7 billionaires' first jobs

Each of these wealthy people got started on the road to riches by performing entry-level tasks like bagging groceries, delivering newspapers or parking cars.

Related topics: getting started, rich, savings, luxury, financial planning
We're all familiar with these famous billionaires and how they amassed their fortunes -- we even dream of similarly making it big ourselves.
But did you ever wonder how rich, successful people got their starts? Here is a look at some famous billionaires' first jobs.

Warren Buffett

Net worth: $47 billion

First job: Newspaper delivery



Warren Buffett (pictured above) started working on his billion-dollar empire when he was a teenager. His first job, at age 13, was running a newspaper delivery business. Already a budding businessman with an eye on the bottom line, Buffett took a deduction that year for the use of his bicycle on his paper route.
He went on to start a pinball-machine business while in high school. Always looking for business opportunities, Buffett had $10,000 from his business ventures when he graduated from college.

Today, Buffett's net worth is estimated at $47 billion. It's no wonder that so many people today look to him for investment advice.

Oprah Winfrey

Net worth: $2.7 billion
First job: Grocery store clerk
Oprah Winfrey, who seems to get better and richer with everything she does, got her start in a menial job at the grocery store next to her father's barbershop in Nashville, Tenn.
She quickly made a move into broadcasting; at age 16 she was reading the news for the local radio station and on the road toward becoming a national media powerhouse.

Michael Bloomberg

Net worth: $18 billion
First job: Parking lot attendant
Michael Bloomberg was born to middle-class parents and worked his way through college, eventually earning a master's in business administration from Harvard University. After graduating he went to Wall Street
Bloomberg is now the mayor of New York and one of the nation's wealthiest citizens.

Bill Gates

Net worth: $53 billion
First job: Computer programmer
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to follow his passion for technology. His first job was as a computer programmer for TRW during his senior year in high school.


Gates is now one of the world's richest men, proof that being a computer geek can really pay off. In 2008, he stepped down from the daily running of Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic endeavors with wife, Melinda: TheBill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to improve education, fight hunger and develop vaccinations. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.)

Steve Jobs

Net worth: $5.5 billion
First job: Summer hire at Hewlett-Packard
Steve Jobs was a high school student when he got a summer job at Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news), where he met Apple (AAPL, news) co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Despite Apple's success, the bulk of Jobs' fortune comes from the sale of digital animation company Pixar to Walt Disney (DIS, news) for $7.4 billion.

Giorgio Armani

Net worth: $5.3 billion
First job: Assistant photographer
Giorgio Armani grew up in a middle-class Italian family and had an early fascination for theater and fashion. He got his first job at Milan department store La Rinascente as an assistant photographer and was quickly promoted to the store's style office as a buyer.
Armani has since become the designer and fashion magnate we know today.

George Lucas

Net worth: $3 billion
First job: Teaching assistant
George Lucas made much of his fortune from the iconic "Star Wars" film series.
Lucas' start in film came early but humbly -- he worked as a teaching assistant for Navy students who were studying documentary filmmaking.
Lucas went on to pursue an apprenticeship with Francis Ford Coppola and eventually developed his own name as a Hollywood icon.

The bottom line

We all know that starting as a newspaper boy or parking lot attendant doesn't promise you'll be a billionaire. What is interesting about the careers of these billionaires is that they discovered their passion at an early age, proving that following your passion can pay, sometimes in the billions.