----From Rags to Riches: Let Their Stories
Inspire You----
1. JAN KOUM
The founder and CEO of WhatsApp
emigrated to America from Ukraine when
he was 16 years old, initially living on food stamps. In February 2014, Facebook
announced its acquisition of WhatsApp
for $19billion. He is already $19 billion
richer.
2. URSULA BURNS
Ursula Burns, the chairman and CEO of Xerox, was raised by her mother in a New
York social housing project. Now she is
the first African-American woman to head
a Fortune 500 company and Forbes
recently labelled her the 22nd most
powerful woman in the world. 3. SEAN CONNERY
Sean Connery joined the Royal Navy
aged 16 and worked as a bricklayer,
coffin polisher and lifeguard before
becoming a famous actor.
4. OPRAH WINFREY Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and
was raped by a relative when she was
just nine years old. By 2003, she had
become the first female African-American
billionaire.
5. JK ROWLING JK Rowling was a single mother living on
benefits before she found success with
the Harry Potter series. She has said she
was "as poor as it's possible to be in this
country". She is now estimated to be
worth at least $1billion. 6. SHANIA TWAIN
According to a biography, Shania Twain
grew up in poverty and started singing in
bars when she was just eight to try to
help support her family. She is thought to
have earned more than $350million since.
7. HOWARD SCHULTZ
Billionaire Howard Schultz was raised in
a social housing project in Brooklyn, New
York, before discovering and becoming
CEO and chairman of Starbucks. 8. DHIRUBHAI AMBANI
The popular story about one of India's
most successful businessmen is that he
started with a single rupee in his hand
and ended up as patriarch of the world's
second-richest family. The company he founded in 1966, Reliance Industries,
now employs 85,000 people and is
estimated to contribute around five per
cent of the Indian government's total tax
revenues.
9. DO WON CHANG In the early 1980s South Korean-born
Chang moved to California, where he
and his wife opened a clothes shop
named Fashion 21. As the business grew
they changed the name to Forever 21.
There are currently more than 450 stores worldwide and Chang's personal wealth
is estimated at $5.4billion.
10. RALPH LAUREN
Born to Jewish immigrants from Belarus,
Ralph Lauren grew up in the Bronx, New
York. After discovering his passion was designing clothes he found work at a tie
company but found his designs
continually rejected. "The world is not
ready for Ralph Lauren," the owner of the
company once told him. Ralph Lauren
responded by founding his own company, one that now employs 19,000 people and
has given him a personal fortune of
$7billion.
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If these ones could make it, you too can. Never allow your not-so-good
background hide your abilities and
greatness. With hardwork, perseverance,
focus and faith in God, you can rise
above your limitations and make your
mark on the sands of time. The world is waiting to hear your own story, are you
ready for the big stage?
