We all adore an underdog tale—there’s something so satisfying about listening to inspiring biographies of people who move from rags to dominating the business world. It’s the day-to-day equivalent of a superhero origin story, but instead of superpowers, these entrepreneurs had grit, hustle, and a refusal to quit.
From being on food stamps to being billion-dollar visionaries, these pathbreaking entrepreneurs are proof that success is not where you start but how you fight hard for your objectives.
So, if you’re ever feeling like success is out of reach, take a seat and get inspired by these incredible rags-to-riches stories that prove anything is possible.
Here are the 8 Worldwide Entrepreneurs That Have Life-Changing Experiences To Learn From
Get ready to be inspired. Let’s dive into the lives of these business moguls and how they rose to become who they are today:
1. Oprah Winfrey – From Poverty to Media Mogul
Oprah Winfrey wasn’t born into wealth. In fact she grew up in extreme poverty around rural Mississippi, she was raised by a single teenage mother. She wore potato sacks as dresses, Winfrey endured a traumatic childhood, she was often told that she’d never amount to much.
But Oprah had a voice—and she understood how to use it. She began to work her way up from a local radio station to hosting a small talk show. And then, The Oprah Winfrey Show came along, and the rest is history.
Oprah became the first black female billionaire in America to build a media conglomerate (OWN Network), and nowadays she’s worth a whopping $2.8 billion. This is impressive for someone who began with nothing but ambition and just a microphone.
2. Elon Musk – The Sleep-Deprived Genius Who Gambled Everything
Before he became the world’s richest man as we all know today, Elon Musk was just a broke immigrant from South Africa with the hope of making his big dreams come true, and a studious person with a ridiculous work ethic.
He arrived in the U.S. with almost no money, worked odd jobs, and lived on $1 a day, eating nothing but hot dogs and oranges (seriously). After dropping out of Stanford, he co-founded Zip2, an online business directory.
He sold it for $307 million and poured every penny into X.com (which became PayPal), Tesla, and SpaceX. At one point, he was sleeping in Tesla’s factory, barely avoiding bankruptcy.
Musk’s gamble paid off—he’s now worth over $200 billion, runs multiple companies, and still doesn’t seem to sleep.
3. Howard Schultz – The Man Who Made Coffee Fancy
Can you Imagine a world where Starbucks doesn’t exist? No caramel macchiatos, no pumpkin spice lattes—just plain coffee. Scary, right?
Howard Schultz should be thanked for his efforts for making it all exist. Howard grew up in a poor Brooklyn housing project, watching his parents struggle to put food on the table. He was the first in his family to attend college and took a job at a small coffee shop called Starbucks (which, at the time, sold coffee beans, not lattes).
He saw potential, bought the company, and transformed Starbucks into the global coffee empire we know today.
Schultz went from growing up in poverty to becoming a billionaire coffee king, proving that sometimes, all you need is a good business plan and a lot of caffeine.
4. Do Won Chang – The $4.50 Per Hour Worker Who Built Forever 21
Ever shopped at Forever 21? Well, its founder, Do Won Chang, once worked three minimum-wage jobs just to survive.
He moved to the U.S. from South Korea in the early 1980s and worked in several places, as a janitor, gas station attendant, and coffee shop barista—all at the same time. He noticed that rich people in L.A. were all in the clothing business, so he and his wife opened a small clothing store.
That store became Forever 21, a fashion empire worth billions before its decline.
At its peak, Forever 21 made over $4 billion annually. Despite some ups and downs, Do Won Chang’s story remains one of the most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories ever.
5. Steve Jobs – The Dropout Who Changed the World
Steve Jobs’ story is the ultimate underdog-to-genius billionaire tale.
Born to a struggling single mother, he was adopted by a working-class family. He dropped out of college due to the expensive tuition fee. Steve barely had a place to sleep, often crashing at his friends’ floors while collecting soda cans for food money.
Despite the hardships, he co-founded Apple in a garage, got kicked out of his own company, and then came back to make it the most valuable company in the world.
Jobs became a tech icon and revolutionised multiple industries, leaving behind an empire worth more than $3 trillion today. His success is impressive for a man who once relied on free meals at a Hare Krishna temple for survival.
6. Ralph Lauren – The Tie Salesman Who Built a Fashion Empire
Ralph Lauren didn’t grow up wearing designer suits—he grew up in the Bronx, sharing a bedroom with two brothers.
He started his career as a simple tie salesman, but he had bigger dreams. With $50,000 in loans, he launched his tie brand and convinced a department store to sell them. That small collection turned into Ralph Lauren Corporation, one of the biggest luxury fashion brands in the world.
From humble beginnings, Ralph Lauren built a $7 billion empire and redefined American fashion.
7. Richard Branson – The High School Dropout Who Launched Virgin
Richard Branson had dyslexia and hevstruggled in school so much that he dropped out at 16. But instead of giving up, he started several small businesses, first a magazine, then a record store, and finally a record label (Virgin Records).
Thereafter, he created Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile, and Virgin Galactic—because why stop at music when you can also own an airline and a space company?
Branson is now worth $3 billion and spends his time flying in hot air balloons and launching people into space.
8. Jan Koum – From Food Stamps to WhatsApp Billions
Jan Koum’s family moved from Ukraine to the U.S. when he was 16. They all survived on food stamps and welfare. He taught himself to code, and was employed at Yahoo, subsequently he co-founded WhatsApp in 2009.
In 2014, he made the sale of WhatsApp to Facebook for $19 billion, which was one of the largest tech deals ever.
From poverty to one of the richest tech billionaires, Jan Koum’s story is a reminder that one good idea can turn everything around.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Lesson in Hustle
If there’s one thing these entrepreneurs teach us, it’s that your background doesn’t define your future.
They all started with nothing—no trust funds, no connections—just determination, creativity, and an insane work ethic. They showed that success isn’t determined by where you start, but by how hard you fight for your dreams, whether it’s selling ties, coding in a dorm room, or taking a risk on an idea no one trusted. So, if you’re struggling right now, just remember—Oprah wore potato sacks before becoming a billionaire, Elon Musk ate hot dogs to survive, and Steve Jobs literally started Apple in a garage.
Your success story is just waiting to be written.
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