In the first Forbes 400 [1982], oil was the source of 22.8 percent of the fortunes, manufacturing 15.3 percent, finance 9 percent, and technology 3 percent. By 2006 oil had fallen to 8.5 percent and manufacturing to 8.5 percent. Technology, however, had risen to 11.75 percent and finance to an extraordinary 24.5 percent.
And get this:
The average net worth in 2006 of Forbes 400 members without a college degree was $5.96 billion; those with a degree averaged $3.14 billion. Four of the five richest Americans -- Bill Gates, casino owner Sheldon Adelson, Oracle's Larry Ellison, and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen...-- are college dropouts.
Both are from the quite engaging All the Money in the World -- How the Forbes 400 Make -- And Spend -- Their Fortunes, by Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan.
In inflation-adjusted terms, here are the richest Americans of all time; Bill Gates is #13. Here are graphs on California vs. New York.
23 comments:
Jasmine Scherr 5th
schul is fer dummmys....so pretty much i don't need to go to college to be rich...?
Amanda Hendrix 5th
This shows that college is not always the answer. So why are we pressured so much into going? Chances are we won't turn out like Bill Gates. We can't predict our future so we have to take the best route we can to get us to where we want to be.
Honestly, college isn't for everyone. I know of many people without a college degree that are well off. Most these people I know are working through a homebased business or have started their own businesses such as interior decorating. But I think that sometimes not going to college is the reason why many people are struggling financially.
S. O'Neall 1st
I think it's interesting that you don't have to go to college to truly be successful. However, we are all told to make sure that college is in our future, when in reality, maybe we should just do what we feel is right for us.
Jessica Williams 1st
Even though selected statistics like these can mislead people into doubting the financial benefits of attending college, it is important to consider that many of these wealthy people have simply gotten lucky. Or, just as likely, these people were already set with the the determination and intelligence needed to become wealthy, so a college degree, or lack thereof, is not a determining factor in their success. For a vast majority of people, pursuing college and getting a degree will boost their income and help them to be more successful in life.
Josh Wilson 1st
Well obviously luck comes into play, but you know what? I don’t want to drop out of college just to be rich. I mean what about their family lives? What about their kids. I want to see some stats on college graduates and long term marriages. That is the true measure of success.
wow so i guess im not goin to college.
mike uryasz
I know people who did not complete high school and they are living quite comfortably. Having a piece of paper that states you completed something does not promise you learned or gained anything from the experience. You very well could be just a dumb as you were before.
Alicia Martinez 1st
In my opinion, college is not what leads to success, initiative is. Any person can become financially successful if he or she has the neccessary initiative. Not to discount the importance of education, but there are other paths to success besides school.
Zak Harris 1st
That comment was me. 9:07. I forgot to put my name.
It seems as though young teens are pressured into going to college. It is said that we will make more money, be more successful, and learn more about life. All this may be true, but in the end, Bill Gates and such are living proof that college isn't always the key to a successful business life. Success isn't always found by taking the same path as everyone else. It is found by inovations and new ideas.
i forgot to do my name too. 4:23
tanner weil 1st
i think that even though these people became some of the richest in the world, it doesnt mean they stayed home on the couch and something like,"hey im goin to event a company and call microsoft" hit them right in the face. I think we need school not to be successful but to give us that little extra push.
Will H. 2nd period
Haley Terry 5th
I think it's important to recognize that some of today's most successful people don't have the traditional college education everyone deems absolutely necessary. However, I don't think that the students of today should take too much to this idea because of the great risk they would be taking. A college education is necessary for most people for the simple fact that a high school education leaves many behind while the rest of the people in world who are in college are moving so far ahead.
Katie Groneman, 5th
I think that college wouldn't be such a necessary route to make a good living if people learned more valuable lessons in school. Lessons that deal with life instead of focusing on standardized testing would be more efficient in achieving the successes that Bill Gates and many others have. Today high schools are just focused on test scores and not on imparting much needed knowledge to make it in the "real" world. By learning life lessons in high school, people wouldn't have to go to college to make a good living and they could have the chance of becoming rich like Bill Gates without a college degree.
It is evident that it is not always essential for someone to go to college. For some people it is a necessity, but for others it may just be a waste of time. You don't have to spend hours of your life preparing for the future if you already have the assets that you need to obtain success.
Emily Hemmings
This is a sorry article because the 400 forbes people are so elite in stature it doesn't matter what they do... College is truly one of the best ways for anyone to rise to the top of their game... or business.
Mark Scioli
Personally, I would not want to take the chance of dropping out of college for the one in a billion chance of becoming a billionaire. College is our safety net for the future. These successful men are either extremely talented or extremely lucky. With college their is almost a guarantee of success and I want the guarantee!! Sarah Young- 1st
Ok so these geniuses didn't finish or go to college...it's because they are just that- geniuses. There is a reason they have made so much money. As for the other people who are involved with Forbes 400 there has to be a reason why they did not finish or did not go to college. I'm sure in most cases these people were brilliant and were offered these positions right out of high school. Who knows.... These people were most likely just very fortunate. It's obvious that today a college degree will not make you as rich as Bill Gates, but in some cases it will make you that much more money, or put you ahead of someone in a race for a job.
College is important both for learning and growing as a person. For a lot of people, it's where they mature--Lord knows if some people don't have that time to grow up society might crumble.
Elizabeth Abbott, 5th
These college dropouts made a lot of money, true, but what about the rest of the dropouts? The reason they publicize these people is because they are out of the norm. They had a great idea or tapped into a very valuable resource. That's great for them. We need to remember something though, their fortune was not guaranteed. They could have ended up working at McDonald's. I think that students should be encouraged to go to college because it will at least give them a plan B. If they're great idea or valuable resource doesn't happen, they have something to fall back on.
Carter Bowers 5th
Wow, I was shocked that Bill Gates was 13th considering inflation. Rockefeller and those guys must have had A LOT of power back in thier time.
The statistics of the average american college drop out being as successful as the top 4 richest people are not strong enough for it to be something we make our decisions from. Also, you should always have a plan to fall back on. Having a college degree will increase the chances of you being successful in life.
Shane Kealy, 2nd period
It shows us 'it is not necessary to finish college to be super successful in business' . But this statement is absolutely not include either 'do not have to or need to go college' . In other hand, if look whole picture; the percentage of become 'good enough' after finishing college, probably a lot and a lot more than percentage of become 'extraordinary' with dropping college.I think,if i understand from math :), when We see 4 person become super rich with dropping college, it suppose to make sense like "4 person out of tousands of people dropping college make (4/1000...0) chance to become super rich on that way..." and i can see it is not a good deal...I would like to finish my education, even i am not getting chance to be super rich... (:
F.Berkan Anarat 2nd Period
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