Billionaires who came from nothing

Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty and started off her career by becoming the first African American TV correspondent in Nashville.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

• Billionaires don’t always come from moneyed backgrounds.

• In fact, many famous billionaires actually grew up poor.

• From George Soros to Larry Ellison to Oprah Winfrey, here’s a look at how some of the wealthiest people on the planet came up from nothing.

Billionaires aren’t all born with silver spoons in their mouths.

In fact, many came from nothing at all.

The “rags-to-riches” trope may be a cliché, but it’s one that’s definitely grounded in reality for some famous billionaires.

Through extraordinary grit and perseverance, individuals across the globe have beat the odds and achieved their own rags-to-riches stories.

Here are 21 people who started off life poor and went on to become billionaires:

Click here to see the billionaires »