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.

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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 »