Which billionaires grew up poor?

From Rags to Riches: Billionaires Who Started with Nothing

Behind every billionaire is a story—but not all begin with privilege. Some of the world’s wealthiest individuals started life in poverty, proving that resilience and vision can rewrite destiny. Take Harry Stine, worth $10.2 billion, who grew up in a modest rural Iowa home before revolutionizing the agricultural biotech industry. His journey from farmland to fortune is a testament to quiet determination.

Then there’s Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, who lived in a one-bedroom apartment with his family during his childhood. With a net worth of $11.1 billion, his story echoes a familiar theme: starting at the bottom and refusing to stay there. Similarly, David Steward, founder of IT company World Wide Technology, was born to a janitor and a domestic worker in segregated Missouri. He now boasts a fortune of $11.4 billion—built not on inheritance, but on grit.

Across the globe, Goh Cheng Liang grew up in a cramped Singaporean tenement, selling paint from a tiny shop. Today, his family empire spans real estate and investments, positioning him among Asia’s self-made elite. Meanwhile, Chinese medical device pioneer Li Xiting left a humble village in Anhui province, eventually building a global company from the ground up.

Even tech giants like Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, began in hardship. Raised in a financially strained family in Taiwan, he worked his way into electronics manufacturing, now overseeing a network central to Apple’s supply chain. Others like Sky Xu and Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi rose from obscurity to dominate industries from e-commerce to beverages.

Their stories aren’t about luck—they’re about persistence, risk, and the refusal to accept limits. In a world often defined by wealth gaps, these lives remind us that origin doesn’t dictate outcome. Poverty may shape the start, but it doesn’t have to define the finish.