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Jan Koum, the CEO and cofounder of

WhatsApp, once lived on food stamps before


Facebook made him a billionaire.
Net worth: $6.8 billion (according to Forbes)

Koum, 37, came to the U.S. from the Ukraine when he was 16 years
old. His family, struggling to make ends meet, lived on food
stamps that they picked up a couple blocks away from Koum's future
WhatsApp offices in Mountain View, Calif. In 2009, he and
cofounder Brian Acton launched the real-time messaging app with an
aim to connect people around the world. It essentially replaces text
messaging.

Now with 450 million global users, WhatsApp recently agreed to a $19
billion buyout from Facebook. Koum is expected to make the most
from the deal. Forbes estimateshe has a 45% stake in the company,
giving him a net worth of $6.8 billion. He's come a long way on his
modest means.

Starbucks' Howard Schultz grew up in a


housing complex for the poor.
Net worth: $2 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

In an interview with British tabloid Mirror, Schultz says: "Growing up I


always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the
people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier
families. And for some reason, I dont know why or how, I wanted to
climb over that fence and achieve something beyond what people
were saying was possible. I may have a suit and tie on now but I know
where Im from and I know what its like."
Schultz ended up winning a football scholarship to the University
of Northern Michigan and went to work for Xerox after graduation.
Shortly after, he took over a coffee shop called Starbucks, which at
the time had only 60 shops. Schultz became the company's CEO in
1987 and grew the coffee chain to more than 16,000
outlets worldwide.

Born into poverty, Oprah Winfrey became the


first African American TV correspondent in
Nashville.
Net worth: $2.9 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

Winfrey was born into a poor family in Mississippi, but this didn't stop
her from winning a scholarship to Tennessee State University and
becoming the first African American TV correspondent in the state at
the age of 19.

In 1983, Winfrey moved to Chicago to work for an AM talk show which


would later be called "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Forever 21 founder Do Won Chang worked


as a janitor, gas station attendant, and in a
coffee shop when he first moved to America.
Net worth: $5 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

The husband-and-wife team Do Won Chang and Jin Sook


behind Forever 21 didn't always have it so easy. After moving to
America from Korea in 1981, Do Wonhad to work three jobs at the
same time to make ends meet. They opened their first clothing store
in 1984.
Forever 21 is now an international, 480-store empire that rakes in
around $3 billion in sales a year.

Leonardo Del Vecchio grew up in an


orphanage and later worked in a factory
where he lost part of his finger.
Net worth: $15.3 billion (as of March 2013)

Del Vecchio was one of five children who was eventually sent to an
orphanage because his widow mother couldn't care for him. He would
later work in a factory making molds of auto parts and eyeglass
frames.

At the age of 23, Del Vecchio opened his own molding shop, which
expanded to become the world's largest maker of sunglasses and
prescription eyeware with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.

Harold Simmons grew up in a shack with no


plumbing or electricity.
Net worth: $40 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

As one of the richest people in the world, Simmons grew up in


a "shack" without plumbing or electricity. He managed to get accepted
to the University of Texas where he earned a bachelor's and masters
in economics.

Simmons got his first big break buying a chain of drugstores, which
would later sell for $50 million. He went on to become an expert in
corporate buyouts.

Simmons recently passed away at the age of 82.


Oracle's Larry Ellison dropped out of college
after his adoptive mother died and held odd
jobs for eight years.
Net worth: $41 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a single mother, Ellison was raised by his


aunt and uncle in Chicago. After his aunt died, Ellison dropped out of
college and moved to California to work odd jobs for the next eight
years. He founded software development company Oracle in 1977,
which is now one of the largest technology companies in the world.

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