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Being an entrepreneur is not something that should be taken lightly. It involves a great deal of work, determination and talent. Anyone can be an entrepreneur, but only a few can truly change the world with their business. Over the course of the 20 and 21st centuries, there have been a number of people who have taken an idea, made it into a business and gone on to achieve fame and fortune.
It would be hard to narrow down the many entrepreneurs who have found success with their ideas but here are some who truly stand out.
Roy Kroc
You may not recognize his name but it is a guarantee that you have gone to his restaurant. In fact, his restaurant has served over 100 billion in the years since it opened. That’s right, it is McDonald’s, one of the most successful and largest companies on the planet. It was back in 1954 when Kroc was working as a salesman for a company that sold items for the kitchen that he hit upon an idea. At the ripe old age of 52, he saw a restaurant in outside of Los Angeles that intrigued his imagination. What Kroc was hitting upon with that restaurant was the concept of a restaurant that served limited items, but provided those items quickly and at a low cost. After buying out the McDonald brothers, he worked hard to expand the restaurant nationally. In the process, he created a new food industry and changed the landscape of the United States. Today, McDonald’s is worth $3.9 billion and Kroc, who died in 1984, was selected as one of the most influential people of the 20th century.
Steve Jobs
In the mid-1970s, the computer was a mystical thing that existed in universities and at NASA. The thought of having a computer you could hold in your hand, which was able to do the impossible, was nothing more than a pipedream. That all changed when a man by the name of Steve Jobs and his computer genius friend Steve Wozniak decided to change the world. Beginning in a garage, they founded Apple Computers and revolutionized the computer industry. Eventually Wozniak left the company, and Jobs was fired, but when he returned he once again revolutionized everything from computing to music with the innovative designs churned out of Apple. By the time of his death he was called the Father of the Digital Revolution, was one of the richest men on the planet and his company had become the most valuable company in the world, with an unbelievable value of $624 billion. To put that in perspective, Apple is worth more than most of the countries on Earth.
Richard Branson
One entrepreneur took his love of music and built and empire with it, and that empire is now sending him into space. That man is Richard Branson, and the company he created, Virgin, has become a leader in many different facets. Beginning with his Virgin Record store (a name chosen because everyone in the store was new to the business), he launched a record label in 1972 and installed a recording studio at his country estate. Signing several major bands, including the Sex Pistols, his empire began to grow. In 1992 he sold the Virgin Record label to EMI for 500 million Pounds. While he started with records, he expanded into airplanes in 1984 when he launched Virgin Airways. He has since expanded that into Virgin Galactic, which will be the first “affordable” option for regular individuals to travel into space.
Beginning with a record store, Branson has grown his empire to the point that he is now worth $4.2 billion, and is the fourth-richest Briton on the planet.
Warren Buffett
Even the richest man on the planet can rise from humble beginnings, grow a business and become a legend. Such is the case with Warren Buffett, who began trading stocks when he was 11 years old. Learning from an early age about patience in investing, Buffet took his investment money and bought a paper route, which he filed a tax return on and even listed his bike as a tax deduction. When he was in high school, he bought three pinball machines and placed them around town, bringing even more money for the young investor. After his post-secondary education, he created Buffett Partnerships in 1957. By the time Buffett was 42 in 1972, he was a millionaire. From there, the Oracle of Omaha’s legend only grew and today he is worth an astounding $46 billion. That money won’t be going to relatives or anything else either. He has pledged that when he dies, 99 per cent of it will go to charity, most to the Gates Foundation. Buffett is also the only person to ever become the richest in the world primarily through investing in shares.
As you can see, no matter how they begin, these entrepreneurs not only went on to achieve fame and wealth, but they also helped to change the world in their own unique ways. If they can do it, why not you?