Rags to Riches Stories: 10 Inspiring Journeys of Financial Success

Where you start does not always determine your future. Look at Obama for instance. Born poor in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia, and rose to become the President of the United States. Look at Lupita Nyong’o. Born in Kenya, she won a Grammy and acted in top movies such as Star Wars and Black Panther.

Here are some of the best rags to riches stories that will likely change your life.

Robert Herjavec

Imagine this. You are a parent in a communist country. You hate communism so much that one day, you decide to escape. You board a boat, with no money. But you are hopeful. You settle in Canada and start raising your family.

That is the true story of Robert Herjavec, the founder of Herjavec Group, one of the largest cyber security companies in the world. He is also a star on the Shark Tank.

Robert’s family escaped communism in Croatia with no money. After arriving, his father started doing odd jobs. He used the money to educate Robert and his siblings.

Robert started his career at IBM, before quitting to start his first company, which he sold for $30 million. He then began Herjavec Group which is one of the largest privately-owned cyber security company. Robert is worth more than $200 million.

Roman Abromovich

Roman is the richest man in Russia with a net worth of more than $8.2 billion. He was born in Southern Russia to poor parents who died when he was only two years old. As a student, he started a small toy company.

Using his profits, he started an oil company called Sibneft. After a few years, he bought another oil company. The merger created the fourth oil company in the world. It was then sold to Gazprom for more than $13 billion. Using the money, he bought the Chelsea Football Club.

Ben Carson

Ben Carson, the current Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has an interesting story, which he detailed in his book, Gifted Hands.

He was raised in a poor neighborhood by a single illiterate mom. Since he was not bright, his mother developed a plan for him to study. This helped him improve his grades and lead him to the school of medicine.

After graduation, he went on to become a renowned neurosurgeon in the world. He is currently worth about $30 million.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah was born in Mississippi to a poor teenager who worked as a housemaid. After a few years, her mom relocated, leaving her to live with her mother for six years. At this time, she was so poor that she wore clothes made from potato sacks.

Later on, she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother. At school, she won an oratory contest and secured a scholarship to Tennessee State University. On campus, she worked in a grocery store and then at a radio station after she won the Miss Black Tennessee Beauty contest.

Today, Oprah is the wealthiest black person in the world with a net worth of more than $3 billion. She has invested in her multimedia company and other companies like Weight Watchers. She could also become the President of the United States.

John Paul DeJoria

John was born from a poor family. His father was an Italian immigrant while his mother was from Greece. His parents divorced when he was two years. By the time he reached 10, he had established his business of selling Christmas cards and newspapers. Using this money, he joined a gang before quitting to join the military.

After his return, he received a $700 loan and started the John Paul Mitchell Systems, a company that manufactured shampoo and hair products. At this time, he was living in his car.
Today, John is worth more than $3.1 billion.

Troy Carter

Troy was born in Philadelphia. His parents divorced when he was two years old. After this, his father remarried and killed the brother of his new wife. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
He dropped out of school at 17 years to become a musician. His music did not do well, so he decided to work on other projects in the industry.

A few years later, he became the manager of Lady Gaga, who became one of the best-selling artists in the industry. After years of success, he was fired by Lady Gaga.

It was then that he started his own company, Atom Factory. The company has two arms. One invests in startups while the other manages artists and brands. Troy has a net worth of about $30 million.

George Soros

George is loved and hated in equal measure around the world.
In 1947, he escaped communist Hungary and arrived in London. To study at the London School of Economics, he worked as a waiter in numerous restaurants. He graduated and worked at a souvenir shop. After this, he landed a prime banking job in New York City. He worked there for years before starting his hedge fund.

In 1992, he bet against the Great Britain Pound and won big. He made more than $1 billion. Today, he is worth more than $8 billion.

Larry Ellison

When you hear about technology bigwigs, the name of Larry Ellison is rarely mentioned. However, he is one of the most important people in the industry.

His company, Oracle provides database solutions to virtually all the large companies in the world. To accelerate its growth, the company has now ventured into the cloud and artificial intelligence.

Larry was born in Brooklyn to a single mother. His aunt in Chicago raised him. After her death, he dropped out of school and did odd jobs for more than eight years. He then started Oracle in 1977.
He is now worth more than $50 billion.

Mark Cuban

Mark was born in Pennsylvania to a father who worked as a mechanic. His mother was a homemaker. At an early age, Mark started selling newspapers and delivering mail to his neighbors. While on campus, he worked as a bartender, disco dancing instructor, and a party promoter.

His big break came when he started a small company called MicroSolutions, which he sold to HR Block for $30 million. He then began an online company called Broadcast. The company broadcasted sports through the internet. A few years later, Yahoo bought the company for more than $5 billion.

He went on to buy the Dallas Mavericks and invest in hundreds of companies including Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures. He has also invested in tens of companies in the Shark Tank show.
He is worth about $3.7 billion.

Sheldon Adelson

Like George Soros, Sheldon Adelson is loved and hated in equal measure. He is the son of a taxi driver. At 12 years, he started selling newspapers and doing other jobs. At times, he was sleeping on the floor.

He then started a company that sold newspaper ads, helped other companies go public, and hosting trade shows.
Today, as the founder and biggest shareholder in Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon is the largest casino operator in the country.
He has a net worth of more than $40 billion.

Why These People Matter

Often, life attacks us with multiple challenges. These could be diseases, loss of jobs, and even business failures.

The question is, will you allow to be defined by these failures or will you let the setbacks motivate you to become someone better?