When we think of billionaires, most of us automatically assume that the person must have a degree in Business Administration. Despite the common perception, there are quite a few engineers who are part of the exclusive billionaire club. Here is a list of engineers who used their passion and drive to make it to the top.
1. Carlos Slim
A Mexican business magnate, investor and philanthropist, Carlos Slim, has a Civil Engineering degree from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world. His worth is $71.2 billion and he owns the conglomerate Grupo Carso, which has interests in the fields of communication, technology, retailing, and finance. Slim is also chief executive of the telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil.
2. Charles Koch
Koch is an American businessman and philanthropist. He has degrees in General Engineering, M.Sc Mechanical Engineering and M.Sc Chemical Engineering from the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With a worth of $31 billion, Koch is co-owner, chairman of the board and CEO of Koch Industries (involved mainly in oil refining and chemicals).
3. David Koch
Brother of Charles Koch with a 42% share in Koch Industries, David Koch is an American businessman, philanthropist and political activist. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and is worth $31 billion. He is co-owner and executive vice-president of Koch Industries. A major patron of the arts, Koch has also donated to several charities to promote arts.
4. Bernard Arnault
Arnault is a French businessman and art collector. The chairman and CEO of LVMH, a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate, Arnault is worth $29 billion. He has an engineering degree from École Polytechnique. Arnault is a noted art collector with pieces by Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore and Andy Warhol. Arnault’s father was a manufacturer and owner of a civil engineering company.
5. Michael Bloomberg
Currently the Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg is also an American business magnate, politician and philanthropist. He has served three consecutive terms as mayor of one of the world’s largest cities since 2001. Bloomberg has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the John Hopkins University and is currently worth $31 billion. He is founder and owns 88% of shares of Bloomberg L.P., which is a global financial data and media company. Bloomberg is the seventh richest person in the United States and thirteenth wealthiest in the world.
6. Jeff Bezos
Bezos is an American Internet entrepreneur and investor. As founder and CEO of Amazon.com, he has played a key role in the growth of e-commerce. Bezos has a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and is worth $28.9 billion. Under Bezos’ guidance, Amazon.com became a top model for Internet sales and the largest retailer in the World Wide Web.
7. Larry Page
An American Internet entrepreneur, Page is the co-founder and CEO of the Internet giant, Google. He owns sixteen percent of Google’s stock along with Sergey Brin. Page is also the inventor of PageRank, which is the base of Google’s search ranking algorithm. He has a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Computer Science from Stanford University. Page is currently worth $24.9 billion and is the thirteenth richest American.
8. Sergey Brin
Brin is an American Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Google. Brin immigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States with his family at the age of six. Brin’s father and grandfather were both involved in the field of mathematics. Brin has a degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and is currently worth $24.4 billion. Brin met Page during their PhD studies at Stanford, where they became friends and started the now famous Internet company, Google.
9. Mukesh Ambani
Ambani is an Indian business magnate with a current worth of $21 billion. He is the chairman, executive director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited, a Fortune Global 500 company and also India’s second largest company by market value. RIL is involved in refining, petrochemicals and the oil & gas sector. Ambani has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bombay. He led the creation of the world’s largest grassroots refinery at Jamnagar, India.
10. Thomas Kwok
Kwok is the joint chairman and managing director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, which is the largest property developer in Hong Kong. Together with his brothers, Walter and Raymond Kwok, he is worth $17 billion. Kwok gained his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the Imperial College, University of London and also has a MBA degree from London Business School, University of London. The Kwok brothers are the third richest people in all of Hong Kong.
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