# Successful people who did not finish high school? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512 "2011-03-30T15:02:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/1 "2011-03-30T15:02:37Z")
I know of 2, there are probably more: Peter Jennings Richard Branson I am looking for fairly recent people , say the last 100 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/2 "2011-03-30T15:10:21Z")
[James H. Clark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Clark), founder of Silicon Graphics and Netscape, never recieved his high school diploma. But he did go on to college: > [@](#): > > He dropped out of high school after being suspended, and spent four years in the Navy. Clark began taking night courses at Tulane University’s University College where, despite his lack of a high school diploma, he was able to earn enough credits to be admitted to the University of New Orleans. There, Clark earned his Bachelor’s and a Master’s degrees in physics, followed by a PhD in computer science from the University of Utah in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/3 "2011-03-30T15:12:51Z")
County singer and sausage magnate **Jimmy Dean.** ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/4 "2011-03-30T15:22:43Z")
[Sir Alan Sugar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Sugar) of the BBC show _The Apprentice_ left school when 16. A few years ago I heard Richard Branson interviewed on the radio and he mentioned a string of his friends who are all in business and all left school early. He explained that, by the time someone left university with a business degree, they were looking to settle down, while people like him had 10 years of trying to make money behind them. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/5 "2011-03-30T15:42:18Z")
Jerry Garcia. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/6 "2011-03-30T15:42:19Z")
Jamie Oliver the TV chef and restauranter left school at 16 with no academic qualifications. He makes a point of telling us this in each episode of “_[Jamie’s Dream School](http://www.jamieoliver.com/tv-books/jamies-dream-school)_” a UK TV series following his attempt to give other young people who failed at school a second chance using “experts” from outside education as the teachers - so far, without much success! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/7 "2011-03-30T15:46:30Z")
John Travolta, who grew up literally four blocks from where I now live. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/8 "2011-03-30T15:55:53Z")
Billionare potato tycoon **[J.R. Simplot.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Simplot)** ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/9 "2011-03-30T16:04:03Z")
Billionaire British publishing mogul and member of Parliment **Robert Maxwell.** ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/10 "2011-03-30T16:04:57Z")
Justin Beiber? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/11 "2011-03-30T16:08:00Z")
Justin Bieber Actually I don’t know, he’s 17 so maybe he has some kind of high school degree by now. There are probably a number of child stars who never got an official high school diploma, or only gained an equivalent based on questionable standards. I guess the OP is really about people succeeding after reaching adulthood. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/12 "2011-03-30T16:12:13Z")
There are many in show business. Canadian actor Cory Monteith from the cast of GLEE only finished 9th grade. The Wright Brothers. (Wilbur actually completed the course work but due to moving never received a diploma; Orville dropped out in his junior year.) Of course it’s worth remembering in any field these are the exceptions. Most people who did not finish high school do not succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/13 "2011-03-30T16:16:34Z")
I know a guy who is a really good pro motocross racer , his parents made him finish high school before racing full time. He could have gone pro at 16 or 17. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/14 "2011-03-30T16:32:15Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I am looking for fairly recent people , say the last 100 years or so. Colonel Sanders ([Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders#Early_life_and_career)) dropped out of 7th grade about 110 years ago, and lived on until December 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/15 "2011-03-30T17:01:44Z")
Some show business people who acted as kids got their GED while others finished at a regular high school. ---
**Author:** ![hende](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/aca169/32.png) [@hende](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hende)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/16 "2011-03-30T17:34:09Z")
[Ken Hendricks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hendricks) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/17 "2011-03-30T18:15:29Z")
I don’t think there’s an important distinction between those who graduate from high school and those who don’t. A high school degree generically only represents minimal achievement in literacy. Where used as a job requirement, a GED is an acceptable alternative, and unlike college degrees, I don’t think there much checking on the validity of a claim to have graduated or obtained a GED. I wouldn’t distinquish this much from successful people who have not graduated from college. Another thing to note, not all people earn a high school diploma before entering college. I know someone who left high school in the 11th grade to start college because of a change to SS survivor benefits that required him to be enrolled in college before the change took place. He never graduated from high school, or college, but has been gainfully employed for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/18 "2011-03-30T19:26:49Z")
Thomas Edison: [QUOTE=[Patent Drawings](http://www.patentdrafting.com/edison.htm)] The Education of Thomas Edison ``` Edison began school in Port Huron, Michigan when he was seven. His teacher, the Reverend G. B. Engle considered Thomas to be a dull student. Thomas especially did not like math. And he asked too many questions. The story goes that the teacher whipped students who asked questions. After three months of school, the teacher called Thomas, "addled," which means confused or mixed up. Thomas stormed home. The next day, Nancy Edison brought Thomas back to school to talk with Reverend Engle. The teacher told his mother that Thomas couldn't learn. Nancy also became angry at the teacher's strict ways. She took Thomas out of school and decided to home-school him. It appears he briefly attended two more schools. However, his school attendance was not very good. So nearly all his childhood learning took place at home. ``` [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/19 "2011-03-30T19:31:56Z")
Kirk Kerkorian, a businessman worth over $10 billion, is an eighth-grade dropout. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512/20 "2011-03-30T19:44:52Z")
From the TV show _Hazel_ > [@](#): > > Hazel) You never even graduated high school > > Mr Griffith) Hazel, I’ll have you know I’m the head of 10 international corporations > > Hazel) Yeah but think of how much MORE successful you’d have been if you had graduated high school. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-people-who-did-not-finish-high-school/576512.md?page=2)