The 10 Richest Billionaires Who Graduated From Harvard

An Ivy League education is usually a stepping stone to a hefty salary, and it shouldn’t be surprising that a Harvard degree can open doors leading to a princely paycheque. Yet some graduates of Harvard have taken their earning power to incredible heights — in fact, Harvard has earned a reputation as the top university when it comes to producing billionaires. According to financial website Wealth-X measuring the wealth of Harvard alums, these 10 are Harvard’s wealthiest graduates.

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10. Carlos Alberto Sicupira

Sicupira was awarded an MBA from Harvard in 1984, and went on to be one of the founding partners of global investment firm 3G Capital. His personal fortune is estimated at $9.4 billion. The bulk of his wealth, by the way, comes from his 3 per cent stake in the Anheuser Busch brewing empire.

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9. Ernesto Bertarelli

Awarded an MBA in 1994, the Italian-born businessman and philanthropist made his money the old-fashioned way: he inherited it! When his father passed away in 1998, he inherited biotech firm Serono, which was sold to Merck in 2007 for $9 billion. Bertarelli's estimated net worth: $9.6 billion.

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8. Stephen Schwarzman

After graduating from Harvard in 1972 with an MBA, Schwarzman rose through the ranks at investment bank Lehman brothers before striking out on his own to found the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with former US Secretary of Commerce Pete Peterson. His net worth is estimated at $10.9 billion.

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7. George Kaiser

After taking over his uncle's oil company in the late 1960s, Kaiser (who was awarded a Harvard MBA in 1966) entered the financial stratosphere in 1991 when he bought the Bank of Oklahoma out of receivership for $60 million. Kaiser is also a renowned philanthropist, founder of the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF). Today, his net worth is an estimated $11.6 billion.

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6. Hansjörg Wyss

A native of Switzerland, Wyss was awarded his Harvard MBA in 1965. A renowned philanthropist — he has pledged millions to various causes, including two separate donations of $125 million each to his alma mater — Wyss hit it big when he sold the medical device manufacturer he founded, Synthes, to Johnson and Johnson in 2012 for more than $20 billion in cash and stock. As a result, his net worth is now estimated at a cool $13 billion.

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5. Ray Dalio

As a founder of one of the world's biggest hedge funds, Bridgewater Associates, this 1973 Harvard grad has a personal fortune estimated at $16.3 billion.

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4. Len Blavatnik

Born in the Ukraine and raised in Moscow, Blavatnik graduated from Harvard with an MBA in 1989. He is founder and chairman of Access Industries, which has interests in natural resources, media, venture capital and real estate all over the world (he is also the owner of Warner Music). He made a mint when he sold his stake in Russian oil company TNK-BP for $7 billion in 2013. At present, his estimated net worth is $17.3 billion.

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3. Jorge Paulo Lemann

Along with fellow Harvard grad Carlos Alberto Sicupira (#10 on this list), Lemann (Class of '89) is also one of the founders of 3G Capital. He owns a stake in Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons, and has a fortune estimated at $28.8 billion.

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2. Steve Ballmer

After earning a Harvard BA in 1979, Steve Ballmer went on to become CEO of Microsoft. Currently, he's the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and boasts a net worth estimated at $31.9 billion.

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1. Michael Bloomberg

After graduating Harvard with an MBA in 1966, Michael Bloomberg started his career with an entry-level position at investment bank Salomon Brothers. He went on to found the Bloomberg media and financial information company, and also served three terms as the mayor of New York City. In addition, he's also Harvard's wealthiest graduate, with an estimated net worth of $45.4 billion.

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Mark Zuckerberg

Had Zuckerberg graduated, he'd easily top Bloomberg, but he dropped out before getting a degree in order to focus on a little social media experiment he called Facebook. Today, as Facebook stock continues to soar, Zuckerberg's net worth is valued at $69.8 billion.

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Bill Gates

Bill Gates would have topped this list — had he graduated Harvard. Dropping out of the prestigious Ivy League university didn't diminish the Microsoft founder's future income. His net worth is estimated at $84.5 billion.