Most SUCCESSFUL People Who Never Went To College (PHOTOS)

Sure, a college degree can open a number of doors for those who hold them. But throughout history, some of the most renowned entertainers and entrepreneurs have found success despite sidestepping higher education.

What do you think? To degree or not to degree?

 

Did we miss one? Add to our list of most SURPRISING people that didn't get their degrees by sending us photos and brief descriptions!

Celebs That Never Got Their Degrees

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Rachael Ray

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The star chef barely received any formal cooking training, let alone a college degree. In her twenties, Ray bounced around food service jobs in New York City and Albany, where she began teaching classes on how to make meals in 30 minutes. Her class was so popular that a local television station approached her to do an on-air segment; the rest -- including her magazine, talk show and line of cooking products -- is history.

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The star chef barely received any formal cooking training, let alone a college degree. In her twenties, Ray bounced around food service jobs in New York City and Albany, where she began teaching classes on how to make meals in 30 minutes. Her class was so popular that a local television station approached her to do an on-air segment; the rest -- including her magazine, talk show and line of cooking products -- is history.

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Comments

[princeleron]

08:32 PM on 05/08/2010

ACTORS AND CHEFS DON'T COUNT!

[OldHeathen]

08:34 PM on 05/06/2010

One thing comes to mind when reading this article, there is no substitute for good luck.

[missBea]

08:14 PM on 04/30/2010

So... When is Edward Norton going to play Walt Disney in a biopic?

[ZombyWoof]

06:34 PM on 04/21/2010

So Abraham Lincoln is on this list but the poster child for the article is Rachel Ray?

[samthor]

10:29 AM on 04/21/2010

how did you guys miss Bill Gates & Steve Jobs???
Others:
Michael Dell. Computers
Richard Branson founder of Virgin Music
Barry Diller president of Paramount pictures
Mary Kay Ash. The founder of Mary Kay Inc.
Coco Chanel
Henry Ford. Ford Motors
Frank Lloyd Wright.
Presidents:George Washington, Martin Van Buren, William Henry, HArrison, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Grover Clevelend, Harry S. Truman

I would say the point is.... don't let the lack of a degree hold you back. go after your dreams anyway.

[Imasqre]

06:10 PM on 04/15/2010

school is for suckers!

[mamacat]

04:48 AM on 04/13/2010

Lincoln spent much of his time reading books and teaching himself at night. He eventually passed the bar exam.

Our mother dropped out of school in the 8th grade to help support her family. One of the biggest smiles I ever saw on her was when she got her GED, after she retired. She valued education, but her family had to eat.

[blackonics]

09:44 PM on 04/13/2010

There was no Bar Exam during Lincoln's Day!

[way2muchsense]

11:27 AM on 04/15/2010

This is the difference between now and then. What do 2/3 of these people have in common? They were born before 1940. There was a time when you could be successful with a high school education or less. Although a tiny handful still manage this, that time has long passed, and articles like this are very unhelpful to the rest of us, to say the least.

[CentralNY]

04:51 PM on 05/06/2010

The bar predates the American Revolution. I believe that every state has had its' own bar, there could be some case that is an exception.

[Deidroni]

09:46 PM on 04/12/2010

Singer, song writer, Billy Joel dropped out of High School.

[FatherWolf]

10:29 PM on 04/12/2010

another entertainer

[way2muchsense]

11:29 AM on 04/15/2010

So did Billie Joe Armstrong. That doesn't mean everybody can be a successful rock musician.

It is probably still the case that a majority of Major League Baseball players have no education past high school. There are, in any given year, fewer than 700 players in all of Major League Baseball, so even if you happen to throw a wicked curve ball, I'd stay in school if I were you.

[hypnotoad72]

04:27 PM on 04/12/2010

I wonder what the President might say - would he encourage people to partake in higher education? Or would he prefer people gamble and pray?

[Levonsky]

02:35 PM on 04/12/2010

Any surprise it's a short list?

[hypnotoad72]

04:27 PM on 04/12/2010

Excellent question.

[rlcapps]

06:57 PM on 04/12/2010

Well there are these 10 people and then everyone else who never went to college is homeless. Funny little thing I read recently, most college graduates can't pass the GED test. And even less High School graduates can.

[hypnotoad72]

10:21 PM on 04/12/2010

VERY scary statistics and I wouldn't be surprised, either. Kids don't apply themselves, they will poke fun at peers who do, never mind peer pressure that encourages kids to not apply themselves, or bullying, principals without principles... lack of parenting (and not always by parental laziness, it's difficult to be able to afford to raise even 1 child properly)... worse, using the TV set as a "parent by proxy"... our country is in real bleep shape -- to say the very least.

Some people say "Change takes time". While that is true, time is also appearing to be a "luxury" that most people don't have... Don't worry, I'm not Khan but I love that line from "Star Trek II". :)

Republican politics got us into the worst mess our country has ever seen. With some help from Democrats, but the general distinction between both parties is still the same as the difference between night and day. And the "party of 'no'" and their current games -- it's amazing they have any supporters of any kind. The whole system has become a joke.

[hypnotoad72]

01:45 PM on 04/12/2010

Are there any successful college grads out there?

Also, the words not said in that article will have a greater impact.

[Wolves50]

01:05 PM on 04/12/2010

I wish they would have avoided entertainers on this list. In many fields, a degree is not essential for success. I graduated with a couple of bachelor's degrees but have always been disturbed by the underserved sense of superiority that many college graduates have.

[hypnotoad72]

01:46 PM on 04/12/2010

Mostly because most employers want a Bachelor's degree. We paid our dues, which are expensive and half these schools employ people who don't seem to know how to count either. We not only paid them, we demonstrated, at our own cost, ability and effort. Companies claim these degrees are important. Which is why they want them. We're doing our part.

You bet we have a sense of entitlement. We work for it. That's why.

[carnegie]

11:53 PM on 04/12/2010

"you bet we have a sense of entitlement...we work for it...."?

I have a real problem with your attitude. A lot of people work very hard, and still didn't have the fortune or circumstance to attend/finish college. So your sense of entitlement means what? Do you think you are better than these people?

[Elk Hunter 1]

12:55 AM on 04/13/2010

"You bet we have a sense of entitlement. We work for it. That's why."

So you think that because you spent some money, or borrowed in most peoples case, and worked for an education you have a greater entitlement to a good paying job than other people? School is not easy I will admit to that, but to think that you "worked" harder than anyone who didn't go to school is ignorant. While you were in school, the uneducated less entitiled people were out doing the jobs that the educated think they are above. Don't think your special or are willing to work harder than others because you went to school and studied for a few years. With all that education they didn't seem to teach you how to be humble.

[th am]

03:22 PM on 04/12/2010

Having been in charge of hiring people myself, given an even choice I would *always* choose the college grad. Snobbery has nothing to do with it. Unfortunately the quality of high school education in this country is often insufficient for modern life. Employees in professional settings, office jobs, need to be able to communicate in a way that is not embarrassing to the employer. Sadly, most of the high school only grads that worked in my office made frequent substantial errors in their grammar and did not know, for example, that Boston is a city and not a state. Employees with that level of ignorance do not create a good impressions for clients with whom they may interact. A B.A. ensures at least a minimum level of competence.

[hypnotoad72]

04:29 PM on 04/12/2010

Thank you.

What you say is the unfortunate, hard reality.

While I might still argue that entry level help desk jobs are too low-level to really require a Bachelor's degree, more often than not higher education does far more to help individuals. Especially a few who attend college and make outrageous remarks, some of which I've posted from time to time.

[gypsy508]

01:02 PM on 04/12/2010

On the reverse end, you have people like Charles Schwab who managed a degree from Stanford without even being able to read.

[Rambutt]

02:38 PM on 04/12/2010

Or economists in the Federal Reserve without being able to add or do percentages.

[OkieIntellectual]

01:00 PM on 04/12/2010

Please HP, do not refer to Rachel Ray as a chef. She is a cook, nothing more. Granted, she's talented, but she herself even says that she is just a cook, not a chef. Chefs have formal training, they go to school then go through apprenticeships.

[hypnotoad72]

01:46 PM on 04/12/2010

She's pretty and makes men drool. I think it is as simple as that.

[The Albany Kid]

12:32 PM on 04/13/2010

Makes men drool?

Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but she's more cute than pretty. She is definitely no Nigella Lawson when it comes to looks or overall sexiness.

[OutAtFirst]

12:57 PM on 04/12/2010

Imagine what Rachael Ray could do with a can of Cream of Chicken soup if she had gone to Harvard.