From zero to millionaires.
Wealth in itself calls the attention and admiration of many, since it is a synonym of intelligence and sagacity in business; plus hard work and determination to succeed.
For entrepreneurs who have gone from zero to millionaires, having big companies generates even more interest; since it shows that anyone can fulfill their dreams if they set their minds to it.
Find below 6 stories of people who went from zero to millionaires; and today they are recognized throughout the world.
See also: 10 cases that will show you what is the best age to undertake.
From zero to millionaires.
1.Bill Gates
Estimated fortune: 129 Billion dollars (Aug 2022)
Sector: Technology/Informatics – Microsoft
Initial Capital: US$3,000 (estimated)
Bill Gates is one of the first on the list of the richest people on the planet. In 1968, when he was only 13 years old, he already had enough knowledge to access different computer codes; which is why he would later be expelled from his school.
However, this did not stop his charm for computing. Instead, he was called by a school with the idea of designing software that would schedule classes for students.
He was another famous person who dropped out of college to start his own business. With several failures, as well as a number of triumphs; he worked 16 hours a day in order to fulfill all his ambitions. At 31, Gates became the richest young billionaire.
Related: 6 Books You Must Read According To Bill Gates
2. Carlos Slim Helu & family
Estimated fortune: 81.2 Billion dollars (Aug 2022)
Industry: Telecommunications
Initial Capital: US$ 1,682 (estimated)
Carlos Slim is one of the few Mexican entrepreneurs who started from 0 and is in the top 10 of the richest men in the world. Coming from a Lebanese family that arrived in Mexico escaping from the yoke of the Ottoman Empire and fatherless at the age of 13, Carlos received from an early age the business lessons of his father, Don Julián.
He gave each of his children a savings book with their usual weekly allowance so that they could learn to manage their income and expenses. Lesson that he put into practice since he was only 12 years old, when he opened his first checking account and bought shares in Banco Nacional de México.
At the age of 25, he began the foundations of Grupo Carso, a real estate company that later expanded into the industrial and commercial sector. Towards 1990 this group acquired TELMEX with which a new era of business development began worldwide. (Related: How to know if you are an entrepreneur)
3.Warren Buffett
Estimated Fortune: 118 Billion Dollars (Aug 2022)
Company: Berkshire Hathaway Conglomerate
Initial Capital: US$100
See also: 10 Warren Buffett Phrases that every entrepreneur should know
Warren was born with a business streak. He began his work experience in the stock market at the age of 11 when he acquired his first share. Like him, she worked at the grocery store that his family owned.
His interest in the world of investments began thanks to the fact that his father owned a small stock brokerage, in which Warren learned about investor decisions.
Likewise, he was looking for more sources of income, either through a car wash and newspaper delivery with the idea of buying pinball machines.
At first he refused to go to university, but in the end his father convinced him to attend. After 3 years studying business he graduated from the University of Nebraska.
Like any other entrepreneur, not all of his investments were always successful. This focused on always being attentive to new opportunities; and as such, have a strategy in mind to carry them out.
4. Amancio Ortega
Estimated Fortune: 59.6 Billion Dollars (Aug 2022)
Sector: Textile (Zara)
Amancio began his history in the textile industry at the age of 14, being an employee of two well-known clothing stores in Spain. At just 22 years old, he created GOA, his first clothing company; which manufactured and marketed women’s gowns.
Much of its strategy in this industry has been, in addition to selling textile products, to be able to also be the manufacturer and distributor.
(See also: 4 reasons why it is worth working on what you love) In 1975 he opened his first ZARA store, which from there has managed to expand throughout Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
In addition to having a large participation in the textile industry, Ortega also has a presence in the real estate, financial, and pension fund management industrial sectors, among others.
5.Mark Zuckerberg
Estimated Fortune: 67.3 Billion Dollars (Aug 2022)
Sector: IT – Facebook
Initial Capital: US$1000 (estimated)
Coming from a dentist father and a psychiatrist mother, his life was nothing compared to what this entrepreneur leads today. Like many other cases of successful entrepreneurs who went from zero to millionaires, his passion for what he does developed at a very early age.
At just 12 years old, he created “ZucNet”, a messaging system between computers that informed his father in his office when a patient was in the waiting room.
At 18, Mark was already an expert in programming and had already created more than half a dozen computer code languages.
After finishing his school studies, he went to Harvard, to study psychology and computer science, during this time he created Facebook, the famous social network that led him to start amassing his great fortune.
Related: Questions Successful People Ask Every Day
6. Elon Musk
Estimated fortune: 219 billion dollars (Aug 2022)
Companies: Testa Motors, Space X, Solar City, Hyperloop, Paypal.
Start-up capital: You were in debt when you started.
When we think of entrepreneurs who went from zero to millionaires, we must remember the 7 companies that were born thanks to Elon Musk’s ideas and determination to change the world.
Some will say it’s very easy when you have money to start with, but Musk had nothing when he came to the United States, migrating from his home country of South Africa to Canada and then to the United States. He even had debts from his studies.
Zip2 was his first company and to create it he rented a small office, in which he lived, since he did not have money to pay for a place to sleep. This company was Elon Musk’s vision of the yellow pages on the internet.
After 4 years of work, Compaq bought Zip2 and Musk received 22 million dollars.
(Learn 16 incredible phrases from Elon Musk for entrepreneurs)
Elon Musk is currently one of the most important entrepreneurs in the world. Tesla and Space X are the clear example of something that many thought impossible. Electric vehicles that will work the same or better than internal combustion and reusable rockets.
Also read: He bet on impossible ideas and today he is one of the richest men in the world.
7.Richard Branson
Estimated Fortune: 4.7 Billion Dollars (Aug 2022)
Company: Virgin Group
Initial Capital: US$ 785 (estimated)
Branson owns more than 200 companies within the Virgin Group, a process that began in 1967; when he first created a magazine brand called “Student”. He was another of the great businessmen who abandoned his studies to start his entrepreneurial path.
Although the magazine did not produce the results he expected, his experience led him to think about another way of doing business, by then he created a music store with quite competitive prices, which later became Virgin Records.
(Learn 65 lessons from Richard Branson for entrepreneurs)
By 1983, Branson’s empire was made up of 50 companies, ranging from the film industry to air conditioning cleaners, which generated more than $17 million in revenue.
However, money is not what motivates this entrepreneur, his main challenge is to try to do something better than others, a challenge that led him years later to form Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic among other large companies.
Conclusion.
There are many stories of people who went from zero to millionaires and that we can take to inspire us and decide to fight for our ideals.
I think if you like to be inspired by the lives of entrepreneurs who went from zero to millionaires; It is very possible that you like these phrases of recognized millionaires.
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business and want to find more information on this subject, buy our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.