Elon Musk Went to College in One of America’s Roughest Cities

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• We used data from from Forbes’ The Real-Time Billionaire List.
• Sixteen members of this “Club of 25” are self-made.
• Also, 2 Dividend Legends To Hold Forever

Becoming a billionaire doesn’t necessarily mean you attended college. Some very famous, notable college dropouts among the wealthy include Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. The reality is that only about 30% of all billionaires do not have college degrees. A college education is probably a good idea if you want to reach the top financially. Not all of them, however, went to Ivy League schools, there are quite a few went to state colleges and universities. This goes to show that if you have the inclination and drive to become a billionaire, where you got your education doesn’t matter as much.

To determine where America’s 25 richest people went to college, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed net worth statistics from Forbes’ The Real-Time Billionaire List, with net worth extracted as of Oct. 2, 2023. All information, including education and schooling information, came from Forbes. When the net worth mentioned is for the billionaire and their family, the education is for the billionaire named. The 25 richest billionaires have a combined net worth of nearly $2 trillion.

Elon Musk, the sometimes controversial business magnate, is associated with numerous high-profile companies he founded, cofounded, or acquired, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter). Musk’s net worth, as of Oct. 2, 2023, stood at $255.4 billion, nearly 70% more than the second wealthiest American, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

Sixteen members of this “Club of 25” are self-made. Three of these ground-up magnates are investors: RenTech’s Simons; Stephen Schwarzman, president and CEO of Blackstone Group, the world’s largest alternative asset manager headquartered in New York City; and Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, the record-smashing Miami-based hedge fund that netted $16 billion in 2022.

Four individuals on this list are college dropouts, but most hold a Bachelor of Arts degree. Seven hold postgraduate degrees. Six people on this list are Harvard University alums, five studied at Stanford, and five enrolled at Princeton, according to Forbes.

Why We Are Writing About the Colleges Billionaire Went To

A college’s reputation is very important, as this can be a factor in deciding where endowments go and, ultimately, how much money the college will have to continue with its programs. Harvard University, which has a $50.9 billion endowment as of 2022, is the wealthiest in the world. To say that some of the world’s wealthiest and most successful people went to your university can be a great feather in the cap of any president of a university. This is why universities will advertise these facts in any way they can. Prospective students also find this important to know, as it can be a great attraction to go to the same college as your role model!

Here are America’s wealthiest billionaires and where they went to college.

25. Jim Simons

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $30.7 billion (#46 in the world)
• Residence: East Setauket, New York
• Source of wealth: Hedge funds, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Doctorate, University of California, Berkeley

24. Miriam Adelson & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $31.4 billion (#45 in the world)
• Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Source of wealth: Casinos
• Higher education: Bachelor of Science, Hebrew University Jerusalem

23. Stephen Schwarzman

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $33.1 billion (#40 in the world)
• Residence: New York, New York
• Source of wealth: Investments, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Yale University

22. MacKenzie Scott

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $34.6 billion (#36 in the world)
• Residence: Seattle, Washington
• Source of wealth: Amazon
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Princeton University

21. Ken Griffin

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $35.4 billion (#34 in the world)
• Residence: Miami, Florida
• Source of wealth: Hedge funds, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Harvard University

20. Phil Knight & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $38.7 billion (#30 in the world)
• Residence: Hillsboro, Oregon
• Source of wealth: Nike, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Business Administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Oregon

18. Jacqueline Mars

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $38.9 billion (#28 in the world)
• Residence: The Plains, Virginia
• Source of wealth: Candy, pet food
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Bryn Mawr College

18. John Mars

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $38.9 billion (#28 in the world)
• Residence: Jackson, Wyoming
• Source of wealth: Candy, pet food
• Higher education: Diploma, The Hotchkiss School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Yale University

17. Jensen Huang

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $40.0 billion (#26 in the world)
• Residence: Los Altos, California
• Source of wealth: Semiconductors, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Oregon State University; Master of Science in Engineering, Stanford University

16. Charles Koch & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $54.5 billion (#23 in the world)
• Residence: Wichita, Kansas
• Source of wealth: Koch Industries
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

15. Julia Koch & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $59.8 billion (#21 in the world)
• Residence: New York, New York
• Source of wealth: Koch Industries
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Central Arkansas

14. Alice Walton

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $65.1 billion (#19 in the world)
• Residence: Fort Worth, Texas
• Source of wealth: Walmart
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Trinity University

13. Rob Walton & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $66.1 billion (#18 in the world)
• Residence: Bentonville, Arkansas
• Source of wealth: Walmart
• Higher education: Doctor of Jurisprudence, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Arkansas

12. Jim Walton & family

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $66.8 billion (#17 in the world)
• Residence: Bentonville, Arkansas
• Source of wealth: Walmart
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Arkansas

11. Michael Dell

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $70.7 billion (#16 in the world)
• Residence: Austin, Texas
• Source of wealth: Dell Technologies, Self Made
• Higher education: Drop Out, The University of Texas at Austin

10. Michael Bloomberg

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $96.3 billion (#11 in the world)
• Residence: New York, New York
• Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Johns Hopkins University

9. Steve Ballmer

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $97.8 billion (#10 in the world)
• Residence: Hunts Point, Washington
• Source of wealth: Microsoft, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Harvard University; Drop Out, Stanford University

8. Sergey Brin

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $107.6 billion (#9 in the world)
• Residence: Los Altos, California
• Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Science, Stanford University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Maryland, College Park

6. Bill Gates

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $107.9 billion (#7 in the world)
• Residence: Medina, Washington
• Source of wealth: Microsoft, Self Made
• Higher education: Drop Out, Harvard University

7. Mark Zuckerberg

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $107.8 billion (#8 in the world)
• Residence: Palo Alto, California
• Source of wealth: Facebook, Self Made
• Higher education: Drop Out, Harvard University

5. Larry Page

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $112.1 billion (#6 in the world)
• Residence: Palo Alto, California
• Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Science, Stanford University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Michigan

4. Warren Buffett

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $115.6 billion (#5 in the world)
• Residence: Omaha, Nebraska
• Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway, Self Made
• Higher education: Master of Science, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Nebraska Lincoln

3. Larry Ellison

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $135.6 billion (#4 in the world)
• Residence: Woodside, California
• Source of wealth: Oracle, Self Made
• Higher education: Drop Out, University of Chicago; Drop Out, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

2. Jeff Bezos

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $151.9 billion (#3 in the world)
• Residence: Medina, Washington
• Source of wealth: Amazon, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Princeton University

1. Elon Musk

• Net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023: $255.4 billion (#1 in the world)
• Residence: Austin, Texas
• Source of wealth: Tesla, SpaceX, Self Made
• Higher education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Pennsylvania

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