List of Engineers Who Are Self-Made Billionaires. Most of us automatically assume that billionaires must have a Business Administration degree when we think of them. In spite of the popular perception, there are quite a few engineers who are billionaires. Here is a list of engineers who pushed themselves to the top because they were passionate and dedicated.
1. Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim, a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist, earned a Civil Engineering degree from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Between 2010 and 2013, Slim was the world’s richest person. He owns Grupo Carso, a conglomerate with interests in retail, technology, and finance. Slim is also the CEO of Telmex and América Móvil, both telecommunications companies.
2. Baba Kalyani
The Kalyani Group is headed by Baba Kalyani, the founder’s son. In order to earn a degree in mechanical engineering, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the wake of his father’s death, he inherited the Kalyani fortune and became chairman of the group. They manufacture automotive components and aerospace components.
3. James Ratcliffe
Among the Engineers Who Are Self-Made Billionaires is James Ratcliff. James founded the Ineos Group and led it as chairman. After earning his engineering degree, he founded the Ineos Group. A British billionaire now based in Monaco, Mr. Ratcliffe is a British billionaire. However, he hasn’t always been wealthy. He mortgaged his house in 1992 to finance a business deal. Engineering has made Ratcliffe the 118th richest person in the world, and he credits his success to his career.
4. David Koch
A philanthropist, businessman, and philanthropy activist, David Koch owns a 42% stake in Koch Industries. His worth is $31 billion and he holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering. At Koch Industries, he is executive vice-president and co-owner.
5. Vagit Alekperov
Vagit Alekperov earned a BSc in science and engineering at the Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry. The Caspian Sea region is where Mr. Alekperov began his career as an oil rig worker, but he worked hard and rose through the ranks. At one point, he was deputy minister of the oil industry in the former Soviet Union. As the former deputy minister of the oil industry in the former Soviet Union, Vagit Alekperov worked his way up from an oil rig worker on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry’s Alekperov has a BSc in Science and Engineering. He has made a fortune in the oil industry and owns the largest independent oil company in Russia, Lukoil. He has written a book called “Oil of Russia: Past, Present, and Future.”
6. Leonid Mikhelson
During his time at the Samara Institute of Civil Engineering, Leonid Mikhelson studied. After graduating in 1977, he worked as a civil engineer. His career began at a pipeline construction company in the Tyumen region of Russia. A natural gas producer, he is the founder and chairman of Novatek. He is one of the Engineers Who Are Self-Made Billionaires.
7. Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a U.S. business magnate, politician, and philanthropist as well as Mayor of New York City. The mayor of one of the world’s largest cities has served three consecutive terms since 2001. A graduate of John Hopkins University, Bloomberg holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. In addition to being founder and owner of Bloomberg L.P., which is a global financial data and media company, he also owns 88% of its shares. Bloomberg is the seventh richest American and the thirteenth richest person in the world.
8. Len Blavatnik
University of Michigan graduate Len Blavatnik studied computer science and railway engineering. Though his family raised him in Moscow, Russia, he is a native of the Ukraine, his country of birth. As an immigrant to the U.S., he moved to Minneapolis in 1978. He was extremely wealthy after he sold TNK-BP, a Russian oil company. It sold for $7 billion in 2013. Later, he earned a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University. With a net worth of more than $32 billion, his company Access Industries helped him become the 22nd richest person in the world.
9. Sergey Brin
Brin is a co-founder of Google and an American Internet entrepreneur. At the age of six, Brin immigrated with his family from the Soviet Union to the United States. In addition to Brig’s father, his grandfather was also a mathematician. He currently has a net worth of $24.4 billion and holds a degree in Computer Science from Stanford University. Page and Brin became friends while studying for their PhDs at Stanford, where they founded the now famous Internet company, Google.
10. Mukesh Ambani
In terms of wealth, Ambani has a current net worth of $21 billion. In addition to being chairman, executive director, and largest shareholder of the Fortune Global 500 company Reliance Industries Limited, he is also India’s second largest company by market value. This company is involved in oil and gas refining, petrochemicals, and petrochemicals. The University of Bombay awarded Ambani a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. A grassroots refinery he created in Jamnagar, India, was the largest of its kind in the world.
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