Industrial Titans
Media & Entertainment Moguls
Retail & Fast Food Pioneers
Sports Legends
Historical & Political Figures
100
This Scottish immigrant started as a bobbin boy in a textile mill, earning $1.20 a week, before becoming America's richest steel mogul.
Who is Andrew Carnegie?
100
Born in rural poverty to a single teenage mother, she overcame a traumatic childhood to build a multi-billion-dollar media empire.
Who is Oprah Winfrey?
100
This orphan grew up in poverty but built a multi-billion-dollar cosmetics company from her kitchen, later acquired by L'Oréal for $1.2 billion.
Who is Jamie Schmidt (or Jamie Kern Lima - IT Cosmetics)?
100
Raised by a single teenage mother in Akron, Ohio, moving from apartment to apartment, he rose to become an NBA billionaire.
Who is LeBron James?
100
Born in a log cabin to a poor family on the frontier, he educated himself and rose to guide the nation through the Civil War.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
200
Born into poverty in Germany, he moved to the US, entered the fur trade, and became America's first multi-millionaire through real estate.
Who is John Jacob Astor?
200
This filmmaker dropped out of school and faced severe financial struggles before creating a global media empire centered around a cartoon mouse
Who is Walt Disney?
200
He was a milkshake mixer salesman who bought a small burger stand from two brothers and turned it into the world's largest fast-food chain.
Who is Ray Kroc?
200
Born into poverty in Baltimore, he spent his youth at a boys' reformatory school before becoming baseball's most iconic home run hitter.
Who is Babe Ruth?
200
This Founding Father was born poor in Boston, ran away to Philadelphia as a teenager with nothing, and became a wealthy printer and scientist.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
300
He grew up in an impoverished, unstable household but went on to build a massive railroad and shipping empire, earning the nickname "The Commodore."
Who is Cornelius Vanderbilt?
300
Born in Brooklyn to poor immigrants, this hip-hop artist sold crack cocaine before building a massive music, fashion, and business empire.
Who is Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)?
300
Raised in a poor rural town, he sold milk from his car before buying a single store in Arkansas that grew into the global retail giant Walmart.
Who is Sam Walton?
300
This global icon grew up in extreme poverty in rural single-parent household before becoming one of the most celebrated heavyweights in boxing history.
Who is Larry Holmes (or George Foreman / Mike Tyson)?
300
Born out of wedlock in the Caribbean and orphaned as a child, he came to New York with nothing and became America's first Secretary of the Treasury.
Who is Alexander Hamilton?
400
This oil tycoon grew up with an unprincipled traveling salesman father but rose to build Standard Oil, becoming America's first billionaire.
Who is John D. Rockefeller?
400
This filmmaker slept on the floor in New York and maxed out credit cards to fund She's Gotta Have It before building a legendary cinema career.
Who is Spike Lee?
400
Born to poor immigrants, he dropped out of school to sell newspapers before building a global clothing empire bearing his name.
Who is Ralph Lauren?
400
Raised in the rough project housing of Chicago, this NBA Hall of Famer went on to become a highly successful businessman and team owner.
Who is Michael Jordan?
400
Born to a poor family in a log cabin in North Carolina, he rose from severe poverty to become the 7th President of the United States.
Who is Andrew Jackson?
500
Born to poor immigrants, this Irish-American industrialist revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line and the Model T.
Who is Henry Ford?
500
Raised by a single mother in a public housing project, this media mogul and actor later built a massive studio in Atlanta.
Who is Tyler Perry?
500
This entrepreneur grew up in a Brooklyn housing project and worked as a copywriter before founding the multi-million-dollar FUBU clothing brand.
Who is Daymond John?
500
Growing up in a poor, violent neighborhood in Detroit, he found boxing at a local gym and became one of the greatest champions of all time.
Who is Joe Louis?
500
This 19th-century abolitionist escaped from slavery with nothing and became a world-renowned orator, author, and statesman.
Who is Frederick Douglass?