by Colette Georgii

Created on: January 14, 2008

Famous Successful Businessmen Who Dropped Out of College

Many of our most famous and successful businessmen were college dropouts. They had the good sense to realize their time was of the essence and jumped right on the bandwagon when the time was right. Career and making money meant more to them then getting that college degree.

Some of us don't think of the career but of getting the degree. We prioritize the degree sometimes to the exclusion of a career. I guess we are the intellectuals. We just theorize about making money and being successful.

The famous businessmen who made it to the top don't theorize or intellectualize. They just do it. Action is their keyword.

The most famous of all in today's world is Bill Gates. He is the richest man in the world with a net worth of $50 billion.

Bill gates dropped out of Harvard when he was 19 to work on the company he started up - Micro-Soft as it was called then.

Today he has left Microsoft and is involved in his philanthrophic mission with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the 2nd largest charitable organization in the world.

The next most famous is Michael Dell who began at the age of 15 building PCs by taking apart the Apple II and putting it back together. He began building PCs from spare parts in his garage and also introduced "just-in-time" marketing and supply chain management to the world by building PCs to order.

He entered the University of Texas but dropped out to run his computer business full-time. (He was selling PCs and direct marketing them out of his dorm room).

His current net worth is $15.5 billion and he is the 9th richest man in the world.

Two famous American fashion designers and businessmen who were also college dropouts are Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Ralph Lauren was born in the Bronx. His father was a Jewish house painter. His original name was Ralph Lifschitz, which he and his brothers changed to Lauren. He is famous for the Polo label and the necktie business.

Ralph Lauren was a City College of New York dropout. After serving in the Army he worked first as a salesman for Brooks Brothers and then embarked on his illustrious career. He is currently worth $3.6 billion.

Calvin Klein was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. He learned sewing from his mother who was an excellent seamstress. He dropped out of Parsons School of Design and began designing coats. He was not only a talented couturier but also a shrewd businessman who rose to the top in the fashion industry. His best friend

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