95 People Who Dropped Out Of College And Became Millionaires Anyway

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your course load and wondered if it’s even worth it to finish your degree? Are you tired of hearing that you need a college certification to succeed, even though you’ve realized that what you’re doing may not be the best thing for you? Well, fear not, my exhausted friend — you’ll be happy to know that some of the most brilliant people in the world never even finished college!

That’s right, we’re talking about Steve Jobs, Rachel Ray, Ralph Lauren, and even Steven Spielberg. These titans all dropped out of college and became multi-millionaires (and, in some cases, billionaires) despite not having a degree. They proved that dropping out of college doesn’t necessarily mean giving up on the race to financial success and happiness. In fact, for these famous college dropouts, leaving higher education behind and following their personal projects ended up being the best decision they ever made for themselves.

If you’re considering leaving college to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams, take some inspiration from the stories of these atypical minds. And so you know, we’re not here saying that attending college is useless and you should leave it. We’re just here to tell you there’s always an alternative path in life, and quitting college doesn’t mean you’re automatically doomed to an unhappy existence. Hearing the stories of people who, at a certain point in their life, also considered the idea of leaving everything behind may be exactly what you need right now.

So take a break from your study and check out this list of millionaires and billionaires who dropped out of college. From tech giants like Daniel Ek and Mark Zuckerberg to entertainment moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga, these successful college dropouts showed that higher education isn’t the be-all and end-all. Whether they were discouraged by their professors or wanted to pursue their own paths, these business leaders, entrepreneurs, and artists have proved that life-long learning, skills, and mindset are undoubtedly fundamental — but a college degree? Not necessarily.