16 of the Most Inspiring Rags-to-Riches Stories

Not all millionaires are created equal — these tales of self-made millionaires will have you working overtime to make your own dreams come true.

16 of the Most Inspiring Millionaire Come-From-Nothing Stories

It can be easy to feel disempowered in a world that inundates you daily with stories of people who seem more successful than you.

It can also serve as a constant reminder that other people are out possibly working harder than you — and maybe even getting more out of their work — or at least seeming to do so.

Thank goodness, however, that there are so many stories of insanely successful people who came from humble beginnings like the rest of us.

Being reminded that they, too, struggled through uncertain times before reaching their massive success is a great way to stay grounded and focused.

Richard Branson

Richard Branson built the Virgin Group empire from basically nothing, and seemed to have the most fun ever along the way.

His father was a barrister and his mother was a flight attendant, but the two instilled the young mogul with enough confidence and ambition to slowly but surely become one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Though his family supported him, they were certainly never able to give an above-average financial head start. Instead, he negotiated, played by his own rules, and figured out how to slowly build a small multi-media conglomerate by keeping a positive attitude and open mind every step of the way.

A Favorite Quote:

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.”

Joy Gendusa

Though she may not be as well known as some of her contemporaries, Joy Gendusa revolutionized direct mailings in a digital world.

Her company, PostcardMania capitalized on the potential that still existed with direct mailing campaigns and turned it into a multi-million dollar business. Under her leadership, it grew into a company that earns over $50 million every year.

Her humble beginnings came from being over-worked and under-paid attempting to sell graphic designs. One bad customer service experience infuriated her to the point where she knew she needed to do something else.

In a moment of inspiration, she realized a demand that the market had that she could clearly meet, and she did what it took to turn that inspiration into a reality.

A Favorite Quote:

“I believe in showing empathy, understanding and compassion for employees because during my own career I’ve worked in enough places where those values were not encouraged — and they were not happy places."

Elon Musk

On the heels of his history-making SpaceX Faclon Heavy launch, all eyes are on the Tesla car-creating entrepreneur. Unlike many of his multi-millionaire peers, Musk wasn’t born into money.

His mom was a dietician and his father was a electromechanical engineer. His childhood was anything but idyllic, as he often talks about how much adversity he faced his life.

But, he was obviously able to rise above it and, with the help of clear, creative visions and his incredible intellect, invested and invented his way into becoming one of the wealthiest and most exciting entrepreneurs in the world.

A Favorite Quote:

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor."

Andrew Carnegie

One of the most famous and most iconic rags-to-riches stories is of the steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie.

Born to poor Irish parents, he shared one bedroom homes with his relatives growing up in the United States. Determined not to follow the same path of his father, who was forced to beg for work at some points during his life, Carnegie took advantage of the work he found by being both indispensable and making it a point to become friendly with the influential people in his town.

Thanks to a keen eye for investments that would pay big dividends in the future, he was able to turn his earnings into a massive fortune. And, with a deep-rooted desire to give back, he made sure spend his millions on philanthropic pursuits in the later years of his life.

A Favorite Quote:

"The secret of success lies not in doing your own work, but in recognizing the right man to do it"

George Soros

If you ever think you’ve been through hardships, a quick perusal of what George Soros has overcome in his life may help give you a little perspective.

The investor and businessman lived through some of the most difficult persecutions of World War II and survived to not only tell the tale, but reshape the financial landscape of the modern world.

If a 17-year-old refugee from a war torn country can grow up to create and run one of the most financially successful investment funds on the planet, you can achieve your work goals, too.

A Favorite Quote:

"If investing is entertaining, if you're having fun, you're probably not making any money. Good investing is boring."

Oprah Winfrey

It’s no big secret that Oprah, the queen of media came from humble origins and grew up to become one of the wealthiest people and most recognizable faces on the planet. Her upbringing in rural poverty included a lack of structure, consistency, and years of physical and emotional abuse.

But that changed when she moved to Nashville and began living with her father, who provided a world she could thrive in. She became well loved by her classmates and learned her passion for communication.

She quickly ascended the ranks of local TV becoming a small town star before her network show was picked up and she became a household name. Many smart business moves later, she basically dominated mainstream media.

A Favorite Quote:

"Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe."

Do Won Chang

The founder of the major fast fashion chain Forever 21, Do Won Chang, wants his story of success to inspire others like him. He came from humble origins, born in a small town outside of Seoul and was only 21 years old when he decided to move to the United States for more opportunities.

He worked three jobs just to make ends meet, never letting go of his hope to own his own business. He and his wife were finally able to open their first Forever 21 storefront.

They were patient about waiting for their business to grow, and their patience and paid off in major financial dividends down the line.

A Favorite Quote:

“Forever 21 gives hope and inspiration to people who come here with almost nothing.”

Chris Gardner

Most people don’t get the chance to meet Will Smith, let alone have him portray your life story in a major Hollywood movie. But most people aren’t Chris Gardner.

And the fact that the movie star portrayed him is one of the least interesting things about the impressive man.

Growing up in a troubled environment, he was admittedly a less-than-perfect citizen. Violence and abuse were rampant in his formative years. Despite some hiccups, he became a master at retaining a positive attitude.

Much of his career struggles are shown in his book and the subsequent movie, including his homelessness and perseverance in the face of incredible hardships.

Now, years after rising to the top as a stockbroker, founding Gardner Rich & Company, he travels across the world motivating people and sharing how his positive continues to help him be successful in life.

A Favorite Quote:

“Wealth can also be that attitude of gratitude with which we remind ourselves every day to count our blessings.”

Mark Zuckerberg

Before he changed the landscape of the internet and our social interactions through Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was just another college student working on his craft.

Through passion and relentless interest in side projects and improving his own skill set, he was able to teach himself a host of abilities that would contribute to the creation of what would become the digital beast that is Facebook.

Facebook continues to have interest in employees who share and show this same passion in pursuing projects outside of their required work.

This is a great reminder that even if you’re not yet doing what you want to be doing with your life, that shouldn’t stop you from pursuing what you love with your free time.

A Favorite Quote:

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks."

Larry Ellison

One of the richest men in the world, Larry Ellison is estimated to be worth around $35 billion.

And, though he had a loving step-mother, his biological father wasn’t a part of his life and his unwed mother gave him up for adoption at just 9-month-old because he had contracted pneumonia.

Though being smart, he didn’t excel in the structure of schools. It wasn’t until he discovered computer programming and moved to the booming digital mecca of Northern California that he began to truly make his impact on the world.

The Oracle Database’s major success allowed him to begin to invest in other projects and endeavors.

A Favorite Quote:

“When you live your life in different ways, it makes people around you become uncomfortable. So deal with it. They don’t know what you are going to do.”

Sara Blakely

After failing to become a lawyer and quitting a job at Disney that she hated, Sara Blakely was stuck at the bottom of the sales food chain, trying to turn cold calls into fax machine clients.

She used the resilience those difficult years taught her as she created Spanx and began to build her company and, eventually, her incredible estimated $1.1 billion net worth.

A Favorite Quote:

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know.”

Kevin Plank

While playing college football, Kevin Plank saw the spark for the idea that would eventually become Under Armor.

Without any investors, he saved $20,000 of his own money and went into $40,000 of credit card debt to first form and fund the company in 1996. The first year, the business only made $17,000 of sales.

Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, growing credit card interest, and a market that didn’t yet understand the product, Plank continued eventually contracting directly with 12 NFL teams and picking up demand from there.

Thanks to that perseverance, the company now has an annual revenue just under $2 billion, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down its massive growth anytime soon.

Though it took a little while for his product to catch on, Plank didn’t give up on his dream or his vision for what it could become. And that gamble has paid off handsomely for him.

A Favorite Quote:

“I never knew exactly what [Under Armor] was going to look like, but more important, I got up every single day and never believed it couldn’t happen.”

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc may not have created the first McDonald’s company, but he is the wind beneath its incredibly successful wings.

His story has become somewhat of folklore amongst entrepreneurial hopefuls who hope to strike idea gold like Kroc. And, given the fact that the self-made millionaire was a high school dropout who found himself driving ambulances during World War I and eventually dabbling in all sorts of odd jobs, it’s not like his path to success was a clear one.

But when he met the McDonald’s brothers and saw an opportunity in the growing fast food restaurant business that he decided to capitalize on, he certainly became incredibly successful.

In 1955 Kroc was a 52-year-old milkshake machine salesman and he acquired franchising rights to the small California based hamburger restaurant chain. In 1961, he bought out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million.

His story is a great reminder that opportunities may be all around you if you keep your eyes and mind open to them.

A Favorite Quote:

“Look after the customers and the business will take care of itself.”

Jan Koum

When Jan Koum signed the $19 billion deal to sell his company, WhatsApp to Facebook, he chose location extremely close to where he used to wait in line to get food stamps.

But if you had told the young boy who was born to a housewife and construction worker in Kiev, Ukraine that he’d someday be worth several billion dollars, he understandably might not believe you.

Koum migrated to the United States with his mother, who packed basic Soviet-issued school supplies rather than buying them. She babysat and he worked to sweep floors in order to make ends meet.

After years of dabbling and adjusting to American culture, he eventually found a knack in computer sciences and eventually landed a job at Yahoo that he credits for causing him to drop out of school. Despite investing in the early ‘90s dotcom boom, he lost tons of money.

But, he eventually started carefully crafting and creating WhatsApp, which would go on to revolutionize digital communication.

A Favorite Quote:

“I want to do one thing and do it well.”

Mark Cuban

Though he’s become a face of entrepreneurship and investment thanks to his role in Shark Tank, it wasn’t all smooth sailing towards financial success for Mark Cuban.

As a door-to-door garbage bag salesman who ate ketchup and mustard sandwiches while making ends meet, his life wasn’t exactly glamorous.

Even through college, he held odd jobs to keep his bills paid. But he eventually began a computer consulting firm that earned him his first million which he was able to turn into a web broadcasting empire that earned him his first billion. He owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.

He’s notoriously hard-working and always on the lookout to continue to make more and more money.

A Favorite Quote:

"It doesn't matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once."

John Paul DeJoria

Like a few of the other incredibly successful people on this list, John Paul DeJoria struggled with poverty and homelessness while slowly building his business.

He began selling small products at an early age, but even when he began selling shampoo door to door — the business that would go on to become the iconic John Paul Mitchell hair care system — he lived out of his car.

His work ethic and positive attitude never failed him and he diversified his income almost as soon as he started making it. Slowly but surely he would build upon every bit he made to amass an incredible fortune.

A Favorite Quote:

“Success is how well you do what you do when nobody else is looking.”