Bill Gates Didn't Need Harvard
If you're thinking about hitting that snooze button for your 8 a.m. calculus class, you might want to go ahead and do it. Many of today's rich and famous dropped out of school and ended up making way over six figures. If you're like these folks, walking out on your college education could be the best thing you ever do for your bank account.
The billionaire of Microsoft could only build Microsoft if he dropped out of Harvard. While his parents might have been mad at first, I'm sure they're cool with it now that he's worth $89 billion.
No School For Thomas Edison
Easily one of history's most known inventors, Edison also founded General Electric despite being labeled as dumb and scatterbrain by his school teachers. Talk about revenge.
Orji Uzor Kalu Got Kicked Out Of College
The young billionaire is one of Africa's richest men because he made the most of out of being booted from college after a student’s protest. Rather than sulking, he grew his business and made bank.
He is now worth $7.5 billion.
Li Ka Shing Didn't Go To Class
The owner of one of the largest conglomerates in Hong Kong dropped out of school at the tender age of 15. He started making his millions just by selling watch bands, and is now worth $31.2 billion.
Richard Branson Skipped Class
Branson dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start his first business venture, and he bought his own 79-acre Caribbean island when he was just 24. He's now worth $4.9 billion.
How's that homework lookin' now?
No One Believed In Lawrence J. Ellison
Larry Ellison dropped out of college not once, but twice and was told by his adoptive father that he would never amount to anything, Still, he went on to create Oracle, the world's second-largest software company, and is worth $28 billion.
Michael Dell Didn't Need A College Degree
Dropping out of college at 19 might sound like a really bad idea, but it worked out just fine for the founder of Dell Computers. He is now worth $20.8 billion.
Steve Jobs Chose Starting A Business Over College
The father of the iPhone dropped out of Reed College so he could start Apple Inc. Needless to say, it was a pretty smart move.
He was worth $10.2 billion by the time of his death.
Henry Ford Didn't Need A Teacher
Ford never stepped foot inside a classroom, yet he went on to build Ford Motor Company and become one of the richest men who ever lived. In today's dollars, he'd be worth $199 billion.
Walt Disney Let His Imagination Make His Money
This high school dropout left at 16 years old and then named a company after himself that now has an annual revenue of about $30 billion.
Ray Kroc Didn't Go To School
After not attending school and spending most of his life as a salesman, Kroc made his move into success when he bought McDonald's and turned it into the king of the fast food industry it is today. By the time of his death in 1984, Kroc had turned McDonald's into an $8 billion company.
Debbi Fields Made Her Fortune In The Kitchen
With literally no education or business experience, this former housewife created one of the most successful cookie businesses ever, which she later renamed, franchised and sold to make even more cash money. She is now worth $65 million.
Cosmos Maduka Left Elementary School
This billionaire didn't waste his time sitting through spelling bees or long division. He dropped out in elementary school and went on to found the Coscharis Group, and has an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
Ingvar Kamprad Didn't Need A Course To Teach Him About Furniture
Kamprad dropped out of high school at 17 to start creating the furniture you love to buy but hate to put together. If it wasn't for his lack of formal education, IKEA wouldn't exist, and he wouldn't have $23 billion.
No School For Carl Lindner
At 14, Lindner stopping going to school so he could deliver milk for his family dairy. Thankfully, that gig eventually led to him founding United Dairy Farmers, and a $2.3 billion fortune.
Simon Cowell Didn't Care If People Judged Him For Dropping Out
Your favorite TV talent competition judge dropped out of school when he was 16 and started his own record label at 23. Needless to say, things worked out pretty well with $550 million to his name.
Mary Kay Ash Didn't Do Homework
Mary Kay Ash was never in school, but she still managed to create one of the most well-known beauty companies in the nation and has a net worth of $3 billion. No formal education required.
Coco Chanel Made Her Way Without A Degree
The woman with one of the most notable names ever didn't have to attend school to know how to get an A in fashion, or a personal fortune of $19 billion.
There Was Nothing Garbage About Wayne Huizenga's Idea To Drop Out
The only person in history to build three Fortune 1000 companies from scratch dropped out of college to help his buddy with a garbage collection business. That, and his other business ventures, earned him a $2.6 billion net worth.
Barry Diller Didn't Want To Sit In Class
Rather than sit through a bunch of lectures, this billionaire dropped out of college to start what is now the Fox Broadcasting Company. Highly doubt he has any regrets with $2.5 billion to his name.
Andrew Carnegie Didn't Need An Education
Born close to the poverty line, this founder of Carnegie Steel Company didn't need a formal education to become one of the richest men in history. In today's dollars, his final net worth was $310 billion.
Sir Philip Green Left School As A Teen
This retail mogul dropped out of school when he was a teenager, and though he had a slow start at first, he made his first million at the age of 33. He is worth $3.8 billion.
Madame C. J. Walker Made It Despite The Odds
Despite being born into a family of ex-slaves and being widowed at the age of 20, she started her own cosmetics business and went on to be the first American self-made female millionaire in today's dollars ($6 million to be precise).
Mark Zuckerberg Didn't Post Any Graduation Photos
The current youngest billionaire in the world left Harvard to start his social networking company, Facebook. He was worth $4 billion by the time he was 23.
Ted Turner Was Told He Couldn't Make It
This media mogul who founded CNN wasn't primed for success. He was a high school dropout who was always told by people that he wouldn't make it. His estimated net worth today?
$2.3 billion.
Cornelius Vanderbilt Was One Of The Richest Men In History
One of the richest men in history didn't get that way by sitting in math class. He dropped out of school at age 11 and began operating his own boat when he was 16.
In today's dollars, he was worth $215 billion!
There Were No Classes On Beanie Babies For Ty Warner
This private billionaire didn't have to go to school to learn how to make a ton of money. He even made $700 million one year on Beanie Babies without any advertising.
Howard Hughes Flew His Way To Success
This college dropout became a millionaire after founding his own aircraft company. Guess they didn't teach how to make a ton of money the way Hughes could.
In today's dollars, Hughes was worth an estimated $3.8 billion.
Giorgio Armani Didn't Make The Honor Roll
This fashion icon and billionaire dropped out of medical school because he couldn't handle the sight of blood. He's probably happy to have found his calling with a personal fortune of over $8 billion.
Asa Candler Is Proof You Don't Need An Education To Make Billions
Founder of the world's most popular brand of soda pop, Coca Cola, this billionaire dropped out of school when he was just 10 years old.
Milton Hershey Kissed School Goodbye
The founder of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate became a billionaire with only a fourth-grade education. His net worth is hard to pin down, but exceeded $100 million in today's money.
Frank Lloyd Wright Never Saw A Classroom
He became the most influential architect of the twentieth century by designing more than 1,100 projects — even though he never saw the four walls of high school.
Business School Wasn't Necessary For David Geffen
Geffen became the billionaire founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks even though he never even took a class at a business school. He is worth an estimated $6 billion.
Billy Joe McCombs Was Not A Fan Of Homework
Billy Joe McCombs didn't become the founder of Clear Channel media and a successful real estate investor by spending all his time doing homework. He is worth an estimated $1.4 billion.
Craig McCaw Was A Drop Out
The billionaire founder of McCaw Cellular Craig McCaw was a dropout. Mainly because they don't teach you how to name a billion-dollar business after yourself.
He's worth $1.85 billion as of 2015.
Dave Thomas Didn't Pull Any All-Nighters To Study
You can thank the founder of Wendy's for dropping out of school and creating a business that caters to your weekly fast food runs. When he died in 2002, he was worth an estimated $99 million.
No Pop Quizzes For Jay Van Andel
The billionaire co-founder of Amway didn't learn his business skills by taking standardized tests, doing math homework or preparing for any pop quizzes. His controversial multi-level marketing business has earned him a personal fortune of $2.3 billion.
His son Steve, pictured, has carried on the family business since 1995.
Micky Jagtiani Learned By Doing
The billionaire retailer and owner of Landmark International didn't gain his skills from a classroom, he learned by doing — and boy, did he do well with a personal fortune of $5 billion.
John Paul DeJoria Was Even Homeless Once
The billionaire co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and Patron Spirits tequila John Paul DeJoria dropped out of school. After a stint of homelessness, he went on to become a very, very rich man with a net worth of $4.6 billion.
David Green Crafted His Own Education
You can personally thank David Green, the billionaire founder of Hobby Lobby, for dropping out of school and creating a crafting heaven for all to use. He has a personal net worth of $5.1 billion.
Frederick “Freddy” Laker Didn't Graduate
The billionaire airline entrepreneur Frederick “Freddy” Laker is probably flying high on his decision to drop out of school and create his own successful business.
Kirk Kerkorian Has It Figured Out
This billionaire investor is also the owner of Mandalay Bay and Mirage Resorts and MGM movie studio. His personal fortune is estimated at just under $4 billion.
So yeah, Kirk Kerkorian pretty much has it all figured out.
Leandro Rizzuto Didn't Go To Beauty School
The billionaire founder of Conair, Leandro Rizzuto, is probably hair flipping left and right for his decision to drop out of school and make his own company. He has a reported net worth of $3.2 billion.
Leslie Wexner Wasn't Limited By His Decision To Drop Out
The billionaire founder of Limited Brands made his money outside of the walls of a formal education by creating a brand for pre-teen girls. It paid off, with a net worth of $6.1 billion.
Marc Rich Was Destined To Be Rich
The billionaire commodities investor and founder of Marc Rich & Co. made his $1 billion not by graduating, but by dropping out and focusing his efforts on his own businesses.
S. Daniel Abraham Paved His Own Route
The billionaire founder of Slim-Fast S. Daniel Abraham (center) didn't make his $2.1 billion net worth by going through the motions of school and college, but by paving his own route.
Ralph Lauren Didn't Need Fashion School
Ralph Lauren is a billionaire fashion mogul who studied business at Baruch College for two years and dropped out, probably after realizing he didn't need it. He is worth an estimated $6 billion.
Dean Kamen Made It Without A Full Education
Kamen holds more than 80 U.S. patents, is famous for the Segwey PT, Auto syringe and IBOT robotic wheelchair — and dropped out of Worcester Polytechnic.
Still, he's worth $500 million.
Dhirubhai Ambani Started From Scratch
Dhirubhai Ambani was the famous founder of Reliance Group and father to two billionaires: Anil and Mukesh Ambani. He started Reliance Industries from scratch and never went to school.
His son Mukesh is worth a stunning $29 billion.