Last updated on: 6/9/2023 | Author: ProCon.org

Top Wealthiest Americans with and without College Degrees

(rankings from 2022 Forbes Top 400)

WITH

College Degrees

WITHOUT

College Degrees


1

Elon Musk

BA in physics

BA in economics

University of Pennsylvania

Worth $251 billion

via Tesla, SpaceX, & other companies

2022 Forbes rank #1

Bill Gates

Dropped out

Harvard University

Worth $106 billion

via Microsoft

2022 Forbes rank #3


2

Jeff Bezos

BA in science

Princeton University

Worth $151 billion

via Amazon.com

2022 Forbes rank #2

Larry Ellison

Dropped out

University of Chicago & University of Illinois at Urbana

Worth $101 billion

via Oracle and other software

2022 Forbes rank #4


3

Warren Buffett

MS in economics

Columbia Business School

Worth $97 billion

via Berkshire Hathaway

2022 Forbes rank #5

Mark Zuckerberg

Dropped out

Harvard University

Worth $57.7 billion

via Facebook

2022 Forbes rank #11


4

Larry Page

MS in computer science

Stanford University

Worth $93 billion

via Google

2022 Forbes rank #5

Michael Dell

Dropped out

University of Texas at Austin

Worth $50 billion

via Dell

2022 Forbes rank #16


5

Sergey Brin

MS in computer science

Stanford University

Worth $89 billion

via Google

2022 Forbes rank #7

Thomas Peterffy

Dropped out

New York University

Worth $20.3 billion

via Interactive Brokers

2022 Forbes rank #31


6

Steve Ballmer

BA in applied mathematics and economics

Harvard University

Worth $83 billion

via Microsoft

2022 Forbes rank #8

Jan Koum

Dropped out

San Jose State University

Worth $13.6 billion

via WhatsApp

2022 Forbes rank #47


7

Michael Bloomberg

MBA

Harvard Business School

Worth $76.8 billion

via Bloomberg LP

2022 Forbes Rank #9

Diane Hendricks

did not attend college

Worth $12.2 billion

via ABC Supplies

2022 Forbes rank #51


8

Jim Walton

BA in science

University of Arkansas

Worth $57.9 billion

via WalMart

2022 Forbes rank #10

Donald Newhouse

Dropped out

Syracuse University

Worth $11.4 billion

via media

2022 Forbes rank #53


9

Rob Walton

JD

Columbia University

Worth $56.7 billion

via Walmart

2022 Forbes rank #12

Andrew Beal

Dropped out

Michigan State University

Baylor University

Worth $10.3 billion

via Beal Financial Corporation

2022 Forbes rank #61


10

Charles Koch

MS in mechanical engineering

MS in chemical engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Worth $56 billion

via Koch Industries

2022 Forbes rank #13

Michael Rubin

Dropped out

Villanova University

Worth $10.2 billion

via online retail

2022 Forbes rank #62


*Several families appear as collective units on the Forbes 400 list. Because the wealth is split among multiple people and this list is about individual wealth as related to college degrees, we have not included these families on this list.


Cumulative Wealth of Top 10 Wealthiest
Americans
WITH College Degrees:
 

$1,011.4
billion

Cumulative Wealth of Top 10 Wealthiest
Americans WITHOUT College Degrees:
 

$343.1
billion

The cumulative wealth of the top 10 billionaires with college degrees is

194.8%

more than the cumulative earnings of those without college degrees. 


Source:
Edited by Rob LaFranco and Chase Peterson-Withorn, “The Forbes 400: The Definitive Ranking of The Wealthiest Americans In 2022,” forbes.com (accessed June 9, 2023)