We all know the names of these famous billionaires and how they acquired the bulk of their fortunes; we even dream of making it big that way ourselves. But have you ever wondered how these rich, successful people got their start? Here are some famous billionaires' first jobs.(Net worth figures as of Dec. 14, 2023, according to Forbes.)
1. Warren Buffett
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/thinkstockphotos101563630-5bfd853f46e0fb0051bac9d2 "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (1)")
Net Worth:$121.4 Billion
First Job:Selling Gum
Warren Buffettstarted working on his billion-dollar empire when he was just a boy. At age six, he reportedly began selling gum in his neighborhood. Then, at age 13 he got his first job as a paper boy, waking up at 04:30 in the morning to deliver The Washington Post. Already a budding businessman, Buffett even deducted his bike from his taxes. He went on to start a pinball machine business as a teen, looking for business opportunities wherever he went and graduating college with a $10,000 profit from his business ventures. It's no wonder that today so many look to Warren Buffett for financial advice.
2. Oprah Winfrey
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/shutterstock_160850807-5bfd854c46e0fb002649ebca "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (2)")
Net Worth:$2.8 Billion
First Job:Grocery Store Clerk
Oprah Winfrey is one of those women who are in charge of their destiny: she just seems to get better and richer with everything she does. However, Winfrey got her start in an average menial job at the grocery store next to her father's Nashville barbershop. She quickly made her move to broadcasting, reading the news for the local radio station by age 16 and moving her way up to the media powerhouse she is today.
3. Michael Bloomberg
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/shutterstock_261040724-5bfd854a46e0fb0083ff5eac "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (3)")
Net Worth:$96.3 Billion
First Job:Odd Jobs in the Neighborhood.
Michael Bloomberg is best known for his investment and political career, but before that he did all types of jobs, including shoveling snow, cutting lawns, selling Christmas wreaths door to door, and working for a small electronics company. As the son of middle-class parents, Bloomberg paid his college tuition by working as a parking lot attendant and eventually went on to graduate with anMBAfrom Harvard. He got his start on Wall Street atSalomon Brothers and is now one of the wealthiest people in America.
4. Bill Gates
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/shutterstock_247513390-5bfd8548c9e77c0058b59ccc "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (4)")
Net Worth:$118.8 Billion
First Job:Computer Programmer
Who doesn't know Microsoft's Bill Gates? Competitor Apple may like to poke fun at Microsoft's less-than-cool image, but Bill Gates is laughing all the way to the bank. This Harvard drop-out followed his passion for tech from a young age: his first job was as a computer programmer for TRW during his senior year in high school. Gates is now one of the richest people in the world, proving that being a computer geek can really pay off. In 2008, he stepped down from the daily running of Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic endeavors via theBill & Melinda GatesFoundation, which works to improve education, fight hunger, and develop vaccinations.
5. Steve Jobs
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/thinkstockphotos115285792-5bfd854646e0fb0051fc4fd1 "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (5)")
Net Worth:$10.2 Billion (at the time of his death in 2011)
First Job:Summer Job at HP
At the time of his death in 2011, Steve Jobs' net worth was estimated at $10.2 billion. The Apple founder got his start with a summer job at HP when he was just 12. It was there that he met future Apple co-founder SteveWozniak. Despite Apple's success, the bulk of Jobs' fortune comes from digital animation company Pixar, which he sold to Disney for a cool $7.4 billion.
6. JeffBezos
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ap050617019794-5bfd8543c9e77c0058b59c00 "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (6)")
Net Worth:$171.1 Billion
First Job:Grill Operator at McDonald's
Waybefore he founded Amazon and began selling everything from books to newspaper subscriptions, JeffBezoswas flipping burgers behind the grill at McDonald's.Bezosbegan working at the fast-food chain in Miami when he was 16 and has often said that he learned one of his business’ most important lessons from that experience: to move things quickly from seller to customer without damaging them.
7. George Lucas
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/shutterstock_44488693-5bfd854146e0fb0026400ed4 "7 Billionaires' First Jobs (7)")
Net Worth:$5.1 Billion
First Job:Teaching Assistant
When you think of George Lucas, you think "Star Wars," the iconic series that made him his fortune. Lucas' start working in the film industry came early, but humbly: as a teaching assistant training U.S. Navy photographers. George Lucas went on to pursue an apprenticeship with FrancisCoppola and eventually developed his own name as a Hollywood icon, with a $5 billion fortune to show for his hard and creative work.
What Jobs do Most Billionaires Have?
There are a few industries that offer the opportunity to become very rich. Perhaps one of the biggest is finance. There is potentially lots of money to be made investing.
What was Mark Zuckerberg's First Job?
Facebook was reportedly Zuckerberg’s first full-time job. However, it wasn’t his first venture. Zuckerberg was experimenting with new technologies even before his days at Harvard. One of his early success stories was a music recommendation software called Synapse. He was offered $1 million for it but turned it down.
Can Hard Work Make you a Billionaire?
It certainly helps. Most of the billionaires listed in this article got their break from working hard from a young age.
The Bottom Line
We all know that starting as a newspaper boy or parking lot attendant doesn't promise you'll be a billionaire. What is interesting to note about the careers of these billionaires is that they discovered their passion at an early age, be it technology, investing, fashion, or film, proving that following your passion can pay, in the billions, if you're lucky enough.
