BusinessWeek has a piece on twenty billionaires who started with nothing. A few of these billionaires made their money on real estate, software, or oil and gas.
- Sheldon Adelson
- Carl Berg
- Stephen Bisciotti
- Leon Charney
- John Paul DeJoria
- Larry Ellison
- Alan Gerry
- Alec Gores
- Harold Hamm
- George Joseph
- Kirk Kerkorian
- Ken Langone
- Ralph Lauren
- Carl Lindner Jr.
- David Murdock
- Thomas Peterffy
- Howard Schultz
- Kenny Troutt
- Albert Ueltschi
- Oprah Winfrey