Basic Facts About Entrepreneurs
69.5% of billionaires on the Forbes list are self-made.
Entrepreneurs that truly made it on their own include Oprah Winfrey, who not only came from poverty but overcame countless other obstacles, and George Soros, who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and later worked as a waiter and railway porter to support his studies. While most other entrepreneurs’ stories weren’t as difficult, the fact that many are self-made remains one of the most interesting facts about entrepreneurs.
Around 20% of global entrepreneurs own or manage a business with family members.
According to the 2019 report surveying 47 economies, one-in-five entrepreneurs run their business with family. The latest report also shows that continuing a family tradition is another motivator for entrepreneurs across the world, the highest in India (69%) and Saudi Arabia (62%).
(GEM)
Entrepreneurs in low-income countries are more motivated by making a difference than entrepreneurs from high-income countries.
According to GEM, over 70% of new entrepreneurs in four out of 13 low-income economies, while the same percentage was found in only one out of 21 surveyed high-income economies. Altruistic entrepreneurs are most likely to be found in Romania, Guatemala,
India, and South Africa.
Globally, women are still less likely than men to start a business.
An overview of 50 countries also saw that women were most represented in the wholesale and retail sectors, making up almost a half of all entrepreneurs, and least represented as entrepreneurs in the ICT sector (2.7% of women compared to 4.7% of men).
(GEM)
In the US, 41.5% of entrepreneurs are women and 58.5% are men.
The same research showed that women entrepreneurs as a whole earn $0.88 for every $1 male counterparts earn. However, the male-to-female ratio decreased over the last decade, as only 35.66% of entrepreneurs in the US were women back in 2010.
(Zippia)
In the UK, the ratio of men and women who started new businesses was 78% in 2022.
This still represents an increase compared to previous years, and a continuation of an upward trend in female entrepreneurship in the UK. Entrepreneur statistics also show men and women had slightly different motivations for starting businesses: men were more likely to say it was to “build great wealth or a very high income”, while women were much more likely to say they started a business “to earn a living because jobs are scarce”.
(GEM)
The World’s Richest Entrepreneurs
Elon Musk is the world's richest entrepreneur at $237 billion as of August 2 2023.
Elon Musk is once again the richest entrepreneur and person in the world, after losing the title briefly to Bernard Arnault as Musk’s Tesla shares fell for a brief period. Musk’s fortune fluctuates frequently and comes mostly from his shares in Tesla shares, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Twitter. His wealth increased almost six-fold after the pandemic, soaring from $24.6 billion to $151 billion in 2021.
(Forbes)
Bernard Arnault is the second-richest male entrepreneur at $224.5 billion as of August 2 2023.
The beginning of Bernard Arnault’s empire was possible thanks to his father’s construction business which provided him with the capital to purchase Christian Dior in 1984. However, since then, Bernard Arnault grew his conglomerate to 75 luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Fendi, Givenchy, and Moët.
(Forbes)
Jeff Bezos is the third-richest male entrepreneur at $150.8 billion.
The founder of Amazon owns less than 10% of the company which he started with his then wife MacKenzie Scott in his garage in 1994. The capital for this business came from Bezos’ parents, who invested around $250,000 in the businesses. In 1996, it became the biggest online bookstore in the world, expanding its services to other products in 1998.
(Forbes)
Larry Ellison co-founded his now global company on a joint budget of $2,000.
The co-founder, CTO, and chairman of Oracle started the predecessor to the company with his colleagues Bob Miner and Ed Oates. The software mammoth Oracle got its name after a code-name for one of its first large contracts: a $50,000 deal with the CIA. The successful entrepreneur also owns 15 million Tesla shares and almost an entire Hawaii island. He is the fourth-richest entrepreneur in the world with a wealth of $144.7 billion.
(Forbes)
The world’s richest female entrepreneur is Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, worth $30.9 billion.
The 79-year-old Swiss shipping magnate owns 50% of MSC, the largest shipping line in the world. She and her husband Gianluigi (a former ship captain) bought their first ship in 1970 with a $200,000 loan. Over time, Aponte's company expanded into cruises, port operations, inland logistics, and passenger ferries.
(Forbes)
Diane Hendricks is the second-richest female entrepreneur, worth $9.1 billion.
Diane Hendricks co-founded ABC Supply, one of the US largest distributors of roofing, siding and windows with her late husband Ken. She has been the chairwoman of the company since 2007. The company has also won 15 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Awards.
(Forbes, ABC Supply)
Wu Yajun is the third-richest female entrepreneur, worth $9.1 billion.
Wu Yajun is a property entrepreneur who co-founded Longfor Properties with her ex-husband (who is no longer affiliated with the company). The chairwoman and CEO worked as a journalist and editor before entering real estate, and she also holds a navigation engineering degree.
(Forbes)
Tatyana Bakalchuk started her $8.8 billion company on maternity leave.
An English-teacher-turned ecommerce mogul, Tatyana Bakalchuk is the richest female entrepreneur in Russia and the fourth-richest female entrepreneur in the world. She started the Wildberries as a clothes resale platform in 2004 while she was on maternity leave as she realised how difficult it is to shop with a newborn. Her husband Vladislav soon joined to help her build the platform.
(Forbes)
The World’s Youngest Entrepreneurs
The 26-year-old Alexandr Wang is currently the youngest entrepreneur in the world to become a billionaire.
Alexandr Wang started his company Scale AI at 19 with Lucy Guo, using the power of human labour to improve AI applications. He became a billionaire at 25, and his company’s services are used by over 300 organisations such as General Motors, Flexport, and even the Department of Defense.
Austin Russell is another young self-made billionaire, aged 28.
At just 17, Austin Russel founded Luminar Technologies while he was studying physics at Stanford. The automotive sensor company went public in 2020, and just a few years later Russel became a billionaire at 25. The list of Luminar’s customers includes Tesla, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz.
(Forbes)
Currently aged 29, Ryan Breslow is another young entrepreneur that reached the one billion milestone.
Breslow’s company Bolt brought one-click checkouts to the world of ecommerce, and a $1.1 billion fortune to its founder. Breslow founded another company, Eco, which is not only a global cryptocurrency platform, but it also enables day-to-day payments. Last but not least, as an avid dancer, Breslow runs a non-profit called Movement which provides free dancing classes to underserved communities.
Rihanna is the youngest female entrepreneur on the Forbes list, worth $1.4 billion at 35.
Rihanna’s cosmetics company Fenty Beauty made her one of the world’s youngest self-made female billionaires. The world’s most famous entrepreneur identified a major flaw of mainstream cosmetics companies, which did not offer shades for every skin tone and created an iconic line to fix the problem. She co-owns Fenty with LVMH, and also has a 30% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line.
Entrepreneur celebrities
Kim Kardashian has a net worth of $1.7 billion thanks to several businesses.
Her ventures SKKN and Skims brought her a dazzling amount of money, with her 72% stake in Skims being estimated by Forbes at $500 million in July 2023. Not counting collaborations and TV shows, Kim Kardashian is true entrepreneurial spirit: even just her mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood made her over $40 million back in 2016.
Oprah Winfrey’s ventures brought her a net worth of $2.5 billion.
An entrepreneur and inspiration, Oprah Winfrey is the founder, chairwoman, and CEO of a media and entertainment company, Harpo Productions and O, The Oprah Magazine. She also has stakes in companies like WW, True Food Kitchen, Oatly, and Apeel Sciences.
(Britannica, Forbes)
Kanye West is another musician-turned-entrepreneur, worth $400 million in 2023.
Some entrepreneur facts are stranger than others. West’s collaboration with Adidas (and brands like Balenciaga and Gap) helped him amass incredible fortune, but after the company cut ties with West over his antisemitic remarks, the rapper lost an estimated $1.5 billion. He is still the owner of his record label GOOD Music and a 5% stake in Kim Kardashian’s company Skims.
Jay-Z started successful liquor companies and is now worth $2.5 billion.
The world’s richest rapper doubled his fortune thanks to his entrepreneurial skills: he started a luxury champagne company, with LVMH buying 50% of its stock, and a cognac brand D'Usse, most of which he sold to Bacardi. He is also the founder of the entertainment company Roc Nation, and is one of the best entrepreneur examples to follow, as even Warren Buffet advised learning from Jay-Z
Entrepreneur FAQs
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Conclusion
Entrepreneurs open their businesses coming from various backgrounds and with motivations that are as diverse as those who have them. However what they have in common is grit, curiosity, strong drive and ideas they are willing to work for.
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