Rags to Riches: 12 Billionaires Who Came From Poverty

Only a tiny share of those born at the bottom reach the top, yet these twelve did and altered markets across continents.

The American Dream is alive, but let’s be honest, it’s feeling a little sleepy. We love stories about someone starting with nothing, just lint in their pockets, and building an empire. It’s the ultimate validation that grit and a little luck can beat the odds. These aren’t trust fund kids who tripled their inheritance. They are the real deal, starting from the very bottom.

We’re talking about sleeping in cars, living on food stamps, or fleeing conflict with only the clothes on their back. It’s easy to look at billionaires and just see the private jets and the eye-popping bank accounts. But for these 12 people, the journey was anything but glamorous. Their stories are a masterclass in perseverance and determination.

Howard Schultz

Before Starbucks was on every corner, its founder was a kid in the Brooklyn projects. Howard Schultz grew up in subsidized housing, watching his father, a truck driver, struggle after breaking his leg. His family had no health insurance and no safety net.

That memory of his father feeling beaten down lit a fire in Schultz. He eventually found a small Seattle coffee chain and saw its potential. He wanted to build a company that would treat its employees with dignity, offering benefits and stock options to all employees, including part-time workers.

Jan Koum

Jan Koum’s story begins in a village outside Kyiv, Ukraine, where there was no hot water. When he and his mother moved to California at 16, they lived on food stamps. Koum swept the floors at a grocery store to help pay the bills.

He taught himself computer programming and landed a job at Yahoo. After being rejected for a job at Facebook, he co-founded WhatsApp. In 2014, the irony was complete: Facebook bought his company for a staggering $22 billion.

Shahid Khan

When Shahid Khan first arrived in the U.S. from Pakistan, he had $500 in his pocket. He was 16 and needed a job, so he washed dishes for $1.20 an hour. He said he felt like a millionaire because the U.S. minimum wage was higher than 99% of people in Pakistan.

He truly beat the odds, especially considering that UNICEF data shows 2.3 billion people globally face moderate or severe food insecurity. He studied engineering and later purchased the auto parts company where he worked, eventually using his wealth to acquire the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison’s start was far from the glamor of his Oracle billions. Born in the Bronx, he was given to his aunt and uncle in Chicago to raise. His adoptive father had lost his real estate business during the Depression.

Ellison dropped out of college twice and moved to California with almost nothing. He bounced between jobs before seeing the potential in database technology. He co-founded Oracle in 1977 and turned it into a software giant.

Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely’s start-up story is pure hustle. She was selling fax machines door-to-door, a job she hated, and had $5,000 in savings. She came up with an idea after cutting the feet off her pantyhose.

With no fashion or business experience, she built the Spanx empire from her apartment. According to a Forbes analysis of billionaires, approximately 70% are considered self-made. In 2012, Forbes named her the youngest self-made female billionaire.

Oprah Winfrey

You can’t talk “rags to riches” without Oprah. Born into extreme poverty in rural Mississippi, her childhood was marked by intense hardship and abuse. She was so poor growing up that she famously wore dresses made from potato sacks. It’s a story she has shared openly to inspire others.

Her breakthrough came when she transitioned into broadcasting, and her raw empathy transformed a local Chicago talk show into a global media empire. Her story is especially remarkable when examined in the context of the data; a CATO Institute study noted that only 6.1% of Americans raised in the bottom economic quintile make it to the top. She became the first Black female billionaire in U.S. history.

George Soros

George Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, posing as the son of a government employee. After the war, he fled the communist regime for London. He worked as a railway porter and a nightclub waiter to support his education.

He eventually made his way to New York and into the finance industry. His legendary—and risky—investment strategies made him a fortune. He famously made $1 billion in a single day in 1992.

Do Won Chang

The founders of Forever 21, Do Won Chang and his wife Jin Sook, are the picture of immigrant grit. They moved to America from South Korea in 1981 with very little. Do Won Chang worked three jobs to make ends meet: as a janitor, a gas station attendant, and a coffee shop worker.

After saving for three years, they opened their first small clothing store. That 900-square-foot shop grew into the fast-fashion giant Forever 21. In its first year, the store, then known as Fashion 21, generated $700,000.

Li Ka-shing

One of Asia’s richest men had a brutal start. His family fled mainland China for Hong Kong, but his father died of tuberculosis. At 14, Li was forced to drop out of school and work 16-hour days in a plastics factory.

His climb from poverty is a stark contrast to global trends; between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1% captured 41% of all new wealth created. He founded his own plastics company in 1950 and, through astute investments, expanded it into a massive conglomerate.

Sheldon Adelson

The late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson started as the son of a Boston taxi driver. His family was so poor during the Depression that he slept in a clothes drawer in a tenement. At 12, he borrowed $200 to buy his first newspaper corner.

He was a serial entrepreneur, failing at dozens of businesses before achieving success. His major success, the COMDEX computer trade show, provided him with the funds to pivot to casinos. He sold COMDEX for over $800 million in 1995.

Kenny Troutt

Kenny Troutt’s father was a bartender, and he grew up in public housing in Illinois. He paid his own way through Southern Illinois University. He sold life insurance on the side to cover his tuition.

He saw the deregulation of the phone industry as a huge opportunity. He founded Excel Communications in 1988, a long-distance provider. He took it public in 1996 and merged it with Teleglobe two years later for $3.5 billion.

Roman Abramovich

The Russian billionaire had one of the most brutal childhoods on this list. His mother died when he was one, and his father died when he was three. Raised as an orphan by relatives, he started his first business selling rubber ducks.

He dropped out of college and hustled, eventually getting into the oil business during the privatization of the Soviet Union. His success shows that even in a world where the richest 10% hold 52% of global income, breakthroughs are still possible.

Final Note

So, what’s the takeaway? While the path to a billion dollars is obviously rare, these stories show that your starting line doesn’t have to be your finish line. It’s a reminder that resilience and a good idea can still, just maybe, change the world.

15 Things Women Only Do With the Men They Love

The 15 Things Women Only Do With the Men They Love

Love is a complex, beautiful emotion that inspires profound behaviors. We express our love in various ways, some universal, while others are unique to each individual. Among these expressions, there are specific actions women often reserve for the men they deeply love.

This piece explores 15 unique gestures women make when they’re in love. From tiny, almost invisible actions to grand declarations, each tells a story of deep affection and unwavering commitment.