent-A-Car, although he dropped out of college in World War II. 3.Mike Hudack: Mike Hudack never went to college, but he founded blip.tv. 4.Paul Allen: Paul Allen dropped out of Washington University to co-found Microsoft with Bill Gates. 5.W. Clement Stone: W. Clement Stone dropped out of elementary school, although he later too high school night courses and some college. 6.Debbi Fields: Mrs. Fields turned her chocolate chip cookie recipe into a successful food franchise. 7.Sir Richard Branson: Richard Branson dropped out of high school, but he went on to successfully publish "Student" magazine. 8.Larry Ellison: Before starting Oracle Corporation, he dropped out of both the University of Illinois and University of Chicago. 9.Arthur Ernest Morgan: Engineer Arthur Ernest Morgan learned the practice by apprenticeship. 10.Ted Turner: Ted Turner was rejected by Princeton and Harvard. 11.Bill Gates: Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world, but he was a college dropout. 12.John Carmack: The cofounder of id Software John Carmack dropped out of University of Missouri. 13.Michael Dell: The founder of Dell dropped out of college when his dorm room business began grossing about $80,000 per month. 14.David Karp: Although David Karp dropped out of the Bronx High School of Science at 15, he founded Tumblr. 15.Milton Hershey: Milton Hershey started his own chocolate company with only a 4th grade education. 16.Dave Thomas: Dave Thomas got his first job at 12, dropped out of school at 15, invested in KFC, and opened his first Wendy’s. 17.Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren studied business for two years before dropping out of college. 18.Ty Warner: Toy tycoon Ty Warner dropped out of Kalamazoo College to sell stuffed animals. 19.Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs attended only one semester of college. Actors Although they didn’t go to college, these actors are still well-respected. 1.John Travolta: John Travolta started his movie career at the age of 16 when he dropped out of high school. 2.Julie Andrews: Julie Andrews, Oscar winning actress, singer and author dropped out of high school. 3.Pierce Brosnan: Before his stage acting career, Pierce Brosnan left school at 16. 4.Kevin Bacon: Kevin Bacon skipped college to go to New York and study drama. 5.Ellen Burstyn: Ellen Burstyn left home at 18 before her Broadway debut. 6.Johnny Depp: Johnny Depp dropped out of high school to become a movie star. 7.Ellen DeGeneres: Ellen DeGeneres only studied one year at the University of New Orleans to work odd jobs while getting started as a comedienne. 8.Raymond Burr: Actor Raymond Burr claimed to attend Stanford and Columbia, but he never actually went to college. 9.Steve Martin: Steve Martin dropped out of college at 21. 10.James Dean: After earning the role of Malcolm in Macbeth, James Dean left UCLA in pursuit of full-time acting. 11.Marisa Tomei: Marisa Tomei attended Boston University and New York University, but didn’t graduate from either before pursuing work with As the World Turns. 12.Brad Pitt: Brad Pitt left the University of Missouri two weeks before graduation to take acting classes in LA. 13.Chris Rock: Comedian and actor Chris Rock was a high school dropout at the age of 17. 14.Halle Berry: Halle Berry moved to Chicago immediately after high school to start her modeling and acting career. 15.Nicholas Cage: Although he dropped out of Beverly High School at 17, Nicholas Cage has become one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. 16.Michael J. Fox: Michael J. Fox’s education did not extend past high school. 17.Jim Carrey: Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey left high school at 16. 18.Tom Hanks: Tom Hanks dropped out of college to be an intern at the Great Lakes Theater Festival. 19.Michael Caine: Michael Caine, Oscar winning actor, dropped out of high school. 20.Joe Pesci: Joe Pesci went from high school dropout to making $3,000,000 from Lethal Weapon. Inventors These inventors created using just their ingenuity. 1.Henry Ford: Ford left home at 16 to apprentice as a machinist. 2.Steve Wozniak: The Woz dropped out of college to design calculators at Hewlett-Packard. 3.Thomas Edison: Thomas Edison only went to school for a few months, but his mother taught him at home. 4.Dean Kamen: Dean Kamen dropped out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but he holds more than 80 US patents.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 09:35:39 +0000
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