24/7 Wall St. Insights
- College grads earn $1.2 million more than their less educated colleagues.
- Musk’s net worth is nearly 70% more than the second-wealthiest American’s.
- Also: Discover the Next Nvidia
We often equate success with education, especially the kind of success that leads to multi-billion-dollar companies. And in today’s world, success is synonymous with wealth. Indeed, many of the country’s richest people are highly educated. However, this doesn’t mean they all attended Ivy League universities.
On average, people in the United States with a bachelor’s degree earn 86% more than those without a college diploma. Over the course of a lifetime, college grads earn $1.2 million more than their less educated cohorts. According to Wallethub, the most educated states include many in the Northeast, such as Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these Eastcoast states surround top universities like Princeton, Brown, Harvard, Cornell, and Yale.
To determine where America’s 25 richest people went to college, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed net worth statistics from Forbes’ The Real-Time Billionaire List, with net worth extracted as of Oct. 2, 2023. All information, including education and schooling data, came from Forbes. When the net worth mentioned is for the billionaire and his or her family, the education is for the billionaire named. The 25 richest billionaires have a combined net worth of nearly $2 trillion.
Elon Musk, the sometimes-controversial business magnate, is associated with numerous high-profile companies he founded, cofounded, or acquired, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter). Musk’s net worth as of Oct. 2, 2023, stood at $255.4 billion, nearly 70% more than the second wealthiest American, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Three of these magnates are investors: RenTech’s Simons; Stephen Schwarzman, president and CEO of Blackstone Group; and Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, the record-smashing Miami-based hedge fund that netted $16 billion in 2022.
Interestingly, four individuals on this list are college dropouts, but most hold a Bachelor of Arts degree. Seven hold post-graduate degrees. Six people on this list are Harvard University alums, five studied at Stanford, and five enrolled at Princeton, according to Forbes.
Why We Are Writing About the Colleges Billionaires Attended
A college’s reputation is very important, as it can be a factor in deciding endowments and how much money the college will gain. Harvard University, which has a $50.9 billion endowment as of 2022, is the wealthiest in the world. Additionally, a university can further enhance its reputation by claiming the world’s wealthiest and most successful people as alumni. Prospective students also find the list of well-known alumni intriguing; it can influence potential applications and enrollment.
Here are America’s wealthiest billionaires and where they went to college:
25. Jim Simons
- Net worth: $30.7 billion (#46 in the world)
- Source of wealth: hedge funds, self-made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Doctorate, University of California, Berkeley
24. Miriam Adelson & family
- Net worth: $31.4 billion (#45 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Casinos
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Science, Hebrew University Jerusalem
23. Stephen Schwarzman
- Net worth: $33.1 billion (#40 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Investments, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Yale University
22. MacKenzie Scott
- Net worth: $34.6 billion (#36 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Amazon
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Princeton University
21. Ken Griffin
- Net worth: $35.4 billion (#34 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Hedge funds, self-made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Harvard University
20. Phil Knight & family
- Net worth: $38.7 billion (#30 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Nike, self-made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Business Administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Oregon
18. Jacqueline Mars
- Net worth: $38.9 billion (#28 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Candy and pet food
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Bryn Mawr College
18. John Mars
- Net worth: $38.9 billion (#28 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Candy and pet food
- Degrees and universities: Diploma, from The Hotchkiss School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Yale University
17. Jensen Huang
- Net worth: $40.0 billion (#26 in world)
- Source of wealth: Semiconductors, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Oregon State University; Master of Science in Engineering, Stanford University
16. Charles Koch & family
- Net worth: $54.5 billion (#23 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Koch Industries
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
15. Julia Koch & family
- Net worth: $59.8 billion (#21 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Koch Industries
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, the University of Central Arkansas
14. Alice Walton
- Net worth: $65.1 billion (#19 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Walmart
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Trinity University
13. Rob Walton & family
- Net worth: $66.1 billion (#18 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Walmart
- Degrees and universities: Doctor of Jurisprudence, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Arkansas
12. Jim Walton & family
- Net worth: $66.8 billion (#17 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Walmart
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, from the University of Arkansas
11. Michael Dell
- Net worth: $70.7 billion (#16 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Dell Technologies, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Drop Out from the University of Texas at Austin
10. Michael Bloomberg
- Net worth: $96.3 billion (#11 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Johns Hopkins University
9. Steve Ballmer
- Net worth: $97.8 billion (#10 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Microsoft, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Harvard University; Drop Out, Stanford University
8. Sergey Brin
- Net worth: $107.6 billion (#9 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Google, self-made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Science, Stanford University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Maryland, College Park
6. Bill Gates
- Net worth: $107.9 billion (#7 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Microsoft, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Drop Out, Harvard University
7. Mark Zuckerberg
- Net worth: $107.8 billion (#8 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Facebook, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Drop Out, Harvard University
5. Larry Page
- Net worth: $112.1 billion (#6 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Google, self-made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Science, Stanford University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Michigan
4. Warren Buffett
- Net worth: $115.6 billion (#5 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Master of Science, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Nebraska Lincoln
3. Larry Ellison
- Net worth: $135.6 billion (#4 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Oracle, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Drop Out, University of Chicago; Drop Out, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
2. Jeff Bezos
- Net worth: $151.9 billion (#3 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Amazon, Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Princeton University
1. Elon Musk
- Net worth: $255.4 billion (#1 in the world)
- Source of wealth: Tesla, SpaceX, and Self-Made
- Degrees and universities: Bachelor of Arts/Science, from the University of Pennsylvania
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