Top Rags to Riches Stories

Few things are more impressive than the story of someone who starts completely from scratch and achieves an overwhelming success. Some people out there are truly inspirational: they have managed to overcome utter poverty, dark pasts, abuse, or other shortcomings. But not only have they let these things behind them, they’ve also accomplished more than they could have ever dreamt. If you are looking for a little bit of motivation, just read the following rags to riches stories. You will surely be impressed.

No. 6: Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz grew up in the Brooklyn projects, in a modest family. With the help of a football scholarship, he pursued communication studies at the University of Northern Michigan. His first job after graduation was with the Xerox company, but all that changed on the day he discovered a small café named Starbucks. He loved the coffee so much that he left his job to become the CEO of Starbucks. There are now over 16,000 Starbucks outlets in the entire world.

No. 5: J.K. Rowling

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Before the massive success of the Harry Potter series, nobody had ever heard of Miss J.K. Rowling. At the time she wrote the books, she was a single mom living on welfare. The money she’s made from the books and associated TV rights will help her sustain both herself and her daughter, Jessica, for a long time to come.

No. 4: Sam Walton

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If Sam Walton does not ring any bells, Wal-Mart might. The founder of the most popular chain of department stores in the US grew up in Oklahoma. Because his family had troubles making ends meet, he helped around by milking cows and selling the milk to locals. He also had a newspaper route. Using a loan from his in-laws, he opened his first store in Arkansas and went on from that.

No. 3: Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey might be Hollywood’s funny man, but his childhood is an entirely different story. The Canadian born actor was lived with his family in a van and was even forced to work eight hours a day since the age of 12.

No. 2: Oprah Winfrey

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Miss Winfrey’s past is pretty much as bad as it gets. Daughter of a single teenage mom living in Missouri, Oprah had to work as a housemaid throughout her teens and there are even reports of her getting sexually molested at a young age. She ran away from home at the age of 13 and gave birth to a still-born baby one year later. Her big break came when she won a beauty pageant, at the age of 17, which landed her in journalism. The rest is history.

No. 1: John Rockefeller

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John Rockefeller was born in the mid-19^th century in a poor American family, along with 5 other siblings. His first job as bookkeeper paid him a measly 50 cents per day. Nonetheless, the young aspiring entrepreneur would change everything around by founding the Standard and Oil Company, a venture that made him the first billionaire in history.