# Any NON-entertainment, non-lotto rags to riches stories? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475 "2009-02-18T23:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/1 "2009-02-18T23:26:58Z")
I’ve always been keenly interested in the stories of entertainers, especially rappers, who make their way from an utterly destitute and dangerous youth to a very successful level of wealth (and often flaunt it quite shamelessly, to the chagrin of many… but I can sort of understand the motivation, when you’ve come from such a background where you felt downtrodden much of your life) But you never hear the story of the formerly gang-bangin’, crack-slingin’, kid from the ghetto who ends up getting his Harvard Law degree, or starts a Fortune 500 company. I know both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of college, but they also don’t come from really poor, troubled backgrounds. They don’t necessarily have to be someone who has attained rapper-level wealth, but the “guy who had some drug problems but is now holding down a 9-5 and keeping a family in the suburbs” stories, while admirable, wouldn’t quite count. I’m looking for something that could veritably be called a rags-to-riches story that doesn’t involve the entertainment biz or winning the lotto. Whether firsthand, secondhand, or from a book you read. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/2 "2009-02-18T23:34:57Z")
[Chris Gardener](http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/main/biography.htm) comes to mind. His “life story” was portrayed in the movie _The Pursuit of Happyness_. From his web page’s bio: > [@](#): > > . . . > > Born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Christopher Paul Gardner’s childhood was marked by poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse and family illiteracy. Gardner published his autobiography out of a desire to shed light on these universal issues and show they do not have to define you. Gardner never knew his father, and lived with his beloved mother, Bettye Jean Triplett (nee Gardner), when not in foster homes. Gardner is indebted to Bettye Jean for his success as she provided him with strong “spiritual genetics” and taught him that in spite of where he came from, he could chart another path and attain whatever goals he set for himself. > > . . . > > Gardner earned a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but became homeless when he could not make ends meet on his meager trainee salary. Today, Gardner is involved with homelessness initiatives assisting families to stay intact, and assisting homeless men and women who are employed but still cannot get by. It is estimated that 12% of the homeless population in the United States is employed; in some communities that estimate is as high as 30%. > > Gardner worked at Bear Stearns & Co from 1983-1987 where he became a top earner. In 1987 he founded the brokerage firm Gardner Rich in Chicago from his home with just $10,000. > > . . . More on Chris Gardener at wikipedia: [Chris Gardner - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gardner) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/3 "2009-02-18T23:44:22Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > [Chris Gardener](http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/main/biography.htm) comes to mind. His “life story” was portrayed in the movie _The Pursuit of Happyness_. From his web page’s bio: More on Chris Gardener at wikipedia: [Chris Gardner - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gardner) Ah I saw that film too and it never even occurred to me that it might be based on a true story! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/4 "2009-02-18T23:51:57Z")
My first thought was Andrew Carnegie: > **[Andrew Carnegie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_carnegie)** > > Andrew Carnegie (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Scots: \[kɑrˈnɛːɡi\], English: /kɑːrˈnɛɡi/ kar-NEG-ee;\[note 1\] November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in histor Ca... Holy smokes - max net worth in 2007 dollars estimated at nearly **$300 Billion**. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/5 "2009-02-18T23:58:37Z")
… The… president? Broken home, black father, white mother… on foodstamps… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/6 "2009-02-19T01:17:27Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Ah I saw that film too and it never even occurred to me that it might be based on a true story! Thanks. You’re welcome. Quite an incredible story he has. His net worth is now in the hundreds of millions and he’s involved in quite a bit of philanthropy. > [@E-Sabbath](#): > > … > > The… president? Broken home, black father, white mother… on foodstamps… Me, of all people. . . :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/7 "2009-02-19T01:33:04Z")
[Frederick Douglass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/8 "2009-02-19T01:36:07Z")
Are you specifically interested in African-American role models? If so, how about [Ben Carson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson)? He is the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Regarding his background, he said, “I was definitely an at-risk kid growing up. You know, my parents got divorced early on. My mother only had a third-grade education, was illiterate, worked as a domestic two to three jobs at a time because she didn’t want to be on welfare. I was considered the dummy in the classroom when I was in 5th grade, and I just didn’t believe that I could do the work, so I engaged myself, you know, by creating disturbances.” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/9 "2009-02-19T02:01:04Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > … > > The… president? Broken home, black father, white mother… on foodstamps… Sorta kinda, but not exactly. He didn’t grow up “in the ghetto” and while he wasn’t exactly living the high life as a child in Indonesia, compared to most people his family was privileged. In his introduction to “Dreams of My Father,” Obama even mentions that one of the editors at the publishing house helpfully pointed out to him that a difference between him and a lot of black Americans was that he “didn’t grow up poor.” (I’m mangling this anecdote a little, but I’m too lazy to go look it up.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/10 "2009-02-19T02:20:13Z")
First thing that springs to mind is the story of “Honest” [Ed Mirvish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Mirvish), which most Torontonians know pretty well. His family wasn’t totally broke, but they were still pretty damn poor, and when his father died while he was still in his teens, he dropped out of school so that he could work to support his family. Bit by bit managed to build an empire that at the time of his death included the famous Honest Ed’s store and a substantial portion of the Toronto theatre scene (both in terms of real estate and stage production). He loved to share the wealth, too. He’d have a giant turkey giveaway at Honest Ed’s every Christmas, and he’d throw a street party for his birthday each year with free rides and hot dogs and music. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/11 "2009-02-19T03:22:54Z")
Dave Thomas - founder of Wendy’s. Never graduated from high school (he got his GED in 1992 - and his graduating class voted him most likely to succeed - sucker bet). Grew up during the depression moving from state to state while his father looked for work. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/12 "2009-02-19T03:37:31Z")
My dad was one of eight children in shocking poverty in south Georgia. He worked his ass off to retire a millionaire. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/13 "2009-02-19T03:44:46Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > My dad was one of eight children in shocking poverty in south Georgia. He worked his ass off to retire a millionaire. Does that count? I like it! ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/14 "2009-02-19T03:49:27Z")
Define rags. The founder of IKEA [Ingvar Kamprad](http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/famousentrepreneur/p/ingvarkamprad.htm), was raised on a Swedish farm before WWII and made his first money selling matches to his neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/15 "2009-02-19T09:17:36Z")
These are all good and I appreciate the input. **Dewey Finn** , no race is not the important factor, but good example nonetheless. **Spiny Norman** , it’s not an exact science. I’ll take your example. Love the young entrepreneur thing: > [@](#): > > At an early age, he learned that he could buy matches in bulk from Stockholm and sell them at a fair price, but a good profit. He reinvested his profits and expanded to fish, seeds, Christmas tree decorations, and pens and pencils. **Zsofia** , that’s great. What sort of work did he do? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/16 "2009-02-19T10:37:16Z")
> [@Spiny\_Norman](#): > > Define rags. > > The founder of IKEA [Ingvar Kamprad](http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/famousentrepreneur/p/ingvarkamprad.htm), was raised on a Swedish farm before WWII and made his first money selling matches to his neighbors. They weren’t poor though, lower middle class at the most. And he sold the matches to make extra bucks, not to make it through the day. ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/17 "2009-02-19T12:22:19Z")
[Wally "famous"Amos](http://www.answers.com/topic/wally-amos) comes immediately to mind. There was of course no ghetto in Tallahassee, Florida in the late '30s (grinding poverty though, they had a heaping helping of) but he did move to New York City at 12. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/18 "2009-02-19T12:25:27Z")
There was a story a couple years back about a girl who was homeless, parentless and continued going to school and made it to college. I can’t remember her name, but it was a truly inspirational story. Damn…couldn’t find it on Google. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/19 "2009-02-19T14:27:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > There was a story a couple years back about a girl who was homeless, parentless and continued going to school and made it to college. I can’t remember her name, but it was a truly inspirational story. Damn…couldn’t find it on Google. Liz Murray? > **[Liz Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Murray)** > > Elizabeth Murray (born September 23, 1980) is an American memoirist and inspirational speaker who is notable for having been accepted by Harvard University despite being homeless in her high school years. Her life story was chronicled in Lifetime's television film Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003). Murray's memoir Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, published in 2010 is a New York Times Bestseller. > Murray was born on Septembe... ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475/20 "2009-02-19T14:39:40Z")
If you don’t think of bodybuilding as entertainment, I’d add Arnold Schwarzenegger to this list. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-entertainment-non-lotto-rags-to-riches-stories/486475.md?page=2)