October 25, 2006
Industries With the Greatest Number of Self-Made Millionaires & Billionaires
What are the industries with the greatest number of self-made millionaires? Looking at the World’s Richest People list—published by Forbes each year—the top 3 industries immediately appear. In random order, they are:
The Software & Technology Industry
The software and technology industry has produced a large number of multi-millionaires and billionaires, including the founders of Google–Larry Page and Sergey Brin (currently worth about $14 billion each) and Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (currently the richest person in the world). Other notables include Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and David Filo & Jerry Yang, co-founders of Yahoo. The mark-up on software is huge, and delivery costs are minimal. These two factors alone can create significant profit margins.
Another industry with many self-made millionaires (and billionaires) is the media and entertainment industry…
The Media & Entertainment Industry
People love to be entertained and they will always need information. Billionaire notables in the media & entertainment industry include:
- Members of the Cox family, who own Cox Communications.
- Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp. Murdoch owns news, magazines, film companies, MySpace, and various stakes in broadcasting companies, DirecTV, and numerous other entertainment outlets.
- Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP, which provides data, news and analytics.
- Sheldon Adelson, founder of Las Vegas Sands, and the third richest American, according to Forbes. Adelson’s current net worth is estimated to be $20.5 billion.
The Real Estate Industry
In my opinion, the real estate industry has produced the largest number of self-made multi-millionaires (and billionaires). In fact, nearly all of the richest people own significant real estate investments—including land, commercial buildings, and residential housing. Unaccounted for amongst the “Forbes 400” list, are thousands of “small-time” real estate multi-millionaires.
In addition to income and price appreciation, real estate provides significant tax breaks, which allow for further wealth building.
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2 Comments »
March 4, 2008
Farouk :
This is right. But i guess, this doesn't mean that someone has to engage into these industries in order to become a billionaire.
EconEdge :
Hi Farouk. Thanks for the comment. These are the top 3 industries - compiled from looking at Forbes' list. Does this mean that all self-made millionaires and billionaires will come from this list? Of course not — these are just the top 3.