By Saurav Pandey | April 21, 2025
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Net Worth: $150 billion Bill Gates left Harvard in 1975 to co-found Microsoft with Paul Allen, betting on the future of personal computing. His vision paid off—Microsoft became the world’s leading software company.
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Net Worth: $178 billion Mark Zuckerberg famously dropped out of Harvard in 2004 to focus on Facebook, a social network he launched from his dorm room.
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Net Worth at Peak: $10 billion Steve Jobs left Reed College after one semester, later co-founding Apple in 1976. His innovations—like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac—revolutionized technology, design, and entertainment.
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Net Worth: $363 billion Elon Musk enrolled at Stanford but quit almost immediately to launch Zip2, his first tech startup. He later co-founded PayPal, then built Tesla and SpaceX, becoming the world’s richest person.
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Net Worth: $90 billion Michael Dell started selling PCs from his college dorm before dropping out in 1984 to found Dell Technologies. His direct-to-consumer sales model disrupted the industry, turning Dell into a global tech giant.
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Net Worth: $194 billion Larry Ellison left college twice before co-founding Oracle in 1977. His database software became essential for businesses, earning him a massive fortune and a reputation as one of Silicon Valley’s most relentless and outspoken billionaires
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Net Worth: $ 10 billion This Ukrainian immigrant went from living on food stamps to creating WhatsApp. After teaching himself programming, he launched the messaging app in 2009. Just five years later, Facebook bought WhatsApp for 19 billion, making Koum a billionaire almost overnight
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Net Worth: $3 billion Evan Williams left college to dive into the tech world, co-founding Twitter in 2006 and later launching Medium. His innovations in social media and online publishing made him a key figure in the digital age.
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Net Worth: $5 billion Jack Dorsey dropped out of NYU to pursue programming, eventually co-founding Twitter in 2006 and later the payment company Block (formerly Square).
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Net Worth: $4 billion | Dropped Out Of: Tennessee State University Oprah left college early to pursue media, becoming a legendary talk show host before building a multimedia empire. Her production company, magazine, and investments in Weight Watchers (now WW) made her the first Black female billionaire.