Forbes Releases List of 250 Greatest Historic Self-Made Americans

Forbes has released a list ranking 250 historic self-made Americans, defined as individuals who rose from backgrounds including slavery, poverty, or abuse to achieve fame, fortune, and impact. The list honors the 250th anniversary of the United States.

It emphasizes business figures but also includes scientists, artists, and athletes. The compilation process involved reviewing Forbes archives for examples of self-made individuals. Ideas were generated using AI tools Gemini and ChatGPT. Input was gathered from historical societies in all 50 states.

Names were reviewed by Louis Hyman, a professor of political economy in history at Johns Hopkins University, and Abbylin Sellers, a professor of public policy at Pepperdine University. Forbes editors Alex Knapp and Michael Noer edited the list, with reporting by Jessica Jacolbe.

The final ranking was determined by Forbes editors.

The list begins with Abraham Lincoln, ranked first, who was born in 1809 and died in 1865. Before becoming the 16th president, he grew up in poverty, was self-educated, and worked as a store clerk, wrestler, rail splitter, and attorney. He served in the House of Representatives, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1858 against Stephen Douglas, and won the presidency in 1860 with less than 40% of the popular vote.

Andrew Carnegie, ranked second, was born in 1835 and died in 1919. He immigrated from Scotland at age 13, worked in a cotton mill, and built capital through investments in railroads and bridges before founding Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. He financed over 2,500 public libraries worldwide, starting in Dunfermline, Scotland.

John Jacob Astor, ranked third, was born in 1763 and died in 1848. The son of a German butcher, he emigrated to London and New York, worked as a butcher, and built wealth in the fur trade and New York real estate. Alexander Hamilton, ranked fourth, was born in 1755 and died in 1804. S.

financial system. Frederick Douglass, ranked fifth, was born in 1818 and died in 1895. S. Marshal.

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Ross Perot, ranked sixth, was born in 1930 and died in 2019. 9 billion in 2009, and ran for president in 1992 and 1996, receiving nearly 20% of the vote in 1992. Milton Hershey, ranked seventh, was born in 1857 and died in 1945. Born in a Mennonite community in Pennsylvania, he dropped out of school in fourth grade, apprenticed as a printer, faced bankruptcies, sold Lancaster Caramel Company, and built a milk chocolate business.

Thurgood Marshall, ranked eighth, was born in 1908 and died in 1993. Born in Baltimore, he attended Howard University for law after rejection from University of Maryland, won cases including Brown v. Board of Education, and became the first Black Supreme Court justice in 1967.

Maggie Lena Walker, ranked ninth, was born in 1864 and died in 1919. After her father's murder, she led a Virginia mutual aid society, chartered the first bank operated by a Black woman, and provided loans supporting the Black middle class in Richmond.

Bernard Marcus, ranked tenth, was born in 1929 and died in 2024. Raised in Newark, New Jersey, he earned a pharmacy degree, worked at a hardware chain, was fired, and cofounded The Home Depot in 1979 with Arthur Blank.

Strauss, ranked eleventh, was born in 1829 and died in 1902.

He grew up in a German village and immigrated to America with his widowed mother. Andrew Jackson, ranked twelfth, was born in 1767 and died in 1845. Orphaned at 14, he built wealth through legal practice and land speculation as the seventh president.

Romana Acosta Bañuelos, ranked thirteenth, was born in 1925 and died in 2018. S. S. Treasurer in 1971. David Murdock, ranked fourteenth, was born in 1923 and died in 2025. A high school dropout, he bought a restaurant after World War II and built Dole into a fruit and vegetable company.

Peter Peterson, ranked fifteenth, was born in 1926 and died in 2018. He worked at his parents' diner in Nebraska and cofounded Blackstone. Elvis Presley, ranked sixteenth, was born in 1935 and died in 1977. Born in a two-room house in Mississippi, his family relied on assistance.

Rocco Commisso, ranked seventeenth, was born in 1949 and died in 2026. He worked as an accordion player and founded Mediacom. Elizabeth Arden, ranked eighteenth, was born in 1881 and died in 1966. Child of tenant farmers, she worked as a nurse's assistant and opened a salon in New York in 1908.

Benjamin Franklin, ranked nineteenth, was born in 1706 and died in 1790. He ran away from Boston to Philadelphia and built a media business.