Sometimes a dream, talent and perserverance are worth more than a degree. Here are some well-known millionaires who decided to leave school early to work towards their dream.
Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)
This high-school dropout grew up in one of Brooklyn’s roughest housing projects, dealing drugs before finding salvation in hip hop. In 1995 Carter took his first single to Def Jam Records, the company he ended up running from 2004 until 2007.
In 2008 he signed a 10-year, US$150 million deal with Live Nation that gave him control over his records, tours and endorsement deals with companies like Dell and Budweiser.
Carl Lindner
This billionaire dropped out of high school to deliver milk for his family’s dairy. In 1940 used a US$1,200 loan to open an ice cream shop with his sister and two brothers. In 1959 he left the business and started investing in savings and loans, and eventually insurance concerns, which he assembled under American Financial Group. In 1984 Lindner bought Chiquita Brands International (formerly United Foods) and ran it until 2001. The family dairy, called United Dairy Farmers, now has 200 ice cream parlors and convenience stores. Lindner’s current net worth US$1.7 billion.
George Foreman
This ubiquitous pitchman grew up poor in Marshall, Texas. He found a mentor, through Lyndon Johnson’s Job Corps program, who encouraged the 15-year-old thug to box. Foreman would eventually win a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. His big pay day came in 1999, when he bagged US$138 million for selling naming rights to grill manufacturer Salton. He has since pitched brands like Doritos, KFC and Meineke, and has launched a line of environmentally safe cleaning products, a line of personal care products, a health shake, a prescription shoe for diabetics and a restaurant franchise.
Simon Cowell
The caustic judge earned US$75 million last year, thanks to his involvement with American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, musical talent show The X Factor and SyCo records, his production company. The 50-year-old impresario dropped out of school at age 16 and landed a job in the mailroom at EMI. At 23 he left to start his own record label, Fanfare. Post-Idol, Cowell will shift his focus to a U.S. version of the The X Factor, where he’ll serve both as a judge and executive producer.
Gisele Bundchen
When Bundchen was 14 years old a modeling scout discovered her in a Brazilian shopping mall. In 1996 she debuted at Fashion Week in New York City. She earned US$25 million last year, thanks to contracts with Versace, Dior and other companies. She also has a line of sandals called Ipanema by Gisele.
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