Remember the controversy when American socialite and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner was named the youngest “self-made” billionaire by a popular magazine?
Click start to play today’s Word Search, where you can find multi-millionaires and billionaires from around the world.
Jenner and the magazine received a lot of backlash for the title – many thought it misleading because she grew up on one of the most popular reality TV shows, so her story was not a rags-to-riches tale by any means.
But what about other “self-made” billionaires? How did they get their start and are they, too, truly self-made? Here are a few you can consider:
1. Jeff Bezos
Consistently listed as one of the richest men in the world, Bezos made his massive $178 billion (Dh653 billion) fortune with the creation of online retailing website Amazon. Bezos’s story revolves around the idea that he went from selling books online, to practically everything online. But a 1997 US Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that his parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos, invested $245,000 (Dh899,880) in 1995 to help fund their son’s new business.
2. Elon Musk
The South African CEO of electric car company Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX is the richest man in the world in 2022, according to financial website Investopedia. Musk’s first foray into business was with PayPal – he was integral to its creation. He earned his first billion when he sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion (Dh5.5 billion) in 2002. Currently, his fortune stands at $304.2 billion (Dh1.11 trillion). But in an interview, Musk’s father Errol Musk is known to have said he is a part-owner of an emerald mine in Zambia, along with other assets, leading many to believe Musk grew up in a life of privilege. However, Musk has shot down this narrative repeatedly.
3. Bill Gates
With a net worth of $131.4 billion (Dh482.6 billion), the co-founder of Microsoft is a household name, and has been on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people ever since 1987. But the story goes, his mum Mary Gates helped a little. She was on the board of United Way, an international network of nonprofit fundraising affiliates, when she met the CEO of IBM, John Opel. She put in a good word for her son, asking him to give Gates a chance. Opel obliged – IBM and Microsoft made a deal in 1980 regarding the software for a computer IBM was launching. The rest, is history!
Do you think the tag ‘self-made’ is misleading, when describing these entrepreneurs? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
