Forbes Releases List of 250 Greatest Living Self-Made Americans

Forbes released a list ranking the 250 greatest living self-made Americans on April 13, 2026. The ranking highlights individuals who rose from challenging backgrounds to significant achievements in business, entertainment, and other fields. The publication used its 109-year archive, input from reporters, and AI queries to compile initial candidates.

Candidates were evaluated based on financial success, obstacles overcome, and enduring impact. A self-made score from one to ten quantified the distance traveled from starting circumstances, with only scores of nine or ten qualifying. An expert panel reviewed the selections, including DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Keith Dunleavy, Rich Karlgaard, Steven Klinsky, Jim McKelvey, and Ryan Rippel.

The list includes both billionaires and those with influence measured beyond wealth, such as scientists and justices. Forbes reported that the ranking honors America's semiquincentennial and contrasts with historical class systems in Europe. The publication also referenced a separate list of 250 greatest historic self-made Americans.

Magic Johnson earned a place on the list by building business success after his NBA career, according to Forbes.

Oprah Winfrey ranked first, born to a teen mother and raised on a Mississippi farm without indoor plumbing. She experienced rape at age nine and gave birth at 14 to a son who died shortly after. Winfrey advanced through a federal program to attend a suburban school, leading to radio work, a scholarship, and eventually a national talk show brand.

Harold Hamm ranked second, the 13th child of Oklahoma sharecroppers who started a trucking company and drilled his first well in 1971. He pioneered fracking, contributing to U.S. oil production. David Steward ranked third, growing up in segregated Missouri with a father supporting eight children through multiple jobs; he cofounded World Wide Technology after integrating local facilities and earning a college scholarship.

Thomas Peterffy ranked fourth, arriving in the U.S. from Hungary in 1965 with limited funds and building automated trading through Interactive Brokers. LeBron James ranked fifth, moving frequently in childhood before being drafted to the NBA in 2003 and becoming a billionaire while active.

Jan Koum ranked sixth, immigrating from Ukraine at 16 and cofounding WhatsApp, sold to Meta. Dolly Parton ranked seventh, raised in a Tennessee home without utilities and becoming a country music star through songwriting. Bill Clinton ranked eighth, growing up in poverty and abuse, earning scholarships to Georgetown, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and Yale Law, before serving as Arkansas attorney general, governor, and U.S. president.

Diane Hendricks ranked ninth, becoming a teen mother at 17 and cofounding ABC Supply. J.D. Vance ranked tenth, raised in Ohio amid family struggles, serving in the Iraq War, earning a Yale law degree, and becoming a venture capitalist, author, senator in 2022, and U.S. vice president in 2025.

Larry Ellison ranked eleventh, adopted after early health issues and dropping out of college twice before founding a tech company. George Soros ranked twelfth, surviving Nazi occupation in Hungary and attending the London School of Economics while working odd jobs.

Donald Friese ranked thirteenth, orphaned young and enlisting in the Army before acquiring and selling C.R. Laurence for $1.3 billion in 2015. David Walentas ranked fourteenth, with details on his background provided in the list.