1/10/2011 4:43 PM ET
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7 billionaires' first jobs
(Continued ...)
Gates is now one of the world's richest men, proof 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 with wife, Melinda: TheBill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to improve education, fight hunger and develop vaccinations. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.)
First job: Summer hire at Hewlett-Packard
Steve Jobs was a high school student when he got a summer job at Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 0.00%, news), where he met Apple (AAPL 0.00%, news) co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Despite Apple's success, the bulk of Jobs' fortune comes from the sale of digital animation company Pixar to Walt Disney (DIS 0.00%, news) for $7.4 billion.
First job: Assistant photographer
Giorgio Armani grew up in a middle-class Italian family and had an early fascination for theater and fashion. He got his first job at Milan department store La Rinascente as an assistant photographer and was quickly promoted to the store's style office as a buyer.
Armani has since become the designer and fashion magnate we know today.
First job: Teaching assistant
George Lucas made much of his fortune from the iconic "Star Wars" film series.
Lucas' start in film came early but humbly -- he worked as a teaching assistant for Navy students who were studying documentary filmmaking.
Lucas went on to pursue an apprenticeship with Francis Ford Coppola and eventually developed his own name as a Hollywood icon.
Steve Jobs
Net worth: $5.5 billionFirst job: Summer hire at Hewlett-Packard
Steve Jobs was a high school student when he got a summer job at Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 0.00%, news), where he met Apple (AAPL 0.00%, news) co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Despite Apple's success, the bulk of Jobs' fortune comes from the sale of digital animation company Pixar to Walt Disney (DIS 0.00%, news) for $7.4 billion.
Giorgio Armani
Net worth: $5.3 billionFirst job: Assistant photographer
Giorgio Armani grew up in a middle-class Italian family and had an early fascination for theater and fashion. He got his first job at Milan department store La Rinascente as an assistant photographer and was quickly promoted to the store's style office as a buyer.
Armani has since become the designer and fashion magnate we know today.
George Lucas
Net worth: $3 billionFirst job: Teaching assistant
George Lucas made much of his fortune from the iconic "Star Wars" film series.
Lucas' start in film came early but humbly -- he worked as a teaching assistant for Navy students who were studying documentary filmmaking.
Lucas went on to pursue an apprenticeship with Francis Ford Coppola and eventually developed his own name as a Hollywood icon.
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 about the careers of these billionaires is that they discovered their passion at an early age, proving that following your passion can pay, sometimes in the billions.RELATED ARTICLES
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46Comments
1/18/2011 3:54 PM
1/18/2011 5:58 PM
Don't believe this article! All these people, were well-off before they became super rich. I'm not saying that these people weren't talented, its just that they were given the opportunity to shine. Not everyone has the opportunity to drop out of Harvard and pursue something on the cusp of exploding into something that will make you an instant billionaire. Most people that think like that don't have any distractions because everything is taken care of so that they can concentrate on making it big. Moreover, their parents have already learned the ropes and they teach their kids at an early age to intern, network, invest, focus on a goal, go to a prestigious college in your field; all the things that less successful parents haven't learned yet and the lesson in life won't be passed down to their children. Their children will have to learn the hard way or not at all while children from more affluent families are already in the game and ten steps ahead of their counterparts.
Note: Its funny that in the past thirty years, measuring success has been more a product of how much money you have and not by how smart you are or what contributions you've made, not necessarily monetarily, to society. I can admire Oprah Winfrey not for her fame or her show, but actually creating a business from that show, branching out from the show and her philanthropic adventures. I can also admire Steve Jobs for just being very smart and intuitive; to me I consider him much smarter than Bill Gates. Just to give you an idea of what I mean: Computers have revolutionized the way we do everything in life; more so than any other invention or discovery dating back to when Neanderthals discovered how to retain fire. Now, in order for computers to work, you need to be able to have the technology to produce transistors to switch the voltage of electronic signals; which is the basis for gates; not Bill Gates; on integrated circuits. Can anybody name these people that revolutionized our daily lives; from cars to cell phones to t.v's; yes even the tubed ones; to the airplanes glass cockpits to the space shuttle to water control technology for farmers to casinos to medical technology? Even though many people were involved in inventing the transistor, Gordon Teal was the mastermind in fabricating a working transistor. We basically owe our livelihood to this one man!!! And, by the way, he never became rich off of his invention. I remember a while back when they had done a documentary of how the transistor revolutionized the world, they were able to find out that Gordon Teal was still working and they called him up, he came to the phone and they were shocked!!! That's beautiful!!!
Note: Its funny that in the past thirty years, measuring success has been more a product of how much money you have and not by how smart you are or what contributions you've made, not necessarily monetarily, to society. I can admire Oprah Winfrey not for her fame or her show, but actually creating a business from that show, branching out from the show and her philanthropic adventures. I can also admire Steve Jobs for just being very smart and intuitive; to me I consider him much smarter than Bill Gates. Just to give you an idea of what I mean: Computers have revolutionized the way we do everything in life; more so than any other invention or discovery dating back to when Neanderthals discovered how to retain fire. Now, in order for computers to work, you need to be able to have the technology to produce transistors to switch the voltage of electronic signals; which is the basis for gates; not Bill Gates; on integrated circuits. Can anybody name these people that revolutionized our daily lives; from cars to cell phones to t.v's; yes even the tubed ones; to the airplanes glass cockpits to the space shuttle to water control technology for farmers to casinos to medical technology? Even though many people were involved in inventing the transistor, Gordon Teal was the mastermind in fabricating a working transistor. We basically owe our livelihood to this one man!!! And, by the way, he never became rich off of his invention. I remember a while back when they had done a documentary of how the transistor revolutionized the world, they were able to find out that Gordon Teal was still working and they called him up, he came to the phone and they were shocked!!! That's beautiful!!!
1/18/2011 3:41 PM
I believe there is no such thing as middle class anymore. You can't tell me that Oprah was middle class. I consider someone who owns a Barber shop as "Well Off" Oprah had money when she started out so did all of these wealthy people on the list. There are only two groups and that is the "Poor" and the " Rich" also called the Humble and the Greedy. :-)
1/18/2011 4:03 PM
I swear some people talk just to talk. This one goes for FdeBear. In case u didnt know there is people out there that started from the very bottom. J.K. Rowling is a prime example. She wasa single mother, living in the projects, having welfare support. And now she is one of the best authors... Also Oprah is another example, she didnt come from a middle-class family like someone said. Her grandmother used to beat her up, was molested by family members n friend (s), raped at the age of 9 and pregnant by 14.She wasnt the one owning a barbershop, it was her fathers, she was forced to live with him. If she is in the position she is now is because she work her butt off to be where she at....If they are called celebrities is because thats how the media has portrait them. And of course they will be talked about knowing that so many of them give money back to charities, foundations and what not. People can be so negative and judgemental.
1/18/2011 2:50 PM
what amazes me is that all these fine successful folks have given back to the people in extreme measures. I always ask myself, if I were that wealthy would I? If I go by my track record so far in life I would not, but I would have one heck of a boat!!! My hat is off to all of them. It is what makes America great! And Oprah does produce something, it is call the worlds greatest show and movies.
1/18/2011 3:41 PM
Wow! I love all you people who are haters who didn't or can't make it big in life! Those type of people crack me up, cause you care more about how much you hate the billionaires then you do think about him what are the pros an cons about them. what can you do to help your self to get in there shoes! It's not like these billionaires became millionaires or billionaires in one night! For most of them it took most of there life time! Every body is still living in the American Dream Always thinking about Money and how there gonna get rich quick! I don't know if you ALL know this but once you have like a half a Million Money is really not money any more to them its an object that is all part of a GAME! When you have money like that Most people don't think about money like that anymore! They think about what they can do to improve there investments but they don't worry about it like the Average American does! I don't look up to these Billionaires some are pretty bad But i do love learning about them an how they got where they are today! One billionaire that they didn't talk about that i think is the best one to learn from is RICH DAD POOR DAD read his book PLZ! It will change ur mind about everthing! well thats all time i have peace out MITCH MAN
1/18/2011 1:44 PM
1/18/2011 2:31 PM
I think it's funny how all these richest people are liberal and the left says the the republicans are for the rich. I guess the republicans are helping out all the liberals so they should be happy. Also, these people did not start out at the bottom. I believe warren buffet's father was a senator. Bill Gates went to harvard because he was rich. George lucas's father owned a stationary store. It says Oprah winfrey's father owned a barber shop. Michael Bloomberg's father was a real estate agent. Why don't they list all the people who's father was a janitor. And you can say what you want but you have to be willing to take advantage of a lot of people to get that much money (it has to be in your personality and morality)
1/18/2011 4:46 PM
I was not aware that a MSN considered a son of a Lawyer to have been raised in poverty !
So does this mean that President Obama's children were raised in poverty since he too like Bill Gates father was a Lawyer ?
The FACT is the father of William or as we know him "Bill" Gates Jr. fought in WWII then attended college at the U of Washington where William Gates Sr. earned a BA degree by 1949 and his law degree by 1950 ! Shortly thereafter he began to practice law which he did untill 1998.
So the again the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates Practiced LAW from the time Bill was a young boy up to 1998, yet from this story we are led to believe he was raised in poverty !
So does this mean that President Obama's children were raised in poverty since he too like Bill Gates father was a Lawyer ?
The FACT is the father of William or as we know him "Bill" Gates Jr. fought in WWII then attended college at the U of Washington where William Gates Sr. earned a BA degree by 1949 and his law degree by 1950 ! Shortly thereafter he began to practice law which he did untill 1998.
So the again the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates Practiced LAW from the time Bill was a young boy up to 1998, yet from this story we are led to believe he was raised in poverty !
1/18/2011 3:08 PM
1/18/2011 4:32 PM
people are paid on an idea that comes to each of them on the brink of financial difficulty, depression or something equally as bad. The passage of this story is compelling and motivation. Even if they didnt start out poor. It's the idea that they did and that you can too. When pushed to the edge you begin to do real thinking. It's not unreachable and your motivated. I'm 21 i was homeless 8 months ago and now im on a laptop in Oahu,Hawaii. Money in my account. The terrific thing about thinking and striking gold is that everyone can do it. It's just that everyone can't think strategically. Thus, why most millionairs are lonely. It's a sacrifice. I made it. im not a sexist but jesus you try running a business with an old shrew. It's tough. How can you think when your time is being given to someone else. Back to motivation. Think of this. Your 200lbs over what you really want to be at! How the F do you loose the weight? pills, exercise, diets, money for operation? No, You wake up in the morning and tell your self you can do it and then you do it= motivation. brink= overweight which makes people antagonize you. sacrifice= only eating partial meals and waking up at a schedule time to create and follow an exercise route. Apply that same idea to donald trump. When his dad business was failing and had passed away. Donald doesnt want to go back to the meat house that = motivation. he's Financially broke that = brink. So he did something nobody else would risk and talked consistantly with the banks to back him up on something big for 2 years and striked it twice as rich that = sacrifice.
1/18/2011 3:01 PM
More damage done to the leftist mythology about how helpless and doomed you are if you're not born rich.
The truth is the really rich guys were hardly ever born rich, usually middle class or poor because not having things gave them the drive to succeed above everybody else. This is as opposed to the spoiled brat millionaire's kid whose chances of creating his own massive company without daddy's help or daddy's money are slim to none.
The truth is the really rich guys were hardly ever born rich, usually middle class or poor because not having things gave them the drive to succeed above everybody else. This is as opposed to the spoiled brat millionaire's kid whose chances of creating his own massive company without daddy's help or daddy's money are slim to none.
1/18/2011 2:25 PM
Spare me please. Bill Gates did not start with nothing. He borrowed a good sum of money from his parents. Other than making making money, please explain to me what Oprah produces? There are over 300 million people in the U.S. and the chances of becoming wealthy starting with nothing is about the same as winning the lottery. It is true, anyone can become wealthy in the U.S. but not everyone. If the opportunity is there, the conditions are right and you have at least normal intelligence you have a shot at becoming wealthy. Forget the nonsense about hard work. If hard work made you rich, coal miners and loggers would be billionaires.
1/18/2011 2:57 PM
I guess you can not be happy knowing that somewhere people dyeing (or miserable) as direct or indirect consequence of your activities. Or, you could help to make a difference in the World, but chose not to? We live in the closed macro environment. All activities are connected. If someone pulls a blanket, someone stays without it… How much money is enough to be happy?
1/18/2011 1:55 PM
1/18/2011 2:28 PM
Hey Uber, it appears to me that you haven't been around much. I have been and lived in over 60 countries and the USA provides more possibilities and upward mobility than any place on the planet, BY FAR. You have to have a DREAM (realistic), Work Ethic, Drive and to build a network. For those of you who are looking for the easy way out, just move to one of the 193 other countries on the planet and see how fast you gain mobility! In all of these other places you are born into it or you stay a peasant!
Good Luck because you will have to win the lotto to satisfy your dreams.
Good Luck because you will have to win the lotto to satisfy your dreams.
3/10/2011 3:03 AM
What this list shows me is that all the money is slowing being deposited into the hands of very few. It represents the sadness of humanity and the system we have been bound to since we created money. Now that we are approaching a world system and the world's money is being filtered into the same few hands, will the world realize that a new form of money is needed? Along with a system that prevents it from falling into so few hands. I'm not against hard work, self discipline, or wealth, I appreciate it too. I just hope that in the near future money won't remain; the be all and end all of human existence. I would like to be remembered for what I did and what I thought, not what I owned.
The Modern Philosopher, Robert Griffin
The Modern Philosopher, Robert Griffin
1/18/2011 3:30 PM
Everyone... Get real.. For real... Someone (mexbeachrat). Spare yourself buddy. It's more about individual choices that get someone somewhere. Such as maybe you choose to be a mexican beach rat. And as a result is you having envy for the rich and have to be mean and attack them because of your own disappointment with your current life situation. It's simple. And tot9082... Get real. Look at Obama's parents...
This is a problem of perception....
All of the people mentioned had a vision. A "why" behind what they became. They knew what they wanted, had something driving them to get there, and as long as we know exactly what we want, we will have it. It's a fact. Like 2+2= 4. To prove that, just think of a drug addict living on the street. With no home, no money, nothing really.. But he always manages to get high. Because he knows exactly what he wants. And he gets it through whatever means necessary. Just like a rich kid drug addict. He is just surrounded by more means, and goes to different measures to achieve his high. Both wind up in the same place. In rehab, or dead, or in jail, or with a substandard existence. Both coming from completely different environments and dynamics... And as far as financial wealth... If you don't care about money, and don't think it's important, then I get news for you... Your not going to have any! When we have money, then we say it doesn't buy us happiness, and when we don't have money, we say it's the thing that's keeping us from being able to be happy. We shift our perception depending on our position and it's a pitfall if nothing else. But the reality is that... Money will buy you a wave runner, and have you ever seen someone frowning on a wave runner?
If anyone wants to blame their position or anyone else's on parents, or their upbringing, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent, then you need to get new perspective. Oprah's dad had a barber shop... My dad owned a chemistry lab. My dad made more money than Oprah's dad. I went to private school. I am brilliant. I play music. I am funny as heck. I am more entertaining, interesting, and I am probably smarter and more talented, and come from more money than Oprah came from.. Why aren't I one of the wealthiest, most well known people in the world? Because she had a vision, and I had too much fun, and "knew better".. Sometimes people are to smart for their own good... The wealthiest people are not the smartest in the world, or from the best backgrounds. They had perspective.... Its not WHAT we do, or WHERE we come from that determines our position. It's WHY we do what we do, and WHAT we want to change about our situation that ultimately determines our positions.
This is a problem of perception....
All of the people mentioned had a vision. A "why" behind what they became. They knew what they wanted, had something driving them to get there, and as long as we know exactly what we want, we will have it. It's a fact. Like 2+2= 4. To prove that, just think of a drug addict living on the street. With no home, no money, nothing really.. But he always manages to get high. Because he knows exactly what he wants. And he gets it through whatever means necessary. Just like a rich kid drug addict. He is just surrounded by more means, and goes to different measures to achieve his high. Both wind up in the same place. In rehab, or dead, or in jail, or with a substandard existence. Both coming from completely different environments and dynamics... And as far as financial wealth... If you don't care about money, and don't think it's important, then I get news for you... Your not going to have any! When we have money, then we say it doesn't buy us happiness, and when we don't have money, we say it's the thing that's keeping us from being able to be happy. We shift our perception depending on our position and it's a pitfall if nothing else. But the reality is that... Money will buy you a wave runner, and have you ever seen someone frowning on a wave runner?
If anyone wants to blame their position or anyone else's on parents, or their upbringing, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent, then you need to get new perspective. Oprah's dad had a barber shop... My dad owned a chemistry lab. My dad made more money than Oprah's dad. I went to private school. I am brilliant. I play music. I am funny as heck. I am more entertaining, interesting, and I am probably smarter and more talented, and come from more money than Oprah came from.. Why aren't I one of the wealthiest, most well known people in the world? Because she had a vision, and I had too much fun, and "knew better".. Sometimes people are to smart for their own good... The wealthiest people are not the smartest in the world, or from the best backgrounds. They had perspective.... Its not WHAT we do, or WHERE we come from that determines our position. It's WHY we do what we do, and WHAT we want to change about our situation that ultimately determines our positions.
1/18/2011 2:35 PM
It would be interesting to see how much they work and what was the profit until they become billionaires?
One can work hard and has nothing, another will get everything at the lucky or critical- (money) mass moment, when money stat work for them. For hardworking billionaires, if they really work without rest and family time, is such life worse it?
One can work hard and has nothing, another will get everything at the lucky or critical- (money) mass moment, when money stat work for them. For hardworking billionaires, if they really work without rest and family time, is such life worse it?
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