Famous College Dropouts

Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree Plan on Going Back to College? Billionaire Dropouts Made It without Formal Education

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | © 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

Famous high school and college dropouts such as the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates made scientific breakthroughs, developed sophisticated and innovative technologies, and made fortunes. Driven by curiosity, they experiment, challenge assumptions about reality, and help create an interconnected world.

The Wright Brothers: The Aviation Pioneers The Wright Brothers are self-taught engineers and pioneers in the field of aviation who created and piloted the first practical, powered airplane. The two brothers held diverse occupations before they started experimenting with gliders. They were driven by passion and curiosity. The Wright Brothers did not finish high school and in 1896, they began to experiment and practiced gliding. They were the first to achieve a successful motor-driven flight and had some 700 successful flights. The first flight in history, which lasted for about 12 seconds landed safely after travelling 37 meters. The wing warp of their airplane could make banked and balanced turns, which was a major contribution to aeronautics. The brothers used wires to twist or warp the wings, which made the first mancontrolled flight possible.

Wilbur Wright once noted that he grew up in an environment where children’s curiosity was encouraged. They were free to pursue their intellectual interests, which opens the mind for new possibilities. If birds are able to “glide for extended periods” why humans can’t?, Orville Wright asked. The Wright brothers made this possible by experimenting and doing aeronautical research. They experimented with unpowered aircraft in order to get ideas for different ways for flight control. They knew that the yaw, pitch, and roll axes should be controlled for an object to fly. They constructed airplanes with rudder, elevator, wing, and other movable surfaces. The pilot was the person in control of the plane and was responsible for safety. As it is today.

The first plane created by the brothers was sold for $30,000. Later, they signed contracts in the U.S. and Europe, which made them wealthy.

Thomas Edison – The Prolific Inventor Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, carbon microscope, and movie camera also dropped out of school. He is one of the most influential and prolific inventors of all times.

Edison established the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company to sell his phonograph. He suggested different uses for his creation, from recording voices to phonographic texts for blind people, dictation, and writing letters. Electric light is one of Edison’s greatest contributions to science and human progress. He was successful in producing a lasting and

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | © 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

dependable source of light. His goal was to improve the light bulb using carbonized filaments and low current electricity. While many scientists and inventors were working to develop a reliable source of light, Edison was the first to invent a practical light bulb. He developed several elements that made it possible to create a functional light bulb. These include insulating materials, a better dynamo, safety fuses, and the parallel circuit. Edison worked on a number of projects and invented the stock ticker, fluoroscope, and kinetoscope. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and had more than 1,000 patents.

Thomas Edison invented many practical devices that changed the lives of his contemporaries and the future generations. The list of his inventions includes the electric pen, the quadruplex telegraph, and the automatic vote recorder. Edison is also the inventor of the carbon filament and the carbon transmitter, and the latter is a major contribution to the telephone technology. He is the creator of the world’s first central station for the distribution of heat, power, and electricity. Edison has made many revolutionary discoveries, including the universal electric motor, the steel storage battery, and a system for wireless telegraphy. The talking motion picture is one of his greatest inventions.

Bill Gates and the Microsoft Empire Bill Gates is also a college dropout who happens to be one of the wealthiest persons in the world. He is the co-founder of Microsoft, a company that contributed greatly to the computer revolution. For him, the personal computer empowers people and helps them to communicate, buy products, and do business. Computers maximize the efficiency of operations, and businesses greatly benefit from this. And today there is software for TVs, mobile phones, vehicles, and watches. In the beginning of his career, Bill Gates created the BASIC interpreter, but his key creation is the computing behemoth Microsoft. The company has hundreds of thousands of employees in more than 100 countries. Besides offering employment to many, Bill Gates also donates to charitable causes in the fields of global development and health. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works to eradicate and prevent serious diseases such as malaria, HIV, and enteric diseases. Gates contributes to causes that are less popular or ignored by other non-for-profits and the national authorities. His goal was to put “a computer on each desk”, and in many countries, this has happened already. Bill Gates has contributed to making the world a global village where we communicate, work, and learn more efficiently.

Gates is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and a computer tycoon who is known as the Microsoft mogul. Microsoft spends huge amounts of money on research and development and leads the computer revolution. While computers were large machines, used by corporations and the military in the past, today hundreds of millions of people have personal

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | © 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

computers. The personal computer industry began with the invention of BASIC – now computers obeyed men.

Larry Ellison – College Graduates Are Losers Larry Ellison completed one year at the University of Chicago and dropped out of college. Oracle CEO Ellison believes that finding “errors in conventional wisdom” is the key to progress and development. Oracle is a Silicon Valley giant and a high tech company that develops database technologies. Ellison himself is one of the leaders of the software revolution. He has developed a number of software products which are of vital importance for a networked world. Oracle has become incredibly profitable and is listed as one of the world’s most profitable brands. Oracle Corporation develops, produces, distributes, and markets hardware, software, database technologies, and software updates. The company offers cloud and consulting services.

Oracle was founded in 1977, and many U.S automobile producers, airlines, major retailers, and financial institutions became dependent on the company’s database programs. The company offers a number of online business applications and software such as Oracle Procurement, Oracle CRM, and Oracle Projects. These programs make customer services, warehouse, HR, and supply management more efficient. Oracle has invested in a number of companies for logistics, retail inventory, data management, and software products. One of the wealthiest men in the world once said that “a new giant will be born”, and he was right.

He proved that formal education is not always the key to success. In fact, in a commencement address, he told Yale graduates that they would never make it to the top because they have absorbed too much while in college. They have built strong relationships and established networks and work habits, but they are already a part of the system. Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Paul Allen – all of whom college dropouts – are not.

Michael Dell – a Dropout Who Values Education Michael Dell is one of the wealthiest men in the world who first created computers and sold them from his dormitory room. He used an innovative approach that proved successful. His idea was to offer personal computers directly to customers instead of selling them through retailers and third parties. And this idea was the key to success. Bypassing retail and dealer channels, he created an industry powerhouse and a new model, known as the direct business model.

In Dell’s own words, it helped to establish good relationships with

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | © 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

suppliers and clients. He was successful in combining different elements of the supply chain – production, customization, and partnerships with suppliers – in an efficient and innovative way. Dell called it virtual integration and became famous for it. This is a new business model for the IT industry and a working one at that.

Michael Dell became the youngest CEO of a company that was included in the Fortune 500 list. Besides personal computers, Dell offers products such as personal devices, tablet PCs, home entertainment systems, camcorders, cameras, and more. The company expanded quickly and outsold other brands in the USA. Michael Dell is a university dropout, but he believes that college education is not a prerequisite or the key to success. Visionaries and genius people aren’t necessarily successful. What you need is “a framework and a dream”.

Dell and his wife founded the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to help improve the lives of others. The goal is to improve the lives of children living in poverty, and health care and education are important to this end. Children who don’t have access to education can’t be successful, Dell said. But he did it without a college degree.

A Wired World for Paul Allen Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and founder of Xiant software dropped out of the University of Washington. Known as the “idea man”, Allen became a billionaire in his early 30s. He invested in different companies while pursuing his wired world strategy. Paul Allen supports different charitable causes and is the founder of the Allen Institute of Brain Science, which works to discover how the brain functions. The Institute endorses various large-scale projects and initiatives to map the brain and discover the genes that control its functioning. Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has donated close to $30 million to non-for-profits in the U.S. Paul Allen has built a business empire after dropping out of college. Allen dreams of creating a wired world where TVs, computers, tablets, and other devices are linked through a broadband connection. Paul Allen also founded Vulcan Ventures, a project management firm, which invests in different projects. The list of investments includes the Living Computer Museum, the Flying Heritage Collection, and the Experience Music Project. The EMP Museum features temporary and permanent exhibits which focus on the history of science fiction and music. This project helps people to learn more about many science fiction shows, movies, and famous musicians such as Michael Jackson, Jim Henson, and Jimi Hendrix. Paul Allen has also made real estate investments through Vulcan Ventures. He bought the Cinerama movie in Seattle and restored and renovated it so that people can watch and enjoy movies. While Allen has a diverse portfolio of stocks and invests across different sectors, for him, it is more important to “help humanity move forward”.

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | Š 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

Steve Jobs - The Master of Innovation Steve Jobs is a college dropout who made billions of dollars out of his inventions. He attended Reed College but completed one year and dropped out. Unlike Larry Ellison, he never told university students that education is a waste of time. Following one’s dreams is not incompatible with obtaining a college degree. It is the opposite; university education helps students to find more opportunities for personal and professional development. Steve Jobs himself made it to the top while millions of people benefit from his inventions. Among his creations are the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod. In fact, Jobs is the co-inventor or inventor of a number of products, with a total of 323 patents. The list is long – the PowerMac G3, USB mouse, power adaptor, iPhone OS, magic mouse, and many others. Steve Jobs is known as the master of innovation and the father of the digital revolution. He was a visionary who pursued his passion and created a number of beautiful, functional products. He had patents on personal computers, iOS-based devices, laptops, and even oddities such as display devices with movable assemblies. They were never released on the market. Other inventions are functional, including computing and electronic devices, computer-controlled display devices, and media players. Steve Jobs paid attention to design and made smart design choices.

Before his death, Jobs also thought of starting a public foundation, although his inventions contributed significantly to human progress. Steve Jobs established a foundation in 1986 and thought of financing projects focused on vegetarianism and proper nutrition. One of his friends, Mark Vermilion once shared that his efforts to expand Apple paid off, and he contributed more to progress in this way than by running a public foundation.

Mark Zuckerberg Makes the World More Transparent Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, completed 2 years at Harvard and dropped out. His brainchild Facebook allows people around the world to interact, share ideas and pictures, lobby, and join interest-based user groups. While the social media website was designed for Harvard students, it was expanded to include other universities and colleges such as Stanford University. Today, Facebook has over 1.05 billion users a month and it had more than 1 trillion likes last year. Mark Zuckerberg donated $100 million in support of the school system in New Jersey. In fact, Zuckerberg is one of the most charitable persons in the U.S. During the last year alone, he gave away $498.8 million to support education and healthcare programs. Zuckerberg plans to donate most of his fortune to charitable causes.

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Famous Scientists and Billionaires Who Stopped Short of a Degree | © 2013 Tech-FAQ.com

Facebook is Zuckerberg’s most important creation, but he worked on other projects as well.

Wirehog is the predecessor of Facebook applications, which was developed by Adam D'Angelo, Andrew McCollum, and Mark Zuckerberg. This is a file-sharing program that allows users to share files with one another. It was compatible with Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. Zuckerberg’s inventions are focused on sharing information. For him, sharing makes “the world more transparent”. Facebook allows people to connect, spread and raise awareness of important issues, and discuss and solve problems together. In fact, Zuckerberg’s creation offers some unexpected benefits such as better chances of finding a job.

A research team at the Northern Illinois University found out that candidates’ Facebook pages play a more important role than IQ and personality surveys. Social networking websites such as Facebook also offer psychological benefits. One is that spending time connecting and interacting with people gives a boost to self-esteem. This happens when family, friends, and relatives leave positive comments and feedback. Surprisingly, Zuckerberg’s creation, which is a major source of distraction, also increases productivity.

Researchers reveal that using Facebook makes people more productive and happier.

Obviously, Zuckerberg did a good job in connecting people all over the world.

Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, Michael Dell, and other famous people made fortunes out of their inventions. Innovators and futurists like them made work, communications, travel, and life easier. Social entrepreneurism, hard work, experimentation, and intellectual curiosity contributed to making the world an interconnected place. It is an intercultural community, which is easy to join, contribute to, and benefit from other people’s social, cultural, and intercultural experience.

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