He dropped out of school at age 12 and worked variously as a streetcar conductor, a Cuban adventurer, and then a railroad fireman, until the railroad fired him for brawling with the engineer. He became essentially a paralegal and negotiated favorable settlements for black victims of a train wreck, until he and a client brawled in a courtroom.
He ran a ferry. He variously sold gas lighting and automobile tires. He survived having his own car fall on top of him when a rickety bridge flipped over; his scalp was half torn off, but his wife sewed it back on. He ran a service station, occasionally having to chase away armed criminals or intimidate rival station owners with a shotgun.
He worked as a midwife. Occasionally he had to summon the drunken and lazy town doctor to assist; again the shotgun came in handy. For this work, and for organizing food donations and driving townsfolk to AA meetings, the governor honored him with a title.
His first restaurant received a glowing review from travel critic Duncan Hines. He ran the cafeteria at Oak Ridge, TN during World War II. His first attempt at franchising was rejected, after which the franchisee reverse-engineered his recipe and stole it. He was a mentor to Dave Thomas of Wendy’s. A statue of him was thrown into the Dotonbori river during the celebration after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Championship Series in 1985, and the team has been cursed to losing ever since.
The really interesting men, they’re the ones who are invisible to the public. Either because they’re so wealthy they don’t need to brag, or they’re so desperate they go out and do amazing things because they have no choice, it’s be amazing or die.
I have to admit Teddy Roosevelt is a pretty good candidate.
Surviving an assassin’s bullet is an understatement though.
“On October 14, 1912, an unemployed saloonkeeper shot former president and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt outside a Milwaukee hotel. Rather than being rushed to the hospital, Roosevelt insisted on delivering his scheduled 90-minute speech.”
“The horrified audience in the Milwaukee Auditorium on October 14, 1912, gasped as the former president unbuttoned his vest to reveal his bloodstained shirt. “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose,” the wounded candidate assured them. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bullet-riddled, 50-page speech.”
How about Richard Branson? Founded music/airline/mobile electronics/hotel/space ship company/etc etc Virgin Group. Broke a bunch of sailing and ballooning world records. Occasional actor (usually playing himself). He’s also a big philanthropist. He seems to manage being a billionaire without being a giant douche like Trump.