Generally, young and old people alike all over the world have been made to believe that education, especially formal higher education where – if successfully completed, you attain a degree, is a prerequisite for success later in life. However, it’s also important to note that not everyone is meant to succeed in classwork. As such, appreciating the fact that the path to success is not only via formal education is a plus.
College education is undeniably great but self-taught skills, coupled with the desire to do exploits in life are all that’s needed to make your dreams come true. This is further made a reality by the existence and accessibility of internet, especially in the 21st century. You can practically learn everything you need to know searching on Google or even watching tutorials. Some of the world’s most renowned billionaires achieved their wealth years ago before the internet era. Going by the words of Anthony Robbins, “There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that, once unleashed, can make any vision, dream or desire a reality.”
As such, we’ve compiled a list of those who discovered their own route, forged ahead despite not having a degree and were able to achieve success in regards to influence, wealth and impact. They include;
1. Ladi Delano
Born and raised in the UK, Ladi Delano is a serial entrepreneur of Nigerian descent who succeeded in making his first million as a liquor entrepreneur while living in China. He dropped out of college in his second year where he was pursuing political science degree.
Back in 2004, aged 22, he founded Solidarnosc Asia, a Chinese alcohol beverage company that made a premium brand vodka known as Solid XS. The brand was a success in China in that, it was distributed across more than 30 cities hence earning the company huge profits of approximately $20 million in annual revenue. Delano later sold the company to a rival liquor company for more than $15 million and invested his funds into his next venture-The Delano Reid Group, a real estate investment holding company focused on mainland China. He is currently the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) – a $1 billion joint venture with the $15 billion (market cap) Bakrie Group of Indonesia.
2. Folorunso Alakija
Ranked by Forbes as the richest woman in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion as well as the 87th most powerful woman in the world, Folorunso Alakija is a voice to reckon with when it comes to success and wealth creation. As a businesswoman, she has ventured and succeeded in a wide range of business ventures including oil, with her firm commanding a 60% stake. In addition, her fashion design business, real estate and printing industries are also extremely profitable. Notably, she has no university degree but has made it in life- quite literally.
3. Donahue Peebles
Donahue Peebles is a real estate entrepreneur, author, and political activist as well as the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Peebles Corporation – a real estate company. He was inducted into real estate business as a child by his mother hence, although he dreamt of becoming a physician, he attended Rutgers University but dropped out after a year and took courses on appraising and real estate transactions.
It was in 1983, when he was only 23 years old that his career took a meteoric rise after Mayor Marion Barry appointed him to the District of Columbia’s Board of Equalization & Review (now known as the Board of Real Property Assessment & Appeal). In 1984, he became chairman of the board, hence the youngest chairman of any board in Washington, D.C.’s history and held the post until 1988.
Notably, he was only 27 years old when he landed his first major investment deal in the form of a 100,000-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C. This investment led Peebles to others, enabling him to launch the Peebles Corporation. He now owns one of the country’s largest African-American real estate development companies with a $4 billion development portfolio of luxury hotels, residential and commercial properties from California, Miami and D.C. – all these without a university degree.
4. Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is a world-renowned producer, director, actor, screenwriter, playwright, author, songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who found his initial success in stage shows. Although he dropped out of high school, but he eventually earned his GED. He later, in a quest to find his way professionally held a series of unfulfilling jobs, including working in construction before his film career became successful.
He now is the founder and runs Tyler Perry Studios which is the largest production studio in the USA and the first-African American to fully own a major film production studio.
5. Steve Bartlett
Steve Bartlett dropped out of Manchester Metropolitan University – where he had enrolled in a Business Management course, to pursue a business vision. In conjunction with a friend Dom McGregor, they teamed up to create Europe’s fastest growing social media agency called social chain in a span of two years – with Steve as the founder and CEO. Steve’s initial idea was to create a social media-assisted platform based on common interests and university life, designed to connect students in the same city.
At 27 years, Steve Bartlett is now an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and investor. He also commands a huge following on social media platforms owing to his informative and inspirational content that he posts online. Apparently, he was voted as the “most influential individual in marketing in 2017/18” by 100 agency leaders.
6. Idris Elba
Idris Elba is a British actor, producer, singer, rapper and DJ with a net worth of $25 million.
With no formal training in his acting career, Idris Elba has been successful in what he does and as a result, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queen’s New Year’s Honors List for his services to drama. He attended school in Canning town but later dropped out. Luckily – thanks to a £1,500 Prince’s Trust grant, he gained a place in the National Youth Music Theatre. He worked several odd jobs such as tyre-fitting, cold call advertising sales, and working night shifts at Ford Dagenham for his upkeep. When he was 19 years old, he worked in nightclubs under the nickname DJ Big Driis, but began auditioning for television roles in his early-twenties.
7. Freddie Achom
Freddie Achom is a world renowned British entrepreneur and investor. He, unlike his fellow students chose an unconventional route by dropping out of medical school and starting his own business. This however worked to his advantage since he made his first million in his early 20’s in his B2B consultancy business. He later established the Rosemont Group – an investment company with interest in financial services, luxury goods , hospitality, renewable energy as well as digital technology.
Earlier in 2013, Freddie was recognized as one of the 100 most influential Britons of African and Caribbean heritage, for his achievements in business in the JP Morgan-sponsored Power List. Later in 2010 and 2011 consecutively, he was listed in the London Evening Standard as one of the 1,000 Most Influential Londoners. Freddie is now focused on giving back to the next generation of entrepreneurs helping young inventors with the Rosemont Group Foundation initiative, businessmen, and CEO’s acquire the capital and develop the relationships necessary for personal and professional success.
8. Russell Simmons
Simmons is one of the godfathers of rap and the cofounder of Def Jam Recordings – a label that continues to be hugely influential although neither of its founders is involved in it. He was a student at the City College of New York in Harlem, where he majored in sociology but he eventually dropped out. As of 2017, Russell Simmons’ net worth was approximately $325 million.
9. Magic Johnson
Initially, Johnson did not aspire to play professionally, instead, he spent most of his time focusing on his communication studies major fueled by his desire to become a television commentator. However, after two years in college at Michigan State University, Magic Johnson joined the NBA.
He never returned to complete his degree but managed to build a multimillion-dollar company following his departure from professional basketball and entered into partnerships with companies like Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, T.G.I. Fridays and AMC Theatres. Johnson invested in urban real estate and companies catering to America’s underserved markets via his Canyon-Johnson and Yucaipa-Johnson funds and currently runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of $700 million.
10. Sean “Diddy” Combs
Famously known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Puffy, Sean is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur who dropped out of Howard University where he was studying business. Diddy’s rapping career and business ventures have made him one of the richest rap artists to date.
His businesses include the clothing line called Sean John, record label Bad Boy, Cîroc vodka and most recently his own cable network Revolt TV. He has also landed several well-paying acting gigs, television shows and guest appearances that have added to his riches. In 2013, Diddy topped Forbes hip hop’s wealthiest list with $580 million worth of fortune.
11. Alhaji Mohammed Indimi
Alhaji Mohammed Indimi is the founder and chairman of Oriental Energy Resources Limited. He is a Nigeria based entrepreneur and philanthropist who despite hailing from a humble background and barely making it to school has proved that formal education is not necessarily the key to success. Like his father, who was a renowned hide and skin trader, he also started his own skins business and managed it so well. His entrepreneurial spirit saw him diversify and even monopolize his water pumps supply business during Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime in 1979. This earned him huge profits at the time.
His philanthropic His generosity has earned him numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees from notable Universities in Nigeria, Ireland and the United States – the recent one being an Honorary Doctorate in Management Science from Nigeria Defense Academy in 2018. As of 2015, his net worth was $500 million and was ranked 39th richest man in Africa.
12. Cosmas Maduka
Dr. Cosmas Maduka is a self-made billionaire who, despite dropping out of school at the age of six years after the death of his father – he later founded and successfully oversaw the immense growth of the Coscharis group company, to which he is the CEO. He earned his doctoral status in 2003 after receiving an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (PhD) from the University of Nigeria. He was also among the few people honored by President Goodluck Jonathan with the National Honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2012.
Coscharis group is a multinational company with diverse interest in manufacturing, ICT, petrochemical, auto care & auto components, automobile sales and services, agriculture and agro allied business sectors. It’s rated as one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria by Top 50 Brands Nigeria as well as Cocharis Motors becoming the sole distributor of the BMW in the country in 2015. He is now worth over $800 million.
13. Charlamagne Tha God
Born Lenard Larry McKelvey, and professionally known as Charlamagne Tha God, he is an American television personality and radio presenter- co-hosting the nationally syndicated radio show called The Breakfast Club with DJ Envy and Angela Yee. He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller “Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It.”, as well as the national bestseller, “Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me.”
As of 2019, Charlamagne tha God’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $10 Million.
The biggest lesson learnt from the above named billionaires is that hard work, focus and persistence play a huge role in determining one’s career path, regardless of your education status. As Bruce Lee said, “The success warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”
