New study shows that some of the world’s top self-made billionaires such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg are less experienced than the hired managers and accountants running their companies.
The study which, was carried out by a UK based internet-marketing agency, Verve Search revealed that there is a higher percentage of billionaires without a high school or university degree is higher than those attained the highest levels of education.
The research was based on only self-made billionaires.
According to the study, 25% of billionaires are school dropouts, and only half of them gained a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. 20% are known to have completed their masters while the remaining 5% are said to have obtained a doctorate.
Kathy Harvey, associate dean of MBA at the University of Oxford argued that a university education is invaluable.
"Education isn't just about making money, it's about being resilient in life. You would expect that people who have taken time to think and learn about things are also able to apply themselves in the same way to their ambitions," Harvey said.
Opining that it was not surprising that some of the world's billionaires were school dropouts, Harvey explained, "Mark Zuckerberg dropped out because he had Facebook as an idea. Not to follow that idea at that time would have been folly. But it took a combination of great judgment and luck to reach that point. The majority of people still benefit from getting the general education that gives them confidence and helps create a network."
However, encouraging students to give a miss to university education and allowing them to take up risks early is the fellowship created by Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal. His foundation is said to provide, "$100,000 [£70,398, €87,992] to young people who want to build new things instead of sitting in a classroom", according to the Financial Times.
However, Dale Stephenson, a US fellowship recipient, who dropped out of college when he was just 19 years, argued.
There is a value in university. It teaches you how to follow directions, meet deadlines, and work in groups. But it shouldn't be the only way we learn."
