FX.co ★ Ten US billionaires without college degree

Harold Hamm

This American oil baron is worth over $21 billion. His main source of income comes from Continental Resource, a petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company. Harold Hamm founded the firm back in 1967 when he was just over 20 years old. Instead of spending money on college, the young man decided to put it in a business. Initially, the company was engaged in delivering water to natural gas and oil deposits. Later, it received a loan and used all the funds to develop its first oil well.

David Green

David Green is another US businessman who chose to work. He came from a poor family and helped his parents financially from a young age. He tried to work in various industries but achieved great success in retail. In 1970, he took a loan from a bank and started a small business, assembling and selling miniature picture frames. With time, his business expanded and transformed into a chain of arts and crafts stores, called Hobby Lobby. Today, Green’s chain has about 1,000 stores in 47 states, while his fortune is estimated at more than $13 billion.

Diane Hendricks

The life story of this American businesswoman is worthy of a film adaptation. Diane Hendricks became a school dropout due to pregnancy and married the father of her child. However, her married life was difficult, and the couple got a divorce three years later. The young lady had to work hard to earn a living for herself and the child. A new stage of her life began when she met her second husband. Together, they established ABC Supply, a company that sells roofing, windows, gutters, and siding for residential and commercial buildings. Following the death of her husband, Diane took the helm of the business. Over the past five years, her net worth has increased threefold to more than $11 billion.

Christy Walton

Although this American has only a secondary school certificate, many can envy her fortune. According to Forbes, Christy Walton is now worth some $10 billion. When her husband died in a plane crash in 2005, she became the heir to his wealth. Her husband, John, was a member of the world’s richest family, the Waltons, that owns retail giant Walmart. Christy inherited the sixth part of his fortune, while the bulk of his wealth was transferred to their son, Lukas Walton.

Domenick Vultaggio

This American businessman, worth over $6 billion, does not have a college degree either. He chose to develop his own business over going to college. Immediately after leaving school in the 1970s, Vultaggio started selling beer and soda. He worked in Brooklyn’s most dangerous neighborhoods where large distributors did not dare set foot. Success came to the entrepreneur only in the 1990s, when he founded Arizona Beverages, a company producing many flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails, and energy drinks.

Dennis Washington

This American billionaire, worth over $6 billion, also has no college degree. He owns a large consortium of companies, collectively known as the Washington Companies, which is comprised of eight organizations. Dennis Washington is engaged in various industries, including shipbuilding, rail transport, heavy equipment sales, as well as mining of diamonds, copper, and molybdenum. However, the company he initially established specialized only in road construction.

Archie Aldis Emmerson

Archie Aldis Emmerson, a 93-year-old billionaire, is the owner of Sierra Pacific Industries, the second-largest lumber producer in the United States. He founded the business together with his father when his peers studied in college. Years later, Emmerson not only became rich – his fortune is now estimated at $ 5.5 billion – but also became America’s largest private landowner. His family owns over 2 million acres of land.

Gayle Benson

Louisiana’s richest person has an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion. Her main source of income comes from the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). She became the owner of the American football team following the death of her billionaire husband, Tom Benson. It was her third and most fortunate marriage. Notably, Benson had a successful interior design business long before her marriage to the billionaire. She chose a career in interior design instead of a university degree.

Ronald Wanek

Ronald Wanek’s life path was predetermined from an early age, as his grandfather was engaged in furniture manufacturing. After graduating from school, the future billionaire took a job in this field. The purchase of Ashley Furniture, a home furnishings manufacturer, in 1976 became a turning point in his career. When he took the helm of the firm, he expanded its geography significantly and brought it to a new level. Today, the furniture baron is worth $4.5 billion.

Marian Ilitch

One of America's richest businesswomen, with $4.3 billion in her account, is the daughter of Macedonian immigrants. She married at a young age. Marian was the wife of Mike Ilitch, also a child of Macedonian immigrants, for more than 60 years. Mike died at the age of 87 in 2017. Following his death, Marian became the chairwoman of Ilitch Holdings, the company they founded together with her late husband. Today, this holding includes Little Caesars Pizza, an international fast food franchise, Love Kitchen, a charity foundation providing food to the hungry in the US and Canada, and a number of other organizations.