Biography and the path of rich people. The richest people and their success stories

The top 10 richest people in the world in 2016 were identified by Forbes magazine.

TOP 10 richest people on the planet in 2017

On March 1, Forbes published its ranking of dollar billionaires. In total, the list of surnames included 1810 people; the size of their capital was estimated by the volume of assets as of January 2017.

  1. Bill Gates, worth $75 billion.
  2. Amanicio Ortega, his assets are $67 billion.
  3. Warren Buffett, owner of $60.8 billion.
  4. Carlos Slim Elu, with $50 billion in personal property.
  5. Jeff Bezos, owner of $45.2 billion.
  6. Mark Zuckerberg with a net worth of $44.6 billion.
  7. Larry Ellison, with $43.6 billion.
  8. Michael Bloomberg, owner of $40 billion.
  9. Charles Koch with $39.6 billion.
  10. David Koch, native brother Charles Koch, with a similar capital of $39.6 billion.

What do people who operate with billions and invest tens of millions in the development of new projects do?

Rating leader - Bill Gates

Bill Gates leads the top 10 richest people in the world this year. His income is increasing not only due to the activities of the Microsoft company he founded, which once made a revolutionary breakthrough in the software market, but also due to investing in developing projects, such as:

  • mechanical engineering;
  • railway companies;
  • development and disposal of industrial waste.

The biography of Bill Gates is one of the stories of rich people who started from scratch. While still a student, he devoted a lot of time to studying and developing programming languages ​​and writing programs for various tasks.

A breakthrough in his career and in the fate of the Microsoft company he founded was the development operating system MS-DOS and a contract with IBM. Further expansion led to the development of the Windows operating system, which allows the company to still dominate the software market.

Successful businessmen are always strong personalities, and the famous rules formulated by Gates confirm this. Here are the most valuable and meaningful of them:

  1. "Life is unfair - get used to it."
  2. “Change your attitude towards failure and learn from your mistakes.”
  3. "Before you criticize your parents, start with yourself."
  4. "You don't become a chauffeur-driven vice president until you earn both."

This year, it so happened that among the TOP-10 richest people in the world there were several people at once who earned multibillion-dollar capital thanks to computer and network technologies.

In 5th place among the ten richest people on the planet was Jeff Bezos, the head of the Amazon online store. He also owns the aerospace company Blue Origin and the publishing house The Washington Post.

Bezos, like many influential businessmen, actively invests funds, not stopping at the achieved figures. He invests in projects such as Twitter, UBER, AirBNB, Rethink Robotics and promising startups.

Interesting facts about Amazon and Jeff Bezos himself (pictured):

  1. The company is forbidden to use color printers and all information is printed in black and white for the sake of economy.
  2. The size of the teams working on the project is determined using the “rule of 2 pizzas”. If the group is missing 2 pizzas at lunch time, then the group size is too large.
  3. Amazon warehouses use special robots to sort goods.
  4. Bezos personally designed the boxes in which orders are packed so that they can then be used in everyday life, and not thrown away.
  5. In 2015, the company was allowed to deliver goods by drone in some states.

Mark Zuckerberg has taken many by surprise with his presence at number 6 among the 10 richest people in the world. The founder of the social network Facebook hit the top of the ranking for the first time. His interest in programming began with computer graphics and creating simple computer games. School friends brought him primitive pictures from which he copied future game characters.

On the this moment Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in the world (his age is 31 years old), and he can rightly be called a businessman who is rapidly increasing his capital. While Bill Gates lost $4 billion over the past year, and Warren Buffett, who is in the 3rd line of the rating, almost $12 billion, Zuckerberg increased his capital by $11 billion in 2015.

Brief biographies of the richest people in history

The most successful entrepreneurs in the history of mankind laid the foundations for doing business in the conditions of modern civilization. Some of the surnames have become common nouns, and aspiring businessmen take examples from the rich themselves. How did those whose biographies later became models of entrepreneurial thinking get rich? The capitals of prominent businessmen throughout history have been adjusted to current levels for inflation.

  1. The most successful entrepreneurs in history are the Rothschild family, whose fortune is now estimated at $350 billion. Mining, winemaking, investing in banks, agricultural land and private assets helped them accumulate such capital.
  2. John Rockefeller, who earned $340 billion (in modern terms) in his lifetime. His business areas included oil refining - he founded the Standard Oil Company, and also invested in railways, steel mills, shipping companies and real estate firms.
  3. Andrew Carnegie is an industrialist with American and Irish roots who owns the steel company Carnegie Steel, whose assets would now amount to $310 billion.
  4. Henry Ford, an American automaker, left his mark on history as a successful businessman and a wise man of his time. Billions were brought to him by the Ford Motor company he founded, which has many branches in various countries peace. His net worth would be $199 billion by today's standards.
  5. Cornelius Vanderbilt, who also founded a dynasty of entrepreneurs, actually changed the course of American history. His main profitable business was investing in the railroad, which was actively developing at that time. In total, during his life he earned 185 billion dollars in terms of the level of our days.

How did rich people get rich? This question haunts a lot of people and it is almost impossible to give an unambiguous answer to it. A promising businessman, who feels the so-called "vein" in himself, acts simultaneously with cold calculation and relying on intuition in making important decisions.

One of the main features seen in many biographies of rich people is the ability and willingness to take risks. The Rockefeller quote “He who works all day has no time to make money” reflects the state of mind of a successful entrepreneur - at some point you need to be able to quit one activity and switch to another in order to achieve success in it.

Successful people and charity

Many of the success stories of wealthy people include lines about charitable donations and sponsorship of organizations that do not bring in significant profits. Charity as an occupation for successful people deserves special attention. What makes rich people donate their capital and for what purposes?

  • educational programs;
  • development of vaccines and implementation of vaccinations in developing countries;
  • AIDS research;
  • assistance to refugees;
  • fight against poliomyelitis.

Ranked 8th in the Forbes Top 10, Michael Bloomberg has donated about $4 billion to charity so far. The main areas of his assistance are contributions to the development of the arts, educational goals and medical research, in particular cancer therapy and diagnosis.

The Koch brothers, co-owners of the Koch Industries holding, actively donate funds to the development of education in the United States, and in 2014 one of the squares of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was named after David Koch in gratitude for the allocated funds for its reconstruction.

Pavel Valerievich Durov (born October 10, 1984, Leningrad) is a Russian programmer, one of the creators of the VKontakte social network (among other co-authors of the resource are his brother, Nikolai Durov).

Winner of scholarships of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, three-time winner of the Vladimir Potanin scholarship, winner of olympiads in linguistics, computer science and design.

In October 2011, Pavel Durov was noted by Forbes magazine as one of the 9 most unusual Russian businessmen - crazy people, eccentrics and eccentrics.

1. Do what you like. Learn. Learn. Develop. Change yourself from within. Golden Rule says - do what gives real pleasure, and then you will become much happier.

2. Give up the garbage you eat, drink and smoke every day.

3. Learn foreign languages. There are 60 million Russian-speaking Internet users. English speakers - a billion. Knowledge of English is no longer just a whim of intellectuals, but a vital necessity.

4. Read books. The golden rule is to read/listen to at least one book a week. That's 50 books a year that will change your life.

5. Make the most of every weekend.

6. Set goals, fix them on paper, in Word or blog. The main thing is that they be clear, understandable and measurable. If you set a goal, you can either achieve it or not. If you do not put, then there are no options for achieving at all.

7. Learn to type blindly. Time is one of the few treasures you have, and you should be able to type almost as fast as you can think. And you should not think about where the desired letter is, but about what you write.

8. Ride time. Learn to manage your affairs so that they work almost without your participation. For starters, read Allen (Getting Things Done) or Gleb Arkhangelsky. Make decisions quickly, act immediately, do not delay. All things either do or delegate to someone.

9. Give up computer games, aimless social networking and stupid Internet surfing. Minimize communication in social networks, leave one account. Destroy the TV antenna in the apartment.

11. Learn to get up early. The paradox is that in the early hours you always have more time than in the evening. 7 hours of sleep is enough for a person, subject to quality physical activity and normal nutrition.

12. Try to surround yourself with decent, honest, open, intelligent and successful people.

13. Go in for sports. Yoga, rock climbing, cycling, horizontal bars, parallel bars, football, running, plyometrics, swimming, functional training are the best friends of a person who wants to restore tone to the body and get a surge of endorphins. And forget about the elevator.

14. Do unusual things. Go somewhere you've never been before, take a different route to work, sort out a problem you don't know anything about. Get out of your "comfort zone", expand your knowledge and horizons. Rearrange furniture at home, change appearance, hairstyle, image.

15. Get rid of junk.

16. Forget about what happened in the past. Take with you from there only experience, knowledge, a good relationship and positive impressions.

17. Do not be afraid. There are no insurmountable obstacles, and all doubts live only in your head. You don't have to be a warrior, you just need to see the goal, avoid obstacles and know that you will achieve it without a single chance to experience failure.

Warren Buffett is the most famous and richest investor in the world. According to Forbes, he ranks second in the list of world's billionaires - after Bill Gates. Warren Buffett's net worth is estimated at $46000000000. Bogush Time has published 10 Warren Buffett tips for investing.

1. Investing is to invest today and get tomorrow more money. Warren Buffett has always maintained a rather modest lifestyle. Instead of living in expensive cottages and eating in restaurants, he invested every free penny in stocks. For 35 years, he managed to increase the initial amount of $ 100,000 by 200,000%.

2. Buy shares of companies whose products you personally like. At one time, Warren Buffett significantly increased his fortune by buying a 9 percent stake in the company that produced his favorite Gillette razor.

3. Don't invest in areas you don't understand. It is much more profitable to invest in a business that you can understand.

4. Don't be "shy" with losing stocks. If your forecast did not come true and instead of profit the company makes losses - sell the shares and do not waste your nerves.

5. Behind every stock that goes up, there is a successful business. If the company is doing well and the income is growing - and the shares will grow.

6. Invest in international business.

7. There are winning stocks on the market and you need to find them. As a rule, some companies grow faster than others. From which follows the next, the eighth rule of Warren Buffett.

8. If you use calculations, you will definitely reach the top. But at least protect yourself from the biggest risks. Use analysis to stand out from the general crowd of uneducated investors. This way you will increase your income.

9. The main thing is the history of the company. Investors often make the same mistake - they try to assess the situation by "looking in the rear-view mirror", i.e. paying attention to a short period of time. On the other hand, Warren Buffett is sure that you need to see the whole history of the development of the company, and not a short fragment of it.

10. Don't rush or get nervous. "When I buy stocks, I don't care what happens to them the next day," says Buffett. "The main thing is that it's easy for me to predict what will happen to the market in the long term."

Billionaire Donald John Trump, whose fortune is estimated at $ 3 billion, gave ten tips to those who want to get rich. In Trump. How to get rich” real estate mogul gives aspiring entrepreneurs tips on how to make their first billion.

1. Always dress appropriately for your cultural level. I used to take pride in buying cheap suits and other clothes. It didn't make sense to pay thousands of dollars when you could buy things for $100. Who will know? But over the years, I realized that I was wrong. Now I buy very high quality shoes, and they seem to last forever, while the cheap ones, I remember, quickly wore out and looked exactly as much as I paid for them. Clothing says a lot about us even before we open our mouths.

2. Deliberately damage your reputation. Throw out carefully selected bits of information, express thoughtful provocative opinions to see what the reaction will be. By saying something unexpected, you can get a revealing response. I would make an outrageous remark in a meeting to see if the other participants agreed or resisted. This is a good way to evaluate those with whom you sit at the table.

3. Become your own financial advisor. A lot of people hire financial advisors, but I've seen advisors bring people to ruin. When choosing an adviser, rely on your own judgments based on what you read on the business pages of respected publications. By reading them, you begin to get a feel for what's going on in the market, including which advisors are the best. Hold on to the winners.

4. Let's change! If you are pressured, respond in kind. If you are insulted, attack with all possible force and energy. An eye for an eye. Be distrustful. I know that in this case you do not look too good, but even best friend may encroach on your spouse or your money.

5. Don't neglect hairdressing. I am often criticized for the way I comb my hair. The New York Times called my hair “a complex construction that is best left to the judgment of architectural critics.” I think she looks good, but I never claimed that the hairstyle is my strongest point. However, it surprises me how often I get asked if I wear a wig. Answer: categorically no. I don't wear a wig.

6. Try to avoid handshakes. Some administrators believe in a firm handshake. I believe in no handshakes. Often I have to deal with the fact that a person who clearly has a cold comes up to me and says: "Mr. Trump, I want to shake your hand." Microbes are known to be transmitted in this way. There was a case when a person came out of the toilet, shaking off water from his still wet hands. He came up to my table and said, "Mr. Trump, you great person. May I shake your hand?" In this case, I decided to shake hands because I was in a hurry and I knew that if I shook his hand, I would not be able to finish the meal.

7. Follow your instincts. Entrepreneurship is not a group activity. You must trust yourself. You may have solid academic degrees, but without instincts, it will be difficult for you to climb up and stay there. This is one of those gray areas that remains a mystery even to those with sophisticated business instincts. There are subtle signs that can signal whether or not it is necessary to conclude this or that deal, to enter into contacts with certain people.

8. Stay optimistic, but be prepared for failure. There are ups and downs, but you can survive them if you are ready for them. Anticipating problems has saved me from wasting energy and will save you from unpleasant surprises. Ups and downs are inevitable. I am a very cautious person, but this does not mean that I am a pessimist. call it positive thinking with an eye to reality.

9. Pay attention to details. If you don't know every aspect of what you are doing, you are setting yourself up for unpleasant surprises. I once read about a respected neurosurgeon who was fanatically obsessed with the details and organization of an operation. He prepared for the upcoming operation by taking a morning jog. He mentally imagined all the details, remembered all that he knew, all the difficulties and complications that he might face. But you don't have to be a neurosurgeon to pay attention to details.

10. Make marriage contracts. If I had not made a marriage contract, this book would be written by a man who has lost a lot. It took a bus to bring Yvonne's lawyers to court, but luckily I had a prenuptial agreement. A friend who was about to get married for the fifth time said to me: "I'm so in love that I don't need a marriage contract." A year later, his marriage fell apart and he had to go through hell. He looked like a frightened puppy. I didn't have the courage to say the words on my tongue: you're a loser!

Steve Jobs one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. His success story has become a legend. Adopted at an early age, dropped out of college 6 months after starting school, slept on the floor in his friends' rooms, turned in 5-cent cola bottles to eat, this man created Apple and the Pixar animation studio.

1. Do what you love. Find your true passion. The only way to accomplish something truly great is to love what you do.

2. Be different. Think differently. "Better to be a pirate than a sailor."

3. Do the best you can. In any case, strive for the best of what you could. Do not sleep! Success brings more success. Crave success! Hire cool people who are passionate about perfection.

4. Conduct a SWOT analysis. As soon as you have your own company, write down on a piece of paper a list of strengths and weaknesses theirs and their company. Don't hesitate to throw rotten apples out of the company.

5. Be adventurous. Set a new big goal each time. Among the many ideas, find those that need to be implemented quickly and decisively and ... jump with them into the window of new opportunities. Sometimes, the first step is the hardest. Just do it! And have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition.

6. Start small, think big. Don't think about many things at once. Start with a few simple ideas, and then get to more complex ones. Think not only about tomorrow, but also about the Future. “I want to shout to the whole world,” Steve Jobs once said.

7. Strive to be the market leader. Own leading technologies, control them in all areas of your activity. If a better technology exists, use it, even if no one is using it. Be the first to set industry standards.

8. Focus on the result. People judge you by your actions, so focus on the result. Be the measure of quality. Not all people are accustomed to the environment of the highest quality. Let them know. If they don't know about the quality, they won't buy the product. Pay attention to design. "We've made buttons so beautiful you'll want to lick them." "Design is not about the look or feel, but how it works."

9. Ask for advice. Ask advice from people from different areas. Everyone will give you one useful thought. If you are the main link, sometimes they will not give you honest answers, because they will be afraid. Then disguise yourself or collect feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your products, listen to consumers first.

10. Change. Innovation distinguishes the leader from the followers. Delegate. Let other leaders do 50% of the work routine, keep the other 50% for innovation. Say "no" to a thousand things so that you have the confidence not to slip into the wrong path and not waste your strength on too much. Focus on really important ideas and radical innovations. Hire those people who want to create the best things in the world. Even in a tech company, you need to create a culture of product-oriented people. Many companies have a lot of great engineers and smart people, but in the end it takes a unifying force to bring everyone together.

11. Learn from your mistakes. Sometimes, when creating something new, you make mistakes. It is best to quickly recognize and eliminate them, improving your other developments.

12. Learn all the time. You can always learn "something else". Share your thoughts with other people inside and outside your company. Learn from consumers, competitors, partners. If your partner is with people you don't love, learn to love them, praise them and take advantage of it all. Learn to openly but honestly criticize your enemies.

83 rules for success from rich people

John Rockefeller (1839-1937) was an American entrepreneur and multimillionaire, a man whose name has become a symbol of wealth. ""

Rules of Wealth from John D. Rockefeller:

1. Work less for someone (manager, director) you need to work only for yourself. How longer time you do not work for yourself, the naturally worse you live

2. Know how to save money. Find where you can buy goods cheaper and in bulk. Make a shopping list ahead of time and buy what's on your list

3. If you don't have enough right now Money- you need to do business. If you have no money at all, you need to do business urgently, not to postpone, but right now.

4. The road to the greatest wealth lies through one path - passive income! Income that comes to you on its own, it works on autopilot. Create multiple sources passive income enjoy life to your heart's content.

5. Think about how to earn $50,000 (fifty thousand dollars) a month. Only more. Can't be less. This figure is recommended by John Rockefeller for a reason, but the fact is that the richest people in the world spend no more than $ 50,000 every month.

6. Communicate more. Money comes into your pocket through other people. People who are unsociable rarely become rich.

7. A poor environment constantly pulls you into poverty. Even the richest people always have relatives, friends, and other beggars who, if you don't get mad at them, will quickly empty your pockets, your goals, and your dreams. If you are still poor, then surely in your environment they simply do not like, do not respect, many even hate the rich. Always communicate only with Winners and Optimists.

8. Responsibility for your life - 100%. Poverty manifests itself when one shirks responsibility. Don't come up with any excuses why you can't start moving towards your goal right now.

9. Learn from the best. Study the biographies, actions, thinking of the rich people of the world.

10. Dreams are the most important thing in your Life. The main thing is to dream and believe that dreams will come true. A person begins to die when he stops dreaming or does not dream at all.

11. Help people. Not for something and not for money, but from a pure heart. It is for those people whom you yourself want to help. And this is not necessarily yours or someone else's relatives or friends. Give 10% of profits to charity.

12. Create business systems, enjoy life, enjoy your earned money.

1. Many problems come from the mind. They are not the result of any events, failures, or the actions of other people. They arise because of our bad mental habits. Get rid of these 10 behaviors, and immediately get rid of the many problems that each of them causes:

2. Don't jump to conclusions. This habit can make life difficult in two ways. First, we assume we know what is going to happen, so we turn our attention away and start acting on that assumption. People are useless soothsayers. Most of their assumptions are wrong, and hence their actions are wrong. The second side of this habit is that we imagine that we can read minds, and as if we know why other people do, what they do, or what they think. Again wrong, and fundamentally wrong. It is this stupidity that destroys relationships like no other.

3. Don't be dramatic. Many make up deadly catastrophes out of petty misfortunes, and react accordingly. The habit of making an elephant out of a fly creates an anxiety that either does not exist or is so small that there is nothing to worry about. Why do they do it? Who knows? Maybe to look and feel more important. Either way, it's as stupid as it is pernicious.

4. Don't make up rules. A huge part of all these "shoulds" and "shoulds" that you run around with are probably useless. All they give you is nervousness and guilt. What for? By following these imaginary rules, you fill your brain with unnecessary obstacles and childish routines. And when you try to transfer these rules to others, you turn into an intimidating tedious whiner or self-confident fanatic.

5. Avoid stereotypes and labels. The words you use can set you up. The language of negativity and criticism breeds the same mindset. By trying to cram things into certain categories, you stop seeing their real meaning, thereby limiting your thinking to absolute uselessness. Look - what's there. Don't label. You will be surprised by what you see.

6. Don't be a perfectionist. Life is not only “black or white”, or “all or nothing”. In most cases, “enough” means just enough. If you look for the perfect job, you will most likely never find it. At the same time, all other works will seem worse to you than they really are. You will look for the perfect relationship, and you will probably spend your whole life alone. Perfectionism is a mental disease that will not let you enjoy, but will send you every time in search of what is not.

7. Don't generalize. One or two failures is not a sign of permanent failure. And an accidental triumph does not make you a genius. A single event - good or bad - or even two or three events is not always a sign of a lingering trend. As a rule, things are what they are and nothing more.

8. Don't take it to heart. Most people, even your friends and colleagues, don't talk, think, or care about you 99% of the time. The people from your organization, or those living in the neighborhood, have probably never even heard of you. Yes, actually, and does not want to hear. The ups and downs of life, the warmth and indifference of other people have nothing to do with you personally. If they pretend, it will only make you feel more miserable than necessary.

9. Do not trust emotions. How you feel is not always a true indicator of what is really happening. Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's true. Sometimes the source of emotions can be fatigue, hunger, irritation, or just a runny nose. Whether you feel good or bad, the future will not change. Feelings may be true, but they are not truth.

10. Do not give in to apathy. Practice being an optimist. If you expect bad things in life and at work, you will find them. A negative attitude is the same as looking at the world through distorting, dirty glasses. You will notice only flaws, not paying attention, or not noticing everything else. It's amazing how you can see something that isn't there if you just start looking. And of course, if you start looking for positive things, you will find them too.

11. Don't live in the past. This tip is the most important of all: forget it and move on with your life. Most of the anger, frustration, unhappiness, and despair in this world comes from people holding on to past hurts and problems. The more you scroll through them in your mind, the larger they will seem to you, and the worse you will feel. Don't fight adversity. Forget and move on. Do this, and thereby deprive him of the power to hurt you.

To begin with, we simply must set ourselves a specific goal - how much money we want to receive from our site. I won't open for you big secret, if I say that in this life no one has achieved something by accident. Any success is solely the result of the goal that each particular person has set for himself, and therefore, the more significant your goal is, the more success you will achieve.

But remember that "big goal" and "impossible" are two huge differences!

3. Preparation.

I have already said this more than once, but I will repeat it - any work on the site begins with the birth of an idea. And this is not just a desire that can be described with the words "I want a site, the same as that of ..." - here you substitute desired option. The best idea is the one that can be formulated as follows: "this has not happened yet, and I will be the first."

However, the originality of the idea is not yet a guarantee of a successful business. In addition to it, you should know the answer to one more question - "does your site need network users who have already seen everything that can be seen and who have billions of existing sites at their disposal."

I would advise any Internet project to start with approbation. There are two options here - you can immediately send it to the network to see the reaction of users to your product: is it visited, needed and interesting? Or, having launched its test version, invite independent experts to evaluate it. Not your friends and relatives, who will evaluate your site solely on how they treat you, but people who do not know you, and therefore will be able to evaluate your work objectively.

In any case, in 2-3 months you will receive results that will allow you to judge the commercial prospects of the entire future project.

5. Attachments.

Without money, alas, no serious Internet business is possible. Even if it seems to you that you are a good programmer or copywriter, or photographer, or master of promotion, you still cannot cover everything. Therefore, initially determine the amount that you can invest in your site. Moreover, the best attitude to this money will not be as an investment, but as funds that you will lose with a 99% probability.

Accept the loss in advance, because only this will allow you to remain free both in decision-making and in creativity.

7. Requirements for design and content.

8. "Who's around?"

9. The position of your site in the network.

When they enter the network, and, having typed in the name of their product (service), they see that your site is higher than the site of their company, they simply cannot help but pay attention to you. What is needed for this? Work hard and hard to make the site interesting for those who will become potential clients of your employers. That's why I want to say to all of you: if you do not feel the strength in yourself to create a website of the first magnitude, then initially give up trying to make money on it, as if you were wasting your time.

And besides, the site is your brainchild, the result of months of hard work and sleepless nights, and no manager will ever worry about it the way you do.

12. Or just know how to wait.

After all, in the end, the main thing in the success of any Internet project is not the actions that you take around it, but how you make the project itself. After all, it is he himself - his quality consisting of many components - that determines the profit he brings.

The stories of great fortunes seem fictional - we are convinced that it is impossible to get rich by honest work. There are white spots in the biographies of millionaires, but common character traits are also clearly visible. They are purposeful, persistent and enterprising.

Most rich and successful people were born into ordinary families with an average income. Just like most of us. And since childhood, they were in equal conditions with their peers, had equal opportunities with them.

But then why did some become rich and others not? Why did some manage to get rich, while others did not, other things being equal?

Clan Rothschild

The Rothschild family tree began in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where for generations they lived in a nondescript house on the Judengasse. The Jewish street was fenced off from the city on both sides, and a red sign hung on the house. It is to this circumstance that the family owes its surname: translated from German, Rothschild means a red shield.

Mayer Rothschild, born in 1744, still as a young man found the strength to change the habitual bleak existence that his ancestors dragged out, and left for Hanover, which is more tolerant of Jews. For several years Mayer studied banking with the Oppenheimer bankers, and returning to his home, he found the family completely impoverished. The house under the red sign had to be changed to a shack with a frying pan on the facade. In this miserable building, Meyer opened a firm selling old coins. The young Rothschild was engaged in compiling catalogs and delivering coins to all corners of Germany. Collectors in those days were aristocrats, so Meyer acquired useful contacts in the highest circles of German society. One of Rothschild's clients was Wilhelm, Duke of Hanau, who purchased some expensive coins. Thanks to this “gesheft”, Rothschild was able to equip a shop in the “house under the pan”, where merchants exchanged the currency of different principalities of Germany.

The first Rothschild bank huddled on four square meters, but Meyer was purposeful and full of plans: he continued to engage in collectible coins and bought out the shops of burnt money changers. The ancestor of the banking house tirelessly traveled through numerous duchies and principalities, concluding deals and getting to know influential people. Efforts were not in vain: already in 1769, the coat of arms of the Dukes of Hesse-Hanau flaunted over the Rothschild house with a golden inscription saying that Mayer Rothschild was the duke's manager.

Wilhelm was not a typical aristocrat - he did not shy away from issuing loans at interest and renting out entire companies of killer mercenaries. In a word, the duke was extremely money-loving, and half of the European rulers owed him money.

Mayer Rothschild, who carried out the orders of the duke-possessor, warmed his hands well in collecting debts. The family moved to good house under the green sign and the Rothschilds began to be called Grunschilds. True, it was decided not to change the name. The described events can be considered the foundation of the future prosperity of the family, but the real breakthrough was made by Mayer's five sons, raised by Pope Rothschild. The offspring turned into real financial tycoons in Europe. As the biographer of the Rothschild clan wrote, the family grew rich whenever any of the states collapsed.

The first was the Kingdom of Denmark, which went bankrupt in 1804. Wilhelm, already familiar to us, borrowed money from his uncle, the King of Denmark. In order not to sully his aristocratic name, Wilhelm instructed five Rothschild juniors to collect interest on the loan, and they coped with the debut brilliantly. This is how the Rodschild banking house was founded, which opened a Swiss branch 150 years later. Since then, the Rothschilds have not gone out of the ranks of the richest people in the world, retaining their corporate style of doing business. A bank in Zurich, for example, only accepts clients with a net worth of over 1 million Swiss francs.

The Rothschilds work with exceptional clients, not exchanging for "little things." In their tenacious hands are the largest banks in France and Great Britain, railway complexes, mining concerns, oil companies, diamond mines and much more. At the same time, representatives of a noble family actively influence world politics, while remaining in the shadows.

The Rothschild Empire is indestructible and omnipotent. The secret of power, of course, is in business sense, passed down from generation to generation. But no less significant factor is devotion to the family idea. All members of the family, with rare exceptions, increased the fortune of the clan. For more than two hundred years, the world has been watching the prosperity of the Rothschild clan, many hate them, but everyone needs the protection and money of the clan.

François Pinault

One of the most influential and wealthy citizens of France: a collector who owns the Christie's auction house, the Gucci brand, the Chateau-Latour vineyards and the Marigny theater in the capital.

In 1936, in French Brittany, a son was born in the family of a simple forester. The father struggled to make ends meet, but turned inside out so that Francois became a graduate. The young man did not appreciate the parental efforts, and at the age of 16 he left his studies and left home. Pino did not want to study, he only wanted to do what he liked and could bring good profit. Studying would have taken too much time, and he is still proud that his only diploma is a license to drive a car. Francois Pinault did not want to drag out the gray existence of a worker, and his relatives vied with each other to teach him how to live. Having quarreled with everyone and striving for independent living, the young man departed for Algiers.

What the future millionaire did in the French colony is unknown. There was a war in Algeria, and, according to Pino's enemies, he traded weapons and drugs for three years. We are unlikely to ever know the details of the Algerian period of the life of François, but now it does not matter. In any case, Pino returned to France a different person - he had money, self-confidence and grandiose plans.

François, 27, opened the Pinault group, a timber trading company. Business contacts and useful acquaintances began to be established. One of these promising contacts was an acquaintance with the promising politician Jacques Chirac. No one can say for sure what united the impulsive Chirac and the rational Pinot, perhaps the first was struck by François's unmistakable business sense. His stock market predictions are legendary. Before the stock market crash in 1973, Pinault suddenly sold the prosperous Pinault Group for 30 million francs, and a year later bought his offspring for only 5 million. Thus, during the year he managed to earn an amount exceeding his income for the previous 5 years. And in 1976, Francois dissuaded Prime Minister Jacques Chirac from a business trip. Soon it turned out that the train was mined by terrorists. Since then, Chirac is sure that he owes his life to Francois. Perhaps this is a coincidence, but after that incident, the business of the Pino company went even better.

A measured life became boring to a respectable 52-year-old father of four children, and he set about making his youthful dream come true. He wanted great wealth, and chose the game on the stock exchange as a way of enrichment.

Paris Bourse and François Pinault

It is quite natural that the famous flair of Pino made him one of the most successful speculators on the stock exchange: he bought and sold enterprises with invariable success (see ""). The morality of his operations raises doubts, however, such categories are alien to stockbrokers.

In 1989, Paul Paoli, chairman of the board of directors of the Franco-African trade union, invited François Pinault to participate in the capital. Pinault started with 20%, and a few months later decided to add Acquisition to the Pinault group. The directors, including Paoli, were immediately fired, and the Pino company took up the African supply of electrical equipment.

The successful takeover spurred Pino on, and in 1991 he acquired American Executive Life in violation of the law. The profit from the transaction was from 1 to 2 billion dollars, and the fine was only $185 million. With the billions earned, Pino bought the Conforama retail chain, and a year later, the largest Printemps department store, then the La Redoute chain and Fnac bookstores. Every time he fired top managers, putting his people in their place. The François Pinault Pinault-Printemps-Redoute group is now one of the most powerful associations retail in France. But the billionaire does not stop, continuing to buy everything in a row, for which he deserves the nickname Octopus.

Pinot in "art"

Nouveau riche Pinot became interested in collecting and fashion. Starting out buying paintings, in 1998 he decided to take ownership of Christie's. This auction house, along with Sotheby's, controls 90% of all transactions. Approaching the world of art did not change Francois' methods of work: he fired almost the entire management, and set up a hotel at Christie's headquarters. Everyone was talking about the uncleanliness of Francois Pinault, who drowns competitors indiscriminately, but Christie's revenue of $ 1.4 billion, apparently, left no doubt about the correctness of the chosen path.

In the world of high fashion, the billionaire also does not stand on ceremony. Acting in his favorite way, Sprut acquired Gucci Group, Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Bedat & Co, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Puma, etc. He has a controlling stake in the Redcats catalog and the largest chain of FNAC stores. It is difficult to say what Pino did not get to, but there is no doubt that he will not fail to chop off everything that lies badly and deserves attention.

True, in 2003, Pinault handed over the reins to his eldest son Francois-Henri and took up the world's best vineyard "Chateau-Latour" and collecting works of art. François Pinault achieved perfection in the ability to "occupy all the burners with his pots." This French proverb fully characterizes the lifestyle of this billionaire: take advantage of all opportunities.

Ingmar Kamprad

The name IKEA is known to everyone, but few know the name of the founder of the company. Many generations of the Kamprads succeeded in business, so we can assume that Ingmar inherited the entrepreneurial spirit. True, there were black stripes in the history of the family. So, the grandfather of the founder of IKEA committed suicide when his company was threatened with bankruptcy. Grandma then took matters into her own hands and was able to keep the business going. Ingvar loves to tell this story, considering it the best proof that hard work and perseverance help overcome all obstacles.

Ingvar Kamprad appeared on the account in 1926 in the Swedish province of Smaland. From a young age, he showed commercial inclinations: at school he sold matches, pencils and other small things bought in bulk. While his classmates were just getting ready to enter adulthood, Ingvar earned money for his first company, which he opened at the age of 15.

It's hard to believe, but Kamprad founded when he was only 17 years old - in 1943. The name of the company consists of the initial letters of his first and last name, the third letter E is from Elmtaryd (the name of the family farm), the ending A is Agunnaryd (the village closest to the farm).

At first, IKEA was engaged in the sale of various little things like paper clips and socks. Ingmar published a catalog and orders began to arrive by mail, delivered by the milkman, who made the rounds every day anyway. 1951 can be considered the beginning furniture business Kamprad - a non-working factory was bought, production was launched and the first catalog was published. Just a couple of years later, the first store selling IKEA furniture opened its doors, and five years later a huge complex with an area of ​​​​about 7,000 square meters opened its doors. m.

Prices for furniture from the very beginning were low, which was not to the liking of other furniture makers. Many refused to supply their goods to Ingmar stores, but this only strengthened the position of IKEA. Compard's innovative strategy was to buy parts and components from countries with cheap production. IKEA furniture is traditionally democratic, inexpensive and comfortable. The combination of these qualities makes IKEA products super popular.

The founder of IKEA does not like luxury, and his stinginess is well known. Going on business trips, the billionaire always stays in 3-star hotels, uses public transport, eats in cafes and inexpensive restaurants, and always haggles in supermarkets. He himself says that in this way he studies requests ordinary people who make up the bulk of IKEA buyers.

Now Ingvar Kamprad is 89 years old, and he handed over the management of the business to his sons. The billionaire himself believes that his success is due to the constant dissatisfaction with what has been achieved. He always treated his company like a child: sometimes a weighted slap on the back of the head does not at all mean a lack of love.

The founder of IKEA does not have a higher education diploma, and school teachers hardly taught him to read and write. But a talented entrepreneur has always brilliantly coped with the most difficult tasks, unmistakably finding original marketing moves. Ingvar Kamprad's enthusiasm, humility and sharp mind have raised him to a level that few have been able to achieve. Ingmar likes to be put on a par with Henry Ford, who also made affordable items that were considered luxuries for most people.

John Paul Dejoria

John Paul Dejoria's company produces the famous JPM Systems (John Paul Mitchell Systems) shampoo with an annual turnover of $900,000,000. Billionaire Dejoria is respected by all charitable foundations in the world, and he also took care of pets by developing a line of care products for them. In a word, John Paul readily helps anyone who needs his support. As it often happens, a person who has not been favored by fate since childhood, is sympathetic to the problems of other people.

John Paul's parents separated when he was barely 2 years old, so already in childhood the boy was forced to earn extra money by selling Christmas greeting cards. After 10 years, the child was adopted by a foster family. The beginning of the life of the future billionaire was not cloudless: he was in a Los Angeles gang and only military service saved him from a criminal future. After serving, Dejorio set out to go into business, but he had neither money nor relatives who could lend.

John Paul borrowed $700 from the bank and started a shampoo company. He personally had to sell products, literally, moving from office to office. The car was both his home and his means of transportation, but John Paul is not one to back down from difficulties. He was confident in the quality of his shampoo, purposeful and persistent. Now we already know that these qualities, together with talent and inspiration, made DeJoria a billionaire.

Many people dream of fame, wealth and happiness. However, not everyone succeeds in achieving something in life. From the article you will learn about how successful people became successful, how to find the main secrets and principles of luck.

Age-old mystery

Thousands of thinkers, scientists and ordinary people are trying to create a universal path to victory. Some people believe that the only way to achieve your goals in life is through hard work. Others are sure that people receive a "ticket" from fortune from birth. Still others are convinced that a person becomes great only because of mystical coincidences. But people who have actually succeeded know that only all of the named points together will help to catch the "firebird".

Absolutely everyone is sure that everything depends on a particular person and his ability to recognize and use the chances that fate offers. Of course, it is impossible to reach heights in one hour or several lessons on the topic “How to become a successful person” from a famous lucky person. But if you strive for this and read relevant literature, communicate with interesting people, then there is every chance to change your life for the better.

In any case, there are rules that unite all rich and beautiful men and women among themselves. The first secret is to set goals and priorities correctly. Immediately think about who you want to be, for example, in 10-20 years, what you need to do to achieve what you want. Start with small tasks. If they are successful, then continue to work in the same spirit.

The second secret: when you go to the goal, do not waste time on things that make you vulnerable and insecure. Try to avoid people who do not share your intentions. The ability to deal with difficulties, criticism and temptations are the main qualities successful person. Remember that no matter how hard you try, there will be people who will not appreciate your work.

The third secret: do not put things off until later. Enthusiasm and ideas often lose to laziness and lack of initiative, so try to cultivate punctuality and patience in yourself. After all, men and women with such traits are valued in the world.

Computer genius

The idol of many dreamers is Bill Gates. The story of this man is fascinating and instructive. He was born into a wealthy family. My father worked as a successful lawyer, and my mother was actively involved in charity work. The boy lived in a good area and attended an excellent school. From childhood, parents tried to instill in their son the spirit of competition. Relatives made sure that the boy aspired to science. Little Bill liked to play various games, in which he was often the winner.

Already at the age of 10, the boy decided that he would enter the circle in which there are successful people. His father was a role model. Therefore, instead of sports games and fun with friends the boy read a lot and spent time studying.

Ironically, the school had one of the very first computers. Even then, he was interested in a unique car. Intuitively, he felt that the world will change the program, not the devices on which they are installed. It was at this time that Bill created the first projects. The director encouraged the students with bonuses. For his work, the boy received the first 500 dollars at the age of 15. After graduating from school, the guy set himself the goal of making money on programming. It should be noted that not all the people around him believed in Bill's powers.

Target and means

Parents who knew nothing about computers were against such a desire. They believed that successful people could not do such a thing, and saw their son as a lawyer. The young man entered Harvard. On the machines of the university, he continued to write programs. The money that I got for my ideas I invested in the business. In 1975, Bill and his friend opened their own company, which they called Microsoft. Often a genius worked so hard and diligently that he fell asleep right in the office. The guy dropped out of Harvard. Parents did not share his choice, but the computer genius did not give up.

Bill Gates knew how to become a successful person. The secret of the man was hard work and fabulous ambitions.

In 1978, there were already 11 people in the Microsoft office. Today, the program that his company created has 90% of computer users.

There were ups and downs in the history of this genius, but he confidently walked towards his goal. Several times Bill Gates topped the list of the richest people in the world. Now the multibillionaire gives significant funds to charity. He donates millions to the poor and disadvantaged. His new goal in life to save the world.

Grief as an incentive

The most successful people work in different directions. If Bill Gates got the fame of a computer genius, then in the world of the book, J.K. Rowling is the leader.

The future writer was born in a simple family. Her homeland was the county of Gloucestershire, which is located in England. She had a younger sister. It was to her that the author read her first stories. At the age of 5-6 Joan wrote a fairy tale. Childhood can not be called sweet. The family often lacked money. The girl was afraid of her father because of her difficult nature. And her mother, whom she loved very much, died when Joan was 25 years old. She took the tragedy very hard. But it was this death that pushed her to work. It should be noted that before cardinal changes, almost all successful people in the world experience something terrible, unusual.

A few months before the disaster, she, racing on a train, imagined a dark-haired boy who had just found out that he was a magician. At that moment, the novelist did not have a pen with her, so more and more new and vivid images surfaced in her head.

Creativity is a pill for depression

She wrote the book very slowly. Behind a short time Rowling survived the death of her mother, a divorce from her abusive husband, and a move back to England. A woman with a small child, whom she gave birth to in 1993, lived very poorly. For some time she suffered from severe depression. Therefore, many dark and evil characters appeared in the draft of the Harry Potter book.

The life of successful people is not always easy. But this writer did not give up and continued to create. She was given strength by the dream that her novel would be published. The story that the world admires today was originally Joan's diary. In it, she solved her problems with the help of fantastic situations. The work saved her from pain and suffering. A woman wrote when the child was sleeping after walking.

In 1995, Rowling completed her first book. However, none of the publishers she applied to agreed to publish the story. Once "Harry Potter" fell into the hands of the daughter of one of the editors. It was the interest of this girl that contributed to the fact that the novel saw the light of day. Over 400 million copies have now been sold. The writer is on the list of the richest women in the UK.

Charity

For some time many friends and even strangers asked a famous author for money. Almost all successful people in the world face this situation. Many women helped. But Joan is of the opinion that big money spoils the personality. The writer herself lives quite modestly and very rarely, even despite her financial situation, allows herself expensive things.

Weekly on mailbox the writer receives thousands of letters. Some of them are from fans. Others are from various organizations asking for help. At first, Rowling gave funds to everyone. But then I realized that it would not be able to help anyone in particular. Later, she decided to create her own charitable foundation. Almost all successful people turn to this practice. Her organization is fighting multiple sclerosis from which her mother died.

No age limits

Everyone has long known that the realization of a dream into reality and a small triumph make a person not only happy, but also improve his health. There is a great example that success can be achieved regardless of age and background. This is a unique person named Grandma Moses.

This American was born in the distant 1860. Since childhood, she loved to draw. All her life she worked hard on the farm. She became an exemplary mother of five children and a good person. She didn't have time for her favorite hobby.

The woman retired and started painting. Grandma was in her 70s when a collector from New York liked her work. Simple, soulful landscapes immediately conquered the world. Exhibitions of paintings by the artist were held around the world. The woman created about 1600 paintings and died at the age of 101.

It should be noted that in 2004 her work "The Old Colorful House, 1862" sold at auction for $60,000. The story of Grandma Moses proves that the activity of a successful person does not depend on age.

Characteristics of goals

Everyone's secret to success is unique. Someone needs a good chance and useful connections to fulfill their dream. Others - a lot of time and a lot of opportunities. But in any case, without colossal work, expenditure of energy and ambition, it is impossible to wake up and become famous in one day.

For many people, happiness and success are not measured in the amount of money in the bank account, not in the army of fans who are on duty at the door. There are people for whom luck is to fulfill their dream, no matter how strange it may seem to others. The first want simple family comfort, the second - career growth, the third - the opportunity to travel the world without hindrance. For each individual person, triumph has its own characteristics.

Stories about how successful people became successful are a step that can bring you closer to your goal. It doesn't matter what a person puts in front of him. If his aspirations are pure and bright, sincere work and circumstances will contribute to their realization.

Albert Einstein is the prime example of great failures, deserving of the top spot on the list. As a child, he began to speak only at the age of 4 and could not learn to read until the age of 7. He studied so poorly that teachers (and parents) considered him "stupid" and "mentally retarded" and said that he would never achieve anything.
But Einstein simply thought differently. In 1921 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his service to theoretical physics". Theoretical physicist, one of the founders of modern theoretical physics, humanist public figure, honorary doctor of about 20 leading universities in the world, member of many Academies of Sciences, author of more than 300 scientific works and about 150 books and articles in various fields, who developed several significant physical theories and predicted "quantum teleportation", is today considered one of the most prominent scientists of the 20th century.

Walt Disney

The man who gave the world Disneyland and one of the iconic figures of popular culture - Mickey Mouse, was fired from the newspaper for "lack of imagination and lack of original ideas". His first animation studio went bankrupt. According to legend, Disney was turned down 302 times before it received funding to create Disneyland.
Today it is difficult for us to imagine our childhood without the amazing cartoons of this great producer, director, screenwriter and animator. And although one of the most famous animators of all time has suffered more than one collapse of several of his endeavors, today the corporation known as The Walt Disney Company earns an average of about $ 30 billion a year.

Bill Gates

The most indecently rich man in the world was expelled from Harvard University, where he is still called the "Most Successful Dropout".
The founder and largest shareholder of Microsoft, who literally changed the entire world culture of the 20th century by making it easier to use computers, has been considered the richest person on the planet for more than 10 years, whose fortune in 2012 was estimated by Forbes magazine at $ 66 billion.
The funny thing is that when he founded the software company (which became Microsoft), he bought software from "someone" for only 50 US dollars.

Steve Jobs

6 months after entering Reed College, Jobs was expelled, although he still attended some classes for a whole year with the permission of the dean. At the age of 30, he was unceremoniously "by default" removed from the company, which he also founded. But his rather short academic history did not pass him by.
Most likely, Apple Computer, iMac and iPad would not have seen their existence if Steve Jobs had stayed in college. And Mac wouldn't have a lot of fonts if he didn't get into Reed's calligraphy class.

Winston Churchill

Little Winston Churchill studied poorly at school and had speech problems. In the 6th grade, he was the last in terms of academic performance, exams at the Royal Military School, where he also did not particularly shine with success, he passed only on the third attempt and lost in every public position that he held.
However, at the age of 62, Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II. Today he is recognized as one of the most significant leaders in British and world history.

Thomas Edison

As a child, Edison's teacher once told him that he was too dumb to learn anything. And yet, before the appearance of the first working light bulb, he created about 9 thousand unsuccessful experiments.
Given all this, the list of successful losers would not be complete without Thomas Edison, the owner of 1093 patents, who gave the world a lot of inventions that dramatically changed life in the 20th century.
Although, they say that Edison was still that rogue and swindler who stole all his inventions from other scientists ...

Steven Spielberg

Flying out of school early age, he was persuaded to return to the class for children with learning difficulties. But this happiness did not last long. A month later, he was expelled again forever. But this was not what saddened Steven Spielberg the most, but the inability to enter the film school at the University of Southern California, which he dreamed of. He was refused three times, citing the fact that he was "too mediocre."
Instead, Spielberg went to UC Long Beach, and ended up directing the biggest $2.7 billion blockbusters in cinematic history, receiving 3 Oscars, the Legion of Honor, the Medal of Freedom, and an honorary degree in 1994. year from the film school, which refused him three times.

Marilyn Monroe

After wandering around foster families all her life, at the prompt of a military magazine photographer, Norma Jean Mortenson, she decided to try her luck in Hollywood. In 1947, a year after signing the contract, the 20th Century-Fox company refuses the young actress, considering her unattractive and unable to play.
Ultimately, Marilyn Monroe became the most popular blonde of mankind, one of the most iconic actresses, a pop idol and a sex symbol of all times and peoples.

Soichiro Honda

After World War II, Soichiro Honda was rejected during an interview for an engineer position at Toyota Motor Corporation.
An unemployed self-taught mechanic began making motorcycles for neighbors to buy, which led to the founding of his own company, Honda, which grew into the largest international industrial automobile and motorcycle company, surpassing GM and Chrysler, and making its founder a billionaire.

Fred Astaire

At Fred Astaire's first screen test, the judges wrote in the report: "Can't act. Can't sing. Bald. Dancing a little."
Today Astaire is a dancing and singing legend of cinema, one of the most outstanding dancers of all times and peoples, and in addition the greatest heartthrob.

Oprah Winfrey

Once upon a time, Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV reporter, citing the fact that she was "not suitable for television."
Today, Oprah is synonymous with modern television, thanks to her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is perceived as a very influential person who inspires people with her positive and optimistic programs.

Vincent Van Gogh

In his entire life, the unrecognized genius Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting, and even then to his friend. Very often the artist was starving, but he created about 800 paintings that no one needed.
Today he is considered a classic of post-impressionism, one of the most outstanding artists of all times and peoples, who created priceless works of art, the most expensive of which is estimated at $142.7 million.

Henry Ford

The first Ford company went bankrupt. The second he abandoned himself due to disagreements. The third went downhill due to declining sales.
All this did not stop Henry Ford from creating the Ford Motor Company, the first in the world to use the assembly line in the production of affordable cars. It not only revolutionized the industry of the United States and Europe, but also greatly influenced the economy and society of the 20th century. The combination of mass production, high wages and low prices gave rise to the concept of "Fordism", making him one of the three most famous and wealthy people in the world at that time.

Joanne Rowling

At some point in her life, J.K. Rowling was penniless, deeply depressed, divorced, unemployed, forced to raise her daughter on her own on social security while writing the manuscript for the first Harry Potter book. To make life not seem completely sweet, this manuscript was rejected by 12 publishers.
To date, Rowling is a globally recognized genius behind the 7 Harry Potter books that have become a global brand valued at $15 billion. This is the first time a billionaire has made a living from writing.

Stephen King

Stephen King could be the record holder for the most refusals from publishers. His first novel, Carrie, was rejected 30 times. Therefore, King threw the manuscript into the trash can, from where it was later retrieved by his wife and, apparently, not in vain.
About 50 of his novels have sold approximately 350 million copies worldwide. It's him, the king of horror that made us afraid of clowns...

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan said: “I have not scored more than 9,000 goals in a basket in my career. I lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I was given the responsibility of scoring the winning goal and I missed. I failed again and again and that is why I have been so successful.” But few people know that even at school, Jordan was kicked off the school basketball team for "lack of skills." Then he returned home, locked himself in his room and sobbed all day.
But, time passed, and Michael Jordan became the greatest basketball player of all time, whose proud number 23 was longed to be worn on his T-shirt by all the boys who were passionate about sports. This phenomenal athlete, who combines a unique combination of grace, speed, strength, skill, ability to improvise and an unquenchable thirst for competition, without outside help managed to redefine the concept of an NBA superstar.

The Beatles

It is hard to believe that the four enthusiastic musicians were rejected by many record companies, claiming that "guitar bands are becoming obsolete." Decca Recording Studios said, "We don't like their sound. They have no future in show business."
Who knew that the Beatles would sign a contract with EMI, bring BeatleMania to the States and become the greatest band in the history of music, whose fame will shake for generations to come after the group itself collapsed.