19 super-rich billionaires who used to be poor

From tough times to super-rich

The Canadian Press/Alamy Stock Photo

Today's super-rich have more money than most of us can dream of, but they weren't all born into a life of luxury.

From Oprah Winfrey to the CEO of Cirque du Soleil, read on to discover the surprising billionaires who used to be poor.

All dollar amounts in US dollars. 

J.K Rowling: $1 billion (£785m)

Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock

The world's first billionaire author, JK Rowling has accumulated her massive net worth through the world-famous Harry Potter book series. Before her first novel was published in 1997, Rowling lived in relative poverty, recovering from the death of her mother and a recent divorce.

A single parent, she received just £69 ($88) a week from social security and later described herself as being as poor "as it's possible to be in modern Britain without being homeless". All that changed when Harry Potter became a global sensation, sparking one of the biggest media franchises in history and turning Rowling into a billionaire.

Guy Laliberté: $1.2 billion (£942m)

ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

Who knew that clowning around could make you a billionaire? Guy Laliberté, pictured here holding his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, started life as a lowly Canadian street performer but gave it up to work at a hydroelectric dam. When the dam's employees went on strike, Laliberté returned to performance as a way of making ends meet.

In 1984 he co-founded Cirque du Soleil with a group of colleagues, and what was originally meant to be a one-year project became a global phenomenon. By 2020 Laliberté had sold 100% of his stock in the company, making a fortune in the process. He's currently worth $1.2 billion (£942m).

Jay-Z: $2.5 billion (£2bn)

Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo

Named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe last year, Jay-Z has amassed a fortune of $2.5 billion (£2bn) through his music career and business empire. He was born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn's Bedford–Stuyvesant neighbourhood and raised by a single mother in public housing.

After hearing rap for the first time as a child, Carter was inspired and began filling ring binders with lyrics. His big break came in 1998 with his first major hit "Hard Knock Life", kickstarting a super-successful career as a rapper and entrepreneur.

Howard Schultz: $2.9 billion (£2.3bn)

UPI / Alamy Stock Photo

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz grew up in a Brooklyn housing project where crime was rife. His family was so cash-strapped that Schultz once sold his blood while studying at the University of Northern Michigan, and his parents sadly couldn't afford to attend his graduation ceremony.

After college, he worked as a door-to-door salesman before joining a European homewares company. One of its clients was a little-known coffee shop in Seattle called Starbucks. Not long after, Schultz took over the business and turned it into the global coffee chain it is today. He's currently worth $2.9 billion (£2.3bn).

Oprah Winfrey: $3 billion (£2.4bn)

Helga Esteb/Shutterstock

She might roll with A-list celebs and have as many as eight mansions to her name nowadays, but Oprah Winfrey had a tough start to life. Born into a poor family in Mississippi where she suffered shocking abuse, Winfrey was determined to break away, earning herself a scholarship to Tennessee State University.

At just 19, she became the first African-American TV correspondent in the state and went on to host her own show, produce a magazine, and start her own network. Winfrey is worth $3 billion (£2.3bn) today.

George Soros: $6.7 billion (£5.3bn)

Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy Stock Photo

His legendary trading has made him billions – almost $25 billion (£19.6bn) at his peak. But the path to success wasn't easy for hedge fund tycoon George Soros. When he was just a teenager, Soros posed as the godson of an employee of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture to stay safe during the Nazi occupation of Hungary.

In the late 1940s, he escaped to London where he worked two jobs as a waiter and railway porter to put himself through the London School of Economics. In 1992, he reportedly made $1 billion (£789k) by shorting the British pound and became known as the man who broke the Bank of England. Today, he's worth $6.7 billion (£5.3bn).

Steve Bisciotti: $6.9 billion (£5.4bn)

Todd Olszewski/Stringer/Getty Images

Steve Bisciotti is best known as the owner of the Baltimore Ravens, which he bought in the early 2000s. Although he came from a middle-class family, money became incredibly tight after his father sadly died from leukaemia when Bisciotti was just eight years old. His grandfather, who had worked as a salesman for Ford, was left to support the family and Steve worked odd jobs to pay his way through college.

After graduating, he and his cousin launched the staffing company Aerotek, working out of a basement with second-hand equipment. The business quickly grew into the Allegis Group, now a multibillion-dollar company that's earned Bisciotti a fortune of $6.9 billion (£5.4bn).

Rocco Commisso: $7.5 billion (£5.9bn)

Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

Rocco Commisso emigrated from Italy at the age of 12, arriving in New York with his penniless parents. He reportedly got into a good school due to his ability to play the accordion, before winning a full scholarship that enabled him to study at Columbia University.

After graduating with an MBA from Columbia Business School, he started working at Chase Manhattan Bank, now JPMorgan Chase, before founding cable company Mediacom in 1995. Almost 30 years on, Commisso has a net worth of $7.5 billion (£5.9bn).

Ken Langone: $8.7 billion (£6.8bn)

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for RADical Hope

When Ken Langone, American businessman and co-founder of Home Depot, was in high school his principal advised his parents not to waste their money sending the “unpromising” student to college. Thankfully, they disagreed, and so his father and mother – Italian immigrants who worked as a plumber and cafeteria worker respectively – mortgaged their house to send him to school.

Once there, Langone worked as a caddy, butcher, and ditch digger to stay afloat, before joining a financial services company on Wall Street. He made an early investment in Home Depot in 1978, and the rest is history. Today, he’s worth $8.7 billion (£6.8bn).

Ralph Lauren: $9.2 billion (£7.2bn)

SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photo

Born Ralph Lifshitz to Jewish immigrant parents, fashion designer Ralph Lauren decided to change his surname after being bullied at school. He reportedly dreamed of escaping his poor background, even writing in his high school yearbook in 1957 that his life goal was to become a millionaire.

He's achieved that goal and then some. Lauren has amassed a net worth of $9.2 billion (£7.2bn) thanks to his eponymous fashion house, which all started when he designed a line of neckties that was accepted by Bloomingdale's in the late 1960s.

Roman Abramovich: $9.7 billion (£7.6bn)

Richard Heathcote/Getty

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which has resulted in hefty sanctions against wealthy Russians with ties to the Putin regime, you were more likely to see Roman Abramovich on his superyacht or cheering on London's Chelsea Football Club, which he owned from 2003 to 2022.

But life wasn’t always so sweet for Abramovich, who was born into poverty in southern Russia. Orphaned at age two, he was raised by his extended family. After leaving school he started his own company producing plastic toys with his first wife Olga Lysova, before moving into the oil business and even pig farms. Despite sanctions, Abramovich and his family are still thought to be worth a hefty $9.7 billion (£7.6bn).

Shahid Khan: $12 billion (£9.4bn)

Rob Carr/Getty

Born in Pakistan to a middle-class family, Khan moved to the US when he was a teen to study. He reportedly slept in a YMCA hostel that cost $2 (£1.60) a night, washing dishes for $1.20 (95p) an hour to make ends meet.

But the businessman’s hard work paid off. He bought auto parts firm Flex-N-Gate in 1980 after previously working at the company and designing a one-piece truck bumper that was hugely successful. Today, he owns US NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars, and British soccer team Fulham, and is worth a staggering $12 billion (£9.4bn).

Jan Koum: $16.1 billion (£12.6bn)

TOBIAS HASE/Getty

When Jan Koum came to the US from Ukraine as a teenager, his family struggled to stay above the poverty line and relied on food stamps to get by.

Despite his tough upbringing, Koum worked hard at school, and in 2009, he co-founded real-time messaging service WhatsApp. The app was so successful that Facebook bought it for a massive $19.6 billion (£15.4bn) in 2014. Today, Koum is worth $16.1 billion (£12.6bn).

Harold Hamm: $18.5 billion (£14.5bn)

Kristoffer Tripplaar / Alamy Stock Photo

Growing up on a farm on Oklahoma with 13 kids, money was tight in the Hamm household. But youngest son Harold Hamm was a hard worker. From milking cows and gathering eggs to picking cotton and helping out at a gas station, Hamm worked odd jobs and managed to save enough money to buy a water pump truck when he was 20 years old. That was just the beginning.

After transporting water to and from oil fields, Hamm went on to create Continental Resources, an oil and gas company that’s since netted him and his family a fortune of $18.5 billion (£14.5bn).

François Pinault: $25.8 billion (£20.2bn)

Independent Photo Agency Srl / Alamy Stock Photo

His family is now worth $25.6 billion (£20bn) but businessman François Pinault was a high school dropout. The mogul was reportedly bullied so badly for being poor that he left school, but it didn't seem to affect his business smarts.

The Frenchman went on to start Kering (formerly PPR), a luxury fashion conglomerate that now owns brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen. His son, François-Henri Pinault, has been married to actress Salma Hayek since 2009.

Li Ka-Shing: $35.8 billion (£28.1bn)

Imaginechina Limited / Alamy Stock Photo

He’s now one of the richest men in Asia, but businessman Li Ka-Shing’s life hasn’t always been so bountiful. Growing up in Hong Kong, Li’s father died when he was just 15, forcing him to leave school and work 16-hour days in a plastics factory to support his family.

This gave him the drive to start his own company, Cheung Kong Industries, which initially made plastics. He eventually moved into real estate and is now worth $35.8 billion (£28.1bn).

Jensen Huang: $105.9 billion (£83.1bn)

Jameson Wu/Alamy Stock Photo

The co-founder of American technology company Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has one of the most remarkable rags-to-riches stories in our round-up. Huang was born in Taiwan and moved to the US when he was nine years old. As a teenager he worked scrubbing toilets and later as a waiter at Denny's, where he earned just $2.65 (£2) an hour.

But after graduating from Stanford in 1992 and co-founding Nvidia the following year, his fortunes changed forever. Huang has served as the company's CEO ever since and owns 3.6% of its stock. Although Nvidia had brushes with bankruptcy in its early days, it's gone on to surpass Apple as the world's second most valuable business, making Huang the world's 14th richest person in the process.

Amancio Ortega: $111.3 billion (£87.3bn)

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

He’s responsible for creating fast fashion giant Zara and was briefly the richest man in the world in 2015. However, Amancio Ortega had to fight for his billions. The mogul reportedly had a tough upbringing in post-war Spain, where his father’s earnings often didn’t cover the monthly food bill and his mother had to beg for credit at local shops.

Ortega dropped out of school aged around 14 and worked as a messenger boy before joining a small company that made shirts. Here, he got the idea to mass-produce clothing cheaply. He's now worth $111.3 billion (£87.3bn).

Larry Ellison: $153.1 billion (£120bn)

Rob Matthews/Alamy Stock Photo

Born to a struggling single mother in Brooklyn, Larry Ellison was raised by his aunt and uncle in Chicago. After his aunt passed away Ellison dropped out of college, moved to California, and worked odd jobs to make ends meet for the next eight years.

In 1977, after years of struggling, he founded software company Oracle. The business went on to become one of the largest technology companies in the world, and Ellison, who claims he had all the disadvantages necessary for success, is now worth a staggering $153.1 billion (£120bn).

Now discover the youngest billionaires in 24 countries around the world

Updated by Alice Cattley