Where Did the World's Top Entrepreneurs Study?

The South African-born Canadian-American businessman has co-founded a string of successful startups, including SpaceX, SolarCity and Zip2. Currently worth US$11.2 billion, Elon Musk originally attended Queen’s University but transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with two degrees: a BSc in physics and a BSc in economics from the Wharton School of Business at UPenn.

The Indian biotech forerunner, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, owes her fortune of US$1.73 billion to her business, Biocon India, Asia’s largest insulin producer. The self-made businesswoman earned a BSc in zoology from Bangalore University, as well as a master’s in malting and brewing from Federation University.

Brian Chesky, the CEO of the accommodation-sharing website, Airbnb, was named in Time’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2015. And it’s not hard to see why. Worth US$3.3 billion, the American techpreneur has completely revolutionized the accommodation sector. Believe it or not, Chesky attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and while he wasn’t terribly talented at sketching (according to this writer at Fortune Magazine), he’s certainly found other ways to be creative!

The founder of Intel, whose net fortune is estimated at US$7 billion, initially attended San Jose State University but transferred to the University of California Berkeley, where he received a BSc in chemistry. Gordon Moore went on to pursue a PhD in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology,making him one of the most highly educated amongst our list of top entrepreneurs.

Founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, businesswoman, writer and TV personality, Martha Stewart is worth US$638 million. Born in New Jersey, she graduated from Barnard College (affiliated with Columbia University) with a bachelor’s degree in history and architectural history.

Currently worth US$5 billion, the American programmer and self-made internet entrepreneur co-founded the popular messaging app, WhatsApp, after completing a BSc in computer science at Stanford University. Five years after Facebook refused to take him on, Brian Acton received US$3 billion for his stake in WhatsApp, after it was sold to the social media giant in 2014 for US$22 billion.

Born in rural poverty, the famous businesswoman, who built her fortune through her business Harpo Productions, the Oprah Winfrey Show and acting work, is worth US$2.9 billion. Oprah Winfrey’s prowess as an orator earned her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, from which she holds a bachelor of arts in communication.

Yahoo’s co-founder, whose net worth is currently estimated to be US$2.1 billion¸ earned a BSc and an MSc in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he met David Filo, with whom he was to start up one of the biggest internet companies of the world.

Every minute, more than 100 hours of footage are uploaded to YouTube, and almost a third of all internet users have been on YouTube at some time. The site’s co-founder, Chard Hurley, attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in fine arts. His fortune is estimated at US$355 million. In 2006, YouTube was sold to Google for US$1.65 billion.

Dream big!