Educational backgrounds often serve as stepping stones for extraordinary achievements in business and technology. The world’s wealthiest individuals showcase diverse academic paths that contributed to their eventual success.
Elon Musk
With a net worth of over $300 billion, Elon Musk started his undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, in 1990. He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He completed dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics in 1997. Muisk later founded multiple companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, and his academic background played a foundational role in shaping his approach to engineering and innovation.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, valued at $241 billion, enrolled at Harvard University in 2002, where he studied computer science and psychology. Although he did not complete his degree, Harvard was where he built the first version of Facebook. He dropped out in 2004 to focus on expanding his platform. Despite not having a college degree, Zuckerberg’s time at Harvard played a crucial role in launching Meta.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $229 billion in 2025, graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He was accepted into the university through early admission and initially considered a career in theoretical physics. However, his fascination with the internet led him to leave a stable job on Wall Street and create Amazon, a move that would revolutionize global commerce.
Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, net worth of $193 billion in 2025, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the early 1960s but left before completing his degree. He briefly enrolled at the University of Chicago in 1964, where he took a course in computer design. Though he never graduated, Ellison used the knowledge and experience he gained to co-found Oracle Corporation, a global leader in database technology.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer has a net worth of $162 billion and holds a degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard University, graduating in 1977. He briefly enrolled in Stanford’s MBA program but left to join Microsoft. Ballmer later became the company’s CEO and played a pivotal role in expanding its business software and enterprise offerings.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, with a net worth of $153.5 billion, attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania from 1947 to 1949. He then transferred to the University of Nebraska, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1950.
Later, he earned a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University in 1951, where he studied under Benjamin Graham. These academic experiences shaped Buffett’s conservative investment philosophy and long-term success.
Larry Page
With a net worth of $153 billion, Larry Page first earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995. He then moved to Stanford University for his master’s in computer science, completing it in 1998. At Stanford, he met Sergey Brin, and together they developed a search engine that eventually became Google.
Michael Boomberg
Michael Bloomberg, whose net worth stands at $129 billion, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966. Bloomberg used his education and work experience to found Bloomberg L.P., a major financial data and media company, and later served as the Mayor of New York City.
Jamie Dimon
Jamie Dimon, valued at $3 billion, graduated from Tufts University in 1987 with degrees in psychology and economics and earned an MBA from Harvard in 1982. He later became the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, known for navigating the 2008 financial crisis with remarkable leadership.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook, with a net worth of $2.4 billion, graduated from Auburn University in 1982 with a degree in industrial engineering and earned an MBA from Duke in 1988, where he was a Fuqua Scholar. His background in operations helped him succeed Steve Jobs as Apple’s CEO and sustain its global dominance.
Sundar Pichai
Sundar Pichai, with a net worth of over $1 billion, started his education in India at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, earning a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1993. He then pursued a Master of Science from Stanford University in 1995 and later earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2002. Pichai joined Google in 2004 and now serves as the CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
