10 billionaires who dropped out of college and made it big

We took a look at well-known billionaires who left college before graduating — building successful businesses without a degree.

College is often seen as a key step toward financial stability, but some of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs took a different route — leaving school early to pursue business ventures. From technology pioneers to startup founders, these billionaires built major companies without completing a degree.

The tech industry, in particular, has produced many high-profile dropouts who reshaped entire sectors. Many left prestigious universities mid-studies to focus on building their own companies, feeling like their studies would only hold them back.

And the trend continues today: Figma CEO and founder Dylan Fields left college to build the design platform and is now worth an estimated $5 billion following the company’s IPO this month.

We’ve compiled a list of notable billionaire college dropouts, detailing how each made the leap from student to industry leader — and the businesses they built along the way.

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Bill Gates enrolled at Harvard University in 1973 but left in 1975 to co-found Microsoft alongside Paul Allen. The company initially focused on developing software for personal computers, eventually creating the Windows operating system that shaped the industry. Gates’s early decision to drop out was driven by his ambition to fully commit to growing Microsoft.

Though he left formal education early, Gates has used his fortunes to fund the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has multiple education initiatives.

Dylan Field left Brown University before completing his degree to co-found Figma, a cloud-based design collaboration platform. He received a $100,000 fellowship from Peter Thiel’s foundation that stipulated he must leave school and work on the company full time to get the grant money.

Figma is now worth billions of dollars following its IPO this month, and Field is estimated to be worth $5 billion himself.

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Evan Williams dropped out of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to pursue a career in technology. He co-founded Blogger in the late 1990s, one of the first major platforms to popularize blogging. Later, Williams became a Twitter co-founder. He also went on to found Medium.

Gabe Newell dropped out of Harvard University in the 1980s to work at Microsoft, where he helped build the early versions of the Windows operating system.

After a decade at Microsoft, Newell co-founded Valve Corporation, a company known for pioneering digital distribution of video games through its Steam platform.

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Jan Koum left San Jose State University after getting a job at Yahoo in the 1990s. Koum went on to co-found WhatsApp in 2009, which Facebook acquired in 2014 for approximately $19 billion, making Koum a multibillionaire.

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Larry Ellison dropped out of the University of Illinois and later the University of Chicago without earning a degree. In 1977, he co-founded Software Development Laboratories, which later became Oracle Corporation.

Oracle grew into one of the largest software companies globally, dominating database management systems and making Ellison one of the wealthiest executives in tech.

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Mark Zuckerberg left Harvard University in 2004 during his sophomore year to focus on developing Facebook. Originally launched as a social networking site for college students, Facebook then expanded to become a global social media behemoth, acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, which along with Facebook are now all housed under parent company Meta.

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Michael Dell started a computer business from his dorm room, then dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. His company, Dell Technologies, grew into a leading manufacturer and seller of personal computers and IT infrastructure.

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Steve Jobs left Reed College in 1972 after one semester but continued auditing classes while focusing on Apple’s early development. Along with Steve Wozniak, Jobs co-founded Apple, driving innovation in personal computing, mobile devices, and digital media.

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Travis Kalanick dropped out of UCLA to work on Scour, a startup he co-founded that was an early peer-to-peer file exchange service. He later went on to co-found Uber. Uber’s rapid growth spurred regulatory and legal challenges worldwide and simultaneously made Kalanick a billionaire.