Educating the Great Entrepreneurs

Written By Dave Lavinsky
Educating the great entrepreneurs text with a green man icon jumping with hands raised up

Can Entrepreneurship be learned?

How can we better support the development of more ultra-successful entrepreneurs?

For years, people have been debating whether entrepreneurship can be learned. It’s also been debated whether entrepreneurs need advanced degrees like MBAs. And finally, there’s always been the debate whether public school or private school (or home schooling) is best to educate and foster the success of future entrepreneurs.

In this piece, we’ve tried to answer these questions.

We started by creating the list of the top 100 entrepreneurs of today. Obviously this is a subjective list. And one with which not everyone will agree.

We then researched the educational backgrounds of these great entrepreneurs. The Infographic below highlights our main findings.

We hope this is the start to figuring out how to best support the development of future generations of great entrepreneurs.

Educating the Great Entrepreneurs

Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson headshot
Famous For: Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp
Sector: Casinos/Hotels
Date of Birth: April 4, 1933
High School Attended: Cathedral High School
College Attended: City College of New York
Estimated Net Worth: $34.4 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Reggie Aggarwal
Reggie Aggarwal headshot
Famous For: Founder, Cvent
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1971
High School Attended: Thomas Edison High School
College Attended: BS degree from the University of Virginia, a Juris Doctorate from Washington and Lee University Law School, and an LLM (post-law degree) from Georgetown University Law School.
Estimated Net Worth: $86 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Sophia Amoruso
Sophia Amoruso headshot
Famous For: Founder of NastyGal.com (online retailer of fashion for young women)
Sector: Retail/eCommerce
Date of Birth: April 20, 1984
High School Attended: Grew up in the suburbs of Sacramento
College Attended: City College of San Francisco (dropped out)
Estimated Net Worth: $250 million
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Netscape, Ning and others
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: July 9, 1971
High School Attended: New Lisbon High School
College Attended: University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana
Estimated Net Worth: $600 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Micky Arison
Micky Arison headshot
Famous For: Carnival Cruise Lines and owner of Miami Heat
Sector: Travel
Date of Birth: June 29, 1949
High School Attended: Local Public High School
College Attended: University of Miami
Estimated Net Worth: $5.9 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Alexander Asseily
Alexander Asseily headshot

Famous For: Co-founder of Jawbone (wearable technology and audio devices)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1975
High School Attended: Born in Beirut, family relocated to London during his childhood
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: Company valued at $1.5 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Noam Bardin
Noam Bardin headshot

Famous For: Co-founder of Deltathree (VoIP service); CEO of Waze (social GPS app)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: May 18, 1971
High School Attended: Handesaim High School
College Attended: Hebrew University; Harvard University
Estimated Net Worth: $747 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Andy Bechtolsheim
Andy Bechtolsheim headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Sun Microsystems
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: September 30, 1955
High School Attended: Lindau Bodensee-Gymnasium
College Attended: University of Technology, Munich; Carnegie Mellon University; Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $2.8 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff headshot
Famous For: Founder of Salesforce.com
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: September 25, 1964
High School Attended: Burlingame High School
College Attended: University of Southern California
Estimated Net Worth: $2.6 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos headshot
Famous For: Founder of Amazon.com
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 12, 1964
High School Attended: Miami Palmetto High School
College Attended: Princeton University
Estimated Net Worth: $33 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Sara Blakely
Sara Blakely headshot
Famous For: Founder of Spanx
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: February 21, 1971
High School Attended: Clearwater High School
College Attended: Florida State University
Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg headshot
Famous For: Bloomberg L.P.
Sector: Finance
Date of Birth: February 14, 1942
High School Attended: Medford High School
College Attended: Johns Hopkins and Harvard
Estimated Net Worth: $31 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Richard Branson
Richard Branson headshot
Famous For: Founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Mobile
Sector: Entertainment
Date of Birth: July 18, 1950
High School Attended: Stowe School
College Attended: None
Estimated Net Worth: $4.6 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Google
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 21, 1973
High School Attended: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
College Attended: University of Maryland; Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $24.4 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Tory Burch
Tony Burch headshot
Famous For: Founded TRB by Tory Burch fashion label
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: June 17, 1966
High School Attended: Agnes Irwin School
College Attended: University of Pennsylvania
Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Steve Case
Steve Case headshot
Famous For: Co-founder America Online
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 21, 1958
High School Attended: Punahou School
College Attended: Williams College
Estimated Net Worth: $1.2 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Pete Cashmore
Pete Cashmore headshot
Famous For: Founder of Mashable
Sector: Publishing
Date of Birth: September 18, 1985
High School Attended: Banchory Academy
College Attended: None
Estimated Net Worth: $95 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Robin Chase
Robin Chase headshot
Famous For: Founded ZipCar and BuzzCar
Sector: Consumer Services
Date of Birth: 1958
High School Attended: Attended school in the Middle East
College Attended: Wellesley College and the MIT Sloan School of Management
Estimated Net Worth: Company was bought for $491 million
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Steve Chen
Steve Chen headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of YouTube
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 18, 1978
High School Attended: John Hersey High School
College Attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Estimated Net Worth: $326 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Brian Chesky
Brian Chesky headshot
Famous For: Founder of Airbnb
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 29, 1981
High School Attended: Niskayuna High School
College Attended: Rhode Island School of Design
Estimated Net Worth: Company valued at $1.5 – $2.5 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

James Clark
James Clark headshot
Famous For: Co-founded Netscape
Sector: Communications
Date of Birth: March 23, 1944
High School Attended: Dropped out and went to Navy
College Attended: Louisiana State University and University of Utah
Estimated Net Worth: $1.4 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Kenneth Cole
Kenneth Cole headshot
Famous For: Kenneth Cole Productions
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: March 23, 1954
High School Attended: John L. Miller Great Neck North High School
College Attended: Emory College of Arts
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban headshot
Famous For: Founder of HDNet and owner of Dallas Mavericks
Sector: Media/Sports
Date of Birth: July 31, 1958
High School Attended: Mount Lebanon High School
College Attended: University of Pittsburgh, Kelley School of Business and Indiana University
Estimated Net Worth: $2.4 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Adam D’Angelo
Adam D'Angelo headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Quora (online knowledge market)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1984
High School Attended: Phillips Exeter Academy
College Attended: California Institute of Technology
Estimated Net Worth: $680 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Michael Dell
Michael Dell headshot
Famous For: Founder of Dell
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: February 23, 1965
High School Attended: Memorial High School
College Attended: University of Texas in Austin (dropped out at age 19)
Estimated Net Worth: $15.3 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Fred DeLuca
Fred Deluca headshot
Famous For: Founder of Subway restaurants
Sector: Restaurants
Date of Birth: 1947
High School Attended: Central High School
College Attended: University of Bridgeport
Estimated Net Worth: $2.8 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Twitter and Founder of Square
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: November 19, 1976
High School Attended: Bishop DuBourg High School
College Attended: Missouri University of Science and Technology; New York University
Estimated Net Worth: $2.1 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov headshot
Famous For: Launched Vkontakte (Russia’s version of Facebook)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1987
High School Attended: Academy Gymnasium in St. Petersburg
College Attended: Saint Petersburg State University
Estimated Net Worth: $260 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

James Dyson
James Dyson headshot
Famous For: Invented bagless vacuum cleaner and Dyson Corp.
Sector: Consumer Goods
Date of Birth: May 2, 1947
High School Attended: Gresham Boarding School
College Attended: Byam Shaw School of Art and Royal College of Art
Estimated Net Worth: $4.8 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek headshot
Famous For: Founded Spotify
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: February 21, 1983
High School Attended: Attended school in Sweden
College Attended: KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Estimated Net Worth: $310 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison headshot
Famous For: Oracle
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 17, 1944
High School Attended: Sullivan High School
College Attended: University of Chicago; University of Illinois, Urbana
Estimated Net Worth: $41 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Shawn Fanning
Shawn Fanning headshot
Famous For: Developed Napster
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: November 22, 1980
High School Attended: Harwich High School
College Attended: Northeastern University
Estimated Net Worth: $7.5 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Arash Ferdowsi
Arash Ferdowsi headshot
Famous For: Founder of Dropbox
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: October 7, 1985
High School Attended: Blue Valley Northwest High School
College Attended: MIT (dropped out in 4th year)
Estimated Net Worth: $400 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta headshot
Famous For: UFC OWNER
Sector: Entertainment
Date of Birth: January 1, 1969
High School Attended: Italy
College Attended: University of California; San Diego and NYU
Estimated Net Worth: $1.3 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Debbi Fields
Debbi Fields headshot
Famous For: Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
Sector: Bakery
Date of Birth: September 18, 1957
High School Attended: Alameda High School
College Attended: Foothill College
Estimated Net Worth: $65 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Bill Gates
Bill Gates headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Microsoft
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: October 28, 1955
High School Attended: Lakeside School
College Attended: Harvard (dropped out in junior year)
Estimated Net Worth: $72 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

David Geffen
David Geffen headshot
Famous For: DreamWorks
Sector: Film
Date of Birth: February 23, 1943
High School Attended: New Utrecht High School
College Attended: University of Austin, Texas
Estimated Net Worth: $6 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Gilbert headshot
Famous For: Founder of Quicken Loans
Sector: Finance
Date of Birth: January 17, 1962
High School Attended: Southfield-Lathrup High School
College Attended: Michigan State and Wayne State
Estimated Net Worth: $3.9 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Paul Graham
Paul Graham headshot
Famous For: Founding partner of Y Combinator (startup accelerator)
Sector: Finance
Date of Birth: November 13, 1964
High School Attended: Gateway High School
College Attended: Cornell University; Harvard University
Estimated Net Worth: $40 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Reed Hastings
Reed Hastings headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Netflix
Sector: Rental and Leasing Services
Date of Birth: October 8, 1960
High School Attended: Buckingham Browne & Nichols School
College Attended: Bowdoin College; Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $280 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of LinkedIn
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 5, 1967
High School Attended: The Putney School
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $4.4 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Drew Houston
Drew Houston headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Dropbox
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: March 4, 1983
High School Attended: Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
College Attended: MIT
Estimated Net Worth: $450 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Tony Hsieh
Tony Hsieh headshot
Famous For: Zappos
Sector: E-commerce
Date of Birth: December 12, 1973
High School Attended: The Branson School
College Attended: Harvard
Estimated Net Worth: $840 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington headshot
Famous For: Founder of The Huffington Post
Sector: Publishing
Date of Birth: July 15, 1950
High School Attended: Entered Cambridge at the age of 16
College Attended: University of Cambridge
Estimated Net Worth: $35 million
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Chad Hurley
Chad Hurley headshot
Famous For: Co-Founder of YouTube
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 24, 1977
High School Attended: Twin Valley High School
College Attended: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Estimated Net Worth: $335 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Naveen Jain
Naveen Jain headshot
Famous For: Founder of InfoSpace
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: September 6, 1959
High School Attended: Grew up in India
College Attended: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
XLRI School of Business and Human Resources
Estimated Net Worth: $2.2 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Daymond John
Daymond John headshot
Famous For: Founder of FUBU
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: February 23, 1969
High School Attended: Bayside High School
College Attended: Did not attend
Estimated Net Worth: $250 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Uber
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1976
High School Attended: Grew up in Los Angeles
College Attended: UCLA (dropped out)
Estimated Net Worth: $1.5 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Robert Kalin
Robert Kalin headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Etsy
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: April 11, 1980
High School Attended: High School drop-out
College Attended: Attended 5 colleges, including School of the Museum of Fine Arts, MIT and New York University
Estimated Net Worth: $28 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Min Kao
Min Kao headshot
Famous For: Co-founder Garmin
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1949
High School Attended: Taiwan
College Attended: Doctorate, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Master of Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Bachelor of Arts / Science, National Taiwan University
Estimated Net Worth: $2.3 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Jawed Karim
Jawed Karim headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of YouTube
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 1, 1979
High School Attended: Central High School
College Attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $140 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

David Karp
David Karp headshot
Famous For: Founder of Tumblr
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: July 6, 1986
High School Attended: Bronx High School of Science; Homeschool
College Attended: None
Estimated Net Worth: $200 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: Y
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Salman Khan
Salman Khan headshot
Famous For: Founder of Khan Academy
Sector: Education
Date of Birth: October 11, 1976
High School Attended: Grace King High School
College Attended: MIT; Harvard Business School
Estimated Net Worth: NA
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Sun Microsystems
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 28, 1955
High School Attended: Grew up in India
College Attended: IIT Delhi, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Estimated Net Worth: $1.5 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Phil Knight
Phil Knight headshot
Famous For: Nike
Sector: Retail
Date of Birth: February 24, 1938
High School Attended: Cleveland High School
College Attended: University of Oregon
Estimated Net Worth: $14.4 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Mike Krieger
Mike Krieger headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Instagram
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: March 4, 1986
High School Attended: Raised in multiple cities throughout the world
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $99 million
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren headshot
Famous For: Founder of Ralph Lauren
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: 1940
High School Attended: DeWitt Clinton High School
College Attended: Did not attend college
Estimated Net Worth: $7.7 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Sahil Lavingia
Sahil Lavingia headshot
Famous For: Founder of Gumroad (digital product marketplace)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1993
High School Attended: Singapore American School
College Attended: University of Southern California
Estimated Net Worth: $200 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Aaron Levie
Aaron Levie headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Box (online file sharing and cloud content management service for businesses)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
High School Attended: Mercer Island High School
College Attended: Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Palantir Technologies (data security firm)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: September 12, 1982
High School Attended: Mission San Jose High School
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: Company valued at $5 to $8 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Jack Ma
Jack Ma headshot
Famous For: Founder of Alibaba
Sector: E-commerce
Date of Birth: October 15, 1964
High School Attended: Attended school in China
College Attended: Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute
Estimated Net Worth: $3.4 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

John Mackey
John Mackey headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Whole Foods Market
Sector: Grocery
Date of Birth: 1953
High School Attended: Memorial High School
College Attended: Trinity University; University of Texas (Enrolled and dropped out 6 times)
Estimated Net Worth: 2013 company revenue $12.92 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Steve Madden
Steve Madden headshot
Famous For: Founder of Steve Madden Ltd.
Sector: Fashion
Date of Birth: 1958
High School Attended: Lawrence High School
College Attended: University of Miami (dropped out after two years)
Estimated Net Worth: $120 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Andrew Mason
Andrew Mason headshot
Famous For: Founder of Groupon
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1980
High School Attended: Mt. Lebanon High School
College Attended: Northwestern University; University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy (dropped out of master’s program within months)
Estimated Net Worth: $230 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw headshot
Famous For: Founder of Biocon (biopharmaceutical company)
Sector: Pharmaceutical
Date of Birth: March 23, 1953
High School Attended: Bishop Cotton Girl’s High School
College Attended: Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University; Ballarat College, Melbourne University
Estimated Net Worth: $655 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Dave McClure
Dave McClure headshot
Famous For: Founder of 500 Startups (business incubator)
Sector: Finance
Date of Birth: 1966
High School Attended: Howard High School
College Attended: Johns Hopkins University
Estimated Net Worth: NA
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Scott McNealy
Scott McNealy headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Sun Microsystems
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: November 13, 1954
High School Attended: Cranbrook Schools
College Attended: Harvard and Stanford
Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Matt Mickiewicz
Matt Mickiewicz headshot
Famous For: Launched 99designs and Flippa
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1987
High School Attended: Did not finish
College Attended: None
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: N
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Dave Morin
Dave Morin headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Path (a social networking-enabled photo sharing and messaging service for mobile devices)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: October 14, 1980
High School Attended: Capital High School
College Attended: University of Colorado
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

John Morris
John Morris headshot
Famous For: Founded Bass ProShops
Sector: Retail
Date of Birth: 1948
High School Attended: NA
College Attended: Drury University
Estimated Net Worth: $4 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Matthew Charles Mullenweg
Matthew Charles Mullenweg headshot
Famous For: Founder of WordPress
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 11, 1984
High School Attended: High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
College Attended: University of Houston (dropped out)
Estimated Net Worth: $40 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Bobby Murphy
Bobby Murphy headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Snapchat
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1989
High School Attended: NA
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: Company valued at $3 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: NA
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Elon Musk
Elon Musk headshot
Famous For: Founder or Co-founder of SpaceX, PayPal, Tesla Motors and more
Sector: Energy
Date of Birth: June 28, 1971
High School Attended: Pretoria Boys High School
College Attended: University of Pennsylvania
Estimated Net Worth: $6.7 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Omidyar headshot
Famous For: Founder of eBay
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: June 21, 1967
High School Attended: St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
College Attended: Tufts University
Estimated Net Worth: $8.5 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Tim O’Shaugnessy
Tim O'Shaugnessy headshot
Famous For: Founder of Living Social
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1983
High School Attended: St. Thomas Academy
College Attended: Georgetown University
Estimated Net Worth: $180 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Larry Page
Larry Page headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Google
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: March 26, 1973
High School Attended: East Lansing High School
College Attended: University of Michigan; Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $21.1 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Robert Pera
Robert Pera headshot
Famous For: Ubiquiti Networks
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1978
High School Attended: NA
College Attended: University of California, San Diego
Estimated Net Worth: $1.95 billion
Public High School: NA
Private High School: NA
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Mark Pincus
Mark Pincus headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Zynga
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: February 13, 1966
High School Attended: Francis W. Parker School
College Attended: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Harvard Business School
Estimated Net Worth: $1.8 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Kevin Plank
Kevin Plank headshot
Famous For: CEO and Chairman UnderArmour
Sector: Clothing/Fashion
Date of Birth: 1972
High School Attended: St. John’s
College Attended: University of Maryland
Estimated Net Worth: $1.7 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Tom Preston-Werner
Tom Preston-Werner headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of GitHub (hosting service for software projects)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: May 27, 1979
High School Attended: Dubuque Senior High School
College Attended: Harvey Mudd College (dropped out after two years)
Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Blake Ross
Blake Ross headshot
Famous For: Co-creator of Firefox
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: June 12, 1985
High School Attended: Gulliver Preparatory School
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $150 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Michael G. Rubin
Michael Rubin headshot
Famous For: Founder of Kynetic (e-commerce company)
Sector: E-commerce
Date of Birth: 1972
High School Attended: Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
College Attended: Villanova University (dropped out after one semester)
Estimated Net Worth: $2.3 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

David O. Sacks
David Sacks headshot
Famous For: Yammer
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: May 25, 1972
High School Attended: Memphis University School
College Attended: Stanford and University of Chicago
Estimated Net Worth: $20 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: Y

Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz headshot
Famous For: Founder of Starbucks
Sector: Restaurant
Date of Birth: July 19,1953
High School Attended: Canarsie High School
College Attended: Northern Michigan University
Estimated Net Worth: $2 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Ben Silbermann
Ben Silbermann headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Pinterest
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1982
High School Attended: Theodore Roosevelt High School
College Attended: Research Science Institute, MIT; Yale University
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Evan Spiegel
Evan Spiegel headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Snapchat
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1990
High School Attended: Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: Company valued at $3 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart headshot
Famous For: Martha Stewart Living Omni Media
Sector: Media
Date of Birth: 1941
High School Attended: Nutley High School
College Attended: Barnard College
Estimated Net Worth: $300 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Jeremy Stoppelman
Jeremy Stoppelman headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Yelp
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: November 1977
High School Attended: Langley High School
College Attended: University of Illinois; Harvard Business School (left MBA program after one year)
Estimated Net Worth: $222 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Kevin Systrom
Kevin Systrom headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Instagram
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: December 30, 1983
High School Attended: Middlesex School
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $400 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Bret Taylor
Bret Taylor headshot
Famous For: Founder of Quip (collaborative document editor)
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: 1979
High School Attended: Acalanes High
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $120 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of PayPal
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: October 11, 1967
High School Attended: San Mateo High School
College Attended: Stanford University; Stanford Law School
Estimated Net Worth: $1.5 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Ted Turner
Ted Turner headshot
Famous For: Founded CNN
Sector: Media
Date of Birth: November 19, 1938
High School Attended: The McAllie School
College Attended: Brown University
Estimated Net Worth: $2.1 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Ted Waitt
Ted Waitt headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Gateway
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: January 18, 1963
High School Attended: Sioux City North High School
College Attended: University of Iowa (dropped out)
Estimated Net Worth: $1.4 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Wales headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Wikipedia
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 7, 1966
High School Attended: Randolph School
College Attended: Auburn University; University of Alabama; Indiana University
Estimated Net Worth: $1 million
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Cher Wang
Cher Wang headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of HTC
Sector: Manufacturing
Date of Birth: September 14, 1958
High School Attended: The College Preparatory School
College Attended: UC Berkeley
Estimated Net Worth: $8.8 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Nicholas Woodman
Nicholas Woodman headshot
Famous For: Founder of GoPro
Sector: Consumer Goods-Cameras
Date of Birth: 1975
High School Attended: St. Mary High School
College Attended: University of California, San Diego
Estimated Net Worth: $1.3 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Apple
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: August 11, 1950
High School Attended: Homestead High School
College Attended: University of Colorado; DeAnza Community College; UC Berkeley
Estimated Net Worth: $100 million
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Steve Wynn
Steve Wynn headshot
Famous For: Casinos/Hotels
Sector: Hospitality
Date of Birth: 1942
High School Attended: The Manlius School
College Attended: University of Pennsylvania
Estimated Net Worth: $2.9 billion
Public High School: N
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Jerry Yang
Jerry Yang headshot
Famous For: Co-founder of Yahoo!
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: November 6, 1968
High School Attended: Piedmont Hills High School
College Attended: Stanford University
Estimated Net Worth: $1.15 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: N
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: Y
MBA: N

Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg headshot
Famous For: Founder of Facebook
Sector: Tech
Date of Birth: May 14, 1984
High School Attended: Ardsley High School / Phillips Exeter Academy
College Attended: Harvard (Dropped out after sophomore year)
Estimated Net Worth: $19 billion
Public High School: Y
Private High School: Y
Home Schooled: N
Attended College: Y
Graduated College: N
MBA: N

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