Millionaires (and Billionaires) Before They Were Rich

First Job: Grocery store employee
Made First Million at: 32
Current Net Worth: $2.7 billion

Oprah Winfrey leveraged a difficult upbringing in rural Mississippi to become a groundbreaking figure in the world of television. She had a natural talent for speaking even as a toddler and in her senior year of high school, she started working as a radio news presenter part-time. She left a full scholarship at Tennessee State University to anchor for Nashville’s WLAC-TV, becoming the station’s first African American female anchor and their youngest hire. 

Oprah Winfrey Joseph Hewes/Youtube.com

What started as a morning talk show in Chicago, The Oprah Winfrey Show, became a nationwide hit, known for tackling difficult and taboo subjects. It was also the start of a huge media empire, which includes a magazine and TV network.

First Job: Christmas tree grower and seller
Made First Million at: 23
Current Net Worth: $4 billion

Richard Branson was born in London but his sharp mind and business prowess took him around the world (and someday into outer space too). His first success came with the founding of Student magazine in 1968. In the ad space, Branson sold mail-order records at discounted prices. Next, he started a record label, Virgin Records, and signed musicians like the Rolling Stones. 

Richard Branson ©Hulton Deutsch/Getty Images

In 1981, he started Virgin Atlantic Airlines following an experience with a cancelled flight. The Virgin brand grew to include telecom, transportation, and space travel technology. In 2006, he sold Virgin Mobile for almost $1.3 billion. More recently, Branson launched a Virgin cruise line, a hotel brand, and bought the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

First Job: Babysitter
Made First Million at: 24
Current Net Worth: $640 million

Martha Stewart is not just a popular TV host–she’s a lifestyle brand. She started off as a Chanel model before making her first million dollars as a stockbroker. As a talented caterer, she caught the attention of a publisher when she catered an event for her husband’s publishing firm. 

Martha Stewart ©Susan Wood/Getty Images

This move led to the first of many cookbooks, newspaper columns, and lifestyle articles. Her brand took off with the launch of her magazine Martha Stewart Living in 1990, followed by her own TV show in 1993. In recent years, she has released several more books and even hosts a cooking show with rapper Snoop Dogg.

First Job: Extra on The Sopranos
Made First Million at: 22
Current Net Worth: $275 million

Lady Gaga started playing piano at age four and her natural musical talent only grew. By 20, the New York native was working at Interscope Records, writing for Britney Spears and New Kids on the Block. She was discovered, though, by R&B musician Akon while doing a burlesque show and the rest is history. 

Lady Gaga @HiJamesGraham/Twitter.com

She achieved stardom with her debut album “The Fame” in 2008. Today, Lady Gaga continues to wow audiences with her music, eccentric (though more toned down) outfits, and most recently, earned an Academy Award nomination for her starring role in 2018’s A Star is Born. 

First Job: Pub Pianist
Made First Million at: 26
Current Net Worth: $540 million*

With a net worth of over half a billion, Elton John is one of the richest singer-songwriters of all time. John was born in England, and he and Bernie Taupin, his songwriter, have collaborated on over thirty albums so far. John has sold over 300 million records. John’s family growing up was more conservative, and he used his wild outfits and performances as a way to rebel.

Elton John hrleo/Youtube.com

He got his start at age fifteen as a pub pianist. He used the stage name “Reggie,” and he played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at the Northwood Hills Hotel in England.

First Job: Clerk to an appeals court judge
Made First Million at: 29
Current Net Worth: $1.2 billion

Peter Thiel was born in Germany but moved to California with his family at age 12. After Stanford Law School, he worked as a law clerk but soon switched to securities trading. He was one of the founders of the digital wallet system Paypal in 1998, which grew to huge success.

Peter Thiel @BusinessInsider/Twitter.com

After Paypal was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, Thiel started Clarium Capital and was one of the first external Facebook investors in 2004. Since then, his venture capital firm Founders Fund has gained more success, being an early investor in companies like Airbnb, LinkedIn, Spotify, and Yelp.

First Job: Farmhand
Made First Million at: 27
Current Net Worth: $43.2 billion

Growing up in South Africa, life wasn’t easy for the young Elon Musk. In school, he was frequently bullied. By 17, he decided to leave his home to study in Canada. After a short stint as a farmhand, he earned degrees in economics and  physics. His foray into business began with a travel guide software company, alongside his brother. 

Elon Musk @Discovery/Twitter.com

When that business was sold, Musk used his earnings to start online bank X.com in 1999, which merged with Paypal. His visionary ideas continued with Tesla, which is a leader in electric cars, batteries, and solar panels.

First Job: Teen singer and songwriter
Made First Million at: 23
Current Net Worth: $800 million

Celine Dion grew up in Quebec, Canada, the youngest of 14 kids. Her family loved music and with her mother and brother’s help, she sent a copy of her first song to music producer René Angélil. He was wowed by the 14 year old’s talent and molded her into a successful teen pop star. 

Celine Dion @alexis_xbx/Pinterest.com

After learning English, she released a successful English-language album in 1991. Her biggest hit, though, was her 1997 Titanic theme song My Heart Will Go On, which won an Academy Award. For years, she had a residency in Las Vegas, but these days, Dion is focusing on touring and releasing new albums. 

First Job: Designing a music recommendation app
Made First Million at: 22
Current Net Worth: $68.2 billion

Mark Zuckerberg was a child computer prodigy and gained attention in his teen years when he founded Synapse, a music player that learned users’ listening habits. Both AOL and Microsoft offered to buy his app (and give him a full-time job) but he turned them down. 

Mark Zuckerberg @MarketWatch/Twitter.com

As a student at Harvard, he made more free apps, but is best known for creating social network Facebook in 2004. Its popularity spread quickly and only months later, 18-year-0ld Zuckerberg opened the first Facebook office. Only three years after its launch, Zuckerberg became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world and continues to be known as a tech visionary.

First Job: McDonald’s line cook
Made First Million at: 33
Current Net Worth: $127.7 billion

Thanks to the success of Amazon, Jeff Bezos is able to call himself one of the wealthiest people in history, the first person to have over $100 billion in personal wealth. An electrical engineer and computer scientist by training, he started his career on Wall Street before opening Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore. 

Jeff Bezos ©Paul Souders/Getty Images

By 1998, the company was already worth over $1 billion, of which Bezos had a 40% stake. Bezos’s wealth continued to grow as the site expanded to sell more and more products, earning it the nickname “The Everything Store.” Bezos is also the founder of aerospace and space travel service company Blue Origin.

First Job: Soldier in the US Military
Made First Million at: 30
Current Net Worth: $8.2 billion

Fashion mogul Ralph Lauren is the definitive American designer, popularizing the casual luxury look that has been donned by first ladies, olympic athletes, and millions of regular people. Born and raised in the Bronx, he dropped out of college and spent two years in the military. 

Ralph Lauren @HBODocs/Twitter.com

His start in fashion began by selling ties for Brookes Brothers, but soon started designing his own line of European-style ties. His Polo brand found huge success thanks to the iconic short sleeve polo shirt, a staple clothing item to this today. Though he stepped down from his CEO role at Ralph Lauren in 2015, he remains on its board.

First Job: Computer programmer
Made First Million at: 26
Current Net Worth: $112.8 billion

Bill Gates is a true computer pioneer in every sense of the word. Gates had a love for computers ever since he was a child growing up in Seattle, WA, back when computers themselves were in their early days. He founded Microsoft in 1975 after dropping out of Harvard. 

Bill Gates ©Doug Wilson/Getty Images

Thanks to innovative technology and intuitive software, Gates made personal computers accessible to the masses. Attaining billionaire status in the late ’80s, he remains an active member of Microsoft but officially stepped back from day-to-day operations in 2008. Him and his wife focus much of their time on philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. 

First Job: Paper boy
Made First Million at: 30
Current Net Worth: $90.2 billion

Growing up in Omaha, NE as the son of a congressman, Warren Buffett was always interested in business and finance. He ran a number of small business ventures with friends while still in high school and had almost $10,000 in savings by the time he graduated from Columbia Business School in 1951. 

Warren Buffett @kennyrrobinson/Twitter.com

Buffett found huge success when he acquired a textile manufacturer called Berkshire Hathaway in 1961. Under his leadership, the company acquired stakes in a number of companies that had good prospects and today, Berkshire Hathaway owns brands such as GEICO, Duracell, and Fruit of the Loom, among others.

First Job: Songwriter
Made First Million at: 20
Current Net Worth: $160 million*

Before he became famous, Ed Sheeran was still singing and doing music. He began singing in his local church choir when he was four years old, and he learned to play guitar when he attended the Rishworth School. He was described by a school report as a “natural performer,” and he was even voted most likely “to be famous” by his classmates.

Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran/Youtube.com

Sheeran’s singing talent got him accepted into the National Youth Theatre when he was a teenager in London, and he then became a member of Youth Music Theatre UK. His first major single dropped in 2009.