4 of top 5 Wealthiest Americans are College Dropouts!

There's no shortage of people telling us: "Stay in college. College graduates make more on average than non-college graduates." I say BS. According to the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, 4 out of the top 5 are college dropouts including Bill Gates, the wealthiest American at $51 billion, who dropped out of Harvard. Only Warren Buffet (#2 at $40 billion) graduated from college although he only went to satisfy his parents' wishes. He was already a fairly wealthy investor before college, and continued on his chosen path after college. College was for him merely an interruption in his life. Paul Allen (#3 at $22.5 billion), Microsoft co-founder, dropped out of the University of Washington.

Michael Dell (#4 at $18 billion) dropped out of the University of Texas, and Larry Ellison (#5 at $17 billion) dropped out of 2 colleges: University of Illinois and University of Chicago.

These folks are all multi-billionaires. All are college dropouts with the exception of one reluctant college graduate for whom college didn't deter him on his chosen path. Now a lot of pro-college pundits will tell you that, statistically speaking, college graduates make more money than non-college graduates. Well folks, I'm here to tell you that you can lie with statistics...big time. Did any of their statistical samples include Bill Gates or Paul Allen or Michael Dell or Larry Ellison? I think not. These folks have more combined income and wealth probably than the whole pool of college graduates put together. Talk about a society based on lies. The biggest lie is that you have to go to college to do well financially.

If you go to college, chances are you'll make chump change albeit more chump change than most college dropouts. However, statistically speaking, college dropouts are probably on average wealthier than college graduates as we have seen from the above examples. How could they not be when the four above mentioned individuals have a combined wealth that most countries in the world would envy for their GDP. At a combined wealth of $138.5 billion (if I did my math right) the top 5 wealthiest Americans have a GDP greater than most African countries. Now you could go on down the list of the 400 wealthiest Americans and check each one's educational status: graduate or dropout. The results might be surprising! That's a subject for future blog entries. Maybe we'll take 10 at a time till we exhaust the Forbes 400 list.

The message is clear: if you know what you want out of life, go for it; forget college. If you don't know what you want in life, then maybe college is a better alternative to hanging around on the street corner. Basically college will get you a better income if you are mediocre and don't know what you want. If you're exceptional, then college will only get in your way.

Of course, not everyone who follows their dreams will achieve the financial success of these gentlemen. A lot of people, myself included, could care less about this level of financial success. But I think the lesson is clear. Don't believe the BS that parents and educators are telling you. They have a business to promote. Yes, folks, education is a business. College students support a huge cadre of professors, administrators, librarians etc. etc. down to the janitors.

Information of any and all kinds is freely available to anyone who seeks it. Libraries are free. You can find out almost anything via the Internet. You don't need formal education to learn anything you want to learn, much less a degree! I am in favor of self-education. I only wish I knew what my direction was when I was younger and had the guts to follow it then. But for me college was marking time until I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life.

For more on this subject please see my website Social Choice and Beyond.

Comments

[Russ Miller]

Hello - Good article - I just had a blow out with a school teacher inlaw who was pushing formal education view on me when i pointed out that school is great for those who want to work under someone else. I also pointed out that old views of job security and retirment etc. are fading and more and more people are becoming self employed and taking control of their financial futures. He knows of cours that i make about (10) times his pay - but is so caught up in the miopia of his training that he can not bring himseld to open to new views. I want more hard facts. It has been a common quote among self employed individuals that the hihgest percentage of millionares are non college graduates (where is this evidenc) it may be per capita??????? Also where can i find info that suggest the increase in self employment rates ??? Any help will educate me to show further facts and statistical info the the vality of our same view points

Thank you,

Russ Miller

[John Lawrence]

Thanks for your comment, Russ. What I started to do was to go through the Forbes 400 list starting at the top and then googling each person to find out if they were college educated or not. You could continue this process and then compare the number of college educated to the number of non-college educated. The other thing I would recommend is to google self-employment and continue your research from there. If you find out anything interesting, please email me or leave another comment. Thanks again.

[Scott]

I'd hate to break it to you, but the statistics don't lie: Chances are, unless you're extraordinarily lucky or extraordinarily brilliant, you'll end up working for someone else in one form or another--just like the overwhelming majority of people in this country, in which case a college degree equals tens of thousands of dollars more income a year and a much, much wider array of job opportunities. Yes, Bill Gates and others have done remarkably well, but the real truth is, the vast majority of us will not be so lucky. So unless you're one of the very, very, very few to make it big running your own business, chances are you'll be stuck trying to find a more "traditional" job--and you'll be at a severe handicap without a college degree.

[John Lawrence]

"Chances are, unless you're extraordinarily lucky or extraordinarily brilliant, you'll end up working for someone else in one form or another"

You don't have to be extraordinarily lucky OR extraordinarily brilliant to be a plumber, electrician, cabinet maker, landscaper, doctor, lawyer, architect, civil engineer, various contractors etc. in which cases you do not have to work for someone else but can be happily self-employed, and, believe me, it's worth it!

A college degree is just a ticket of admission to working for a corporation. And then you give up your right of free speech (you won't be there long if you criticize your boss!), you're subject to being laid off at a moment's notice ("at will" employment practices), your job can be outsourced, you may not even get unemployment insurance(they're increasing the eligibility requirements for that). Far better to start your own business and rough it for a few years, if you have to, until you're "established." Then no one can lay you off, and yopu don't have to kiss anyone's ass!

[MOko]

Of course college is a business. This is capitalism. Nothing is more sacred than the almighty dollar. Healthcare is a business (sorry cardiologists and orthopedic surgeons dont go through 12+years of baldening mess for some idealistic "love kindness yippee"), education be it private or public are run like businesses (show up to class or we get less funds..so show up!...superindentents getting perks for signing contracts with company x to supply goods and such).

Most people are ordinary. If you have to question it you likely are. So you either go into the grind like most ordinary people do or try to deny what you are and evolve into something better (most people don't have that kind of willpower so that path tends to boil down to luck/circumstance)

Besides everyone can't be special because then there would be no special. Gotta have seen an ugly chick to know a pretty one when you see her. Whatever happens, take it like a man...you could be living off less than $2 a day like 3 billion people so stop whining.