First Jobs of The Richest American Entrepreneurs
John D. Rockefeller
Greatest Wealth – $318 Billion at age 74
First Job – Book keeper
Andrew Carnegie
Greatest Wealth – $298 Billion at age 68
First Job – Textile laborer
Henry Ford
Greatest Wealth – $188 Billion at age 57
First Job – Machinist
Warren Buffet
Greatest Wealth – $62 Billion at age 77
First Job – Newspaper delivery boy
Bill Gates
Greatest Wealth – $57 Billion at age 53
First Job – Congressional page
Sergey Brin
Greatest Wealth – $18.7 Billion at age 35
First “Job” – Student
Michael Dell
Greatest Wealth – $17.3 Billion at age 43
First Job – Dishwasher for a Chinese restaurant
Steve Jobs
Greatest Wealth – $5.4 Billion at age 53
First Job – Gopher at Hewlett Packard
Oprah Winfrey
Greatest Wealth – $2.7 Billion at age 54
First Job – Part time radio news broadcaster
Mark Cuban
Greatest Wealth – $2.8 Billion at age 50 (and probably half of that after his divorce)
First Job – Bartender
* All financial figures based on 2008 US Dollar Value
By Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
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Tags: entrepreneurs, first jobs, richest americans
December 11th, 2008
Great list guys! Nicely done.
December 11th, 2008
Just goes to show that it’s not about where you start but where you have the vision and determination to go.
December 11th, 2008
I can’t believe that Michael Dell started out as a Chinese Restaurant dish washer! There is HOPE! With consistent focus, and unrelenting action ANYTHING is possible.
December 11th, 2008
I think it is funny that Steve Jobs was a gopher at HP and then built Apple that went on to beat the shit out of HP (at least their computers).
I wonder if Steve Jobs stayed at HP for life, what their products would be like now.
- Mike
December 11th, 2008
In case I make the list later, I delivered newspapers at 12. was a boat mechanic at 14 full time.
December 11th, 2008
Great list, it’s always interesting to see where people started.
But wasn’t Bill Gates worth more than $100 billion before he started his foundation.
Doug
December 11th, 2008
One of our Singapore’s celebrity singer used to be a construction worker! The rags-to-riches story always inspire! Thank you for the “list”!
December 11th, 2008
@Richard – Tell us the second you qualify for the list! We will have a slot open for you, Mr. boat mechanic.
@Kelly – Was the Singapore celebrity a man or woman? Either way that is an interesting “ladder climb” from construction works to celebrity singer.
December 11th, 2008
Hi Mike – happy you asked. I share some info of him here: – about the singer. He’s well known in Asia as AH DU. You can find one of his videos singing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhUxfXnW9Ew
Some people talking about him here — http://asianfanatics.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t191620.html
And his pics: http://male.thedailymodel.com/ah-du/
I notice Ah Du never dance in his concerts. Even for fast numbers!
I can name another Singaporean celebrity (comedian and actress). She used to be a waitress! Her name is Patricia Mok (Mo Xiao Ling). When new in the entertainment line, she was badly criticized for her below average looks but her talent shines through! I like her!
December 11th, 2008
@admin I wonder “if” he would’ve been given a chance to be the Steve Jobs he is now.
I think another fun list would be the jobs that some of America’s greatest entrepreneurs took after (or during) their first major business failure.
December 11th, 2008
@Kevin – That is a GREAT idea. I am going to look into that!!!!
December 11th, 2008
I always like these sorts of things. Makes these rich and famous people seem regular. Which gives hope to the regular people like me.
Matt
December 11th, 2008
@Matt (#13) Yeah me too! I too, often wonder what or where some of them would be doing if they didn’t become millionaires. Children (with millionaire/billionaire parents) who received yearly cash gifts and are taught to spend more than they can afford usually end up poorer than blue-collar workers!
December 12th, 2008
Who cares? Where do they fit into the scheme of things except for this list? How about the poorest people and their first jobs, now that would be entertaining wouldn’t it? Except we don’t know who they are ! Or if they are alive ! Or maybe a list of people who have gone from rags to riches, as well as those who did the reverse. That would work best for Oprah maybe.But really, who cares? Don’t you?
Oh. Now I get it. Make a list of people who stayed the same. That should be a bit of fun. Ooooo, history in the making and a warm feeling in my tummy for being so “different”.
December 12th, 2008
@Owen – Personally I aspire for continued financial wealth (among other things) and find it inspiring when I see other people who achieved this, started out the same way I did. It makes it much more “doable” for me. It diminishes my doubts, since my first job was at a dry cleaners, cleaning out disgusting pant pockets before they went into the cleaning machines.
@Matt – I agree, it does make the rich and famous seem more regular, and it gives inspiration for those who want it for themselves.
- Mike
December 13th, 2008
@Owen I am curious to know….Why wouldn’t you know if someone FAMOUS is alive or dead? Why do you think the list does not fit the “current scheme of things”? There’s Wikipedia.org and other sites to get a clearer picture.
“Who cares” is a good question. Try to miss paying your bill for 3 months and see if your service provider cares. ~grin~
December 13th, 2008
P.S. I feel the self-made are more regular than you think. The millionaires here in my country dress more shabbily than a salaried bank manager! About the only “clue” (on the millionaire) is the watch.
December 14th, 2008
[...] First Jobs of The Richest American Entrepreneurs [...]
December 15th, 2008
Wow, I’ve held almost all of those crappy jobs in similar vane. The Chinese restaurant gig was the worst of all them unless you like cockroaches!
December 15th, 2008
I guess it’s safe to say, it’s not all about where you begin, but rather where you go? Reminds me of the quote “A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” Confucius
December 18th, 2008
[...] The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: John D. Rockefeller, Greatest Wealth – $318 Billion at age 74, First Job – Book keeper [...]
December 21st, 2008
Very interesting post, thanks for sharing. It occurred to me that these people all started in a humble job, but used that experience to move on to much bigger and more lucrative endeavors. We all start at about the same place, but what causes some to have great financial success?
December 22nd, 2008
[...] The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: John D. Rockefeller, Greatest Wealth – $318 Billion at age 74, First Job – Book keeper [...]
December 22nd, 2008
@Gerald S of Essential-nutrition-plus.com – have you heard of Brian Tracy? He once shared with his students that a housewife of 2 asked 10 bucks from her husband.
Her husband asked,”WHAT FOR?” That spurred her on to take action – to make a change in her life. Some have great financial success due to the ethics they set in life and for others to follow. They do not keep that success to themselves and they reward their supporters well.
January 8th, 2009
Did you see this Blog about Bill Gates’ Misstatement on the Charlie Rose show?
January 30th, 2009
Reminds me of the movie “Easy Money” with Rodney Dangerfield. Some people have goals and others well…this quote will say it all…
“I was a baby…and then I grew up to be a baby photographer.”
May 12th, 2009
Yes God has a heart that all the slaves of rich and poor, the weak and strong
Yes God omniscient ruler of the universe all, this day thy servant above induce majesty, the servant asks for mercy love thy
Yes please Excellency the servant of God to open hearts to one another all the people I love, love each other, respect each other price
O servant of Allah, love please Excellency to the servants who currently need, so that Royal Highness deign to open the hearts of all of this helps to open and distress and unrest servant
O servant of Allah is very little need of funds used for the purposes of the servant, and to return to this earth again, O God You are the servants know what to do and do
O Allah open the hearts of all your servants made good sense for this slave
O servant of Allah, there is hope that people are willing to set aside part of the Worship of funds to this account of the servant: Bank Central Asia Bekasi Branch: Account Number: 0662424046,
Thank you O God, this is only on the will of God Worship Yes
O God, you can only open and a closed heart, to see the real truth
wasalam
your servant