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Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, in the US state of New Mexico and had a normal childhood
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Our image of billionaires is almost always synonymous with power, success, busy schedules and entire teams to command. Some have reserved lives, while others are offensive. However, they are all part of a select group of people around the world who have bank accounts worth ten figures or more.
These billionaires were such good children, so unique on their podium of success and power – like all of us. As is common, they must have had dreams, along with the great asset of youth: an enviable imagination. But did they think, at some point, that they would get this far?
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Before the billions
Some extravagant, others not so much, but all billionaires have a story to tell.
Elon Musk, for example, the richest billionaire in the world, with a fortune of US$246 billion (R$1.3 trillion), was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and had a troubled childhood. His mother was a model and nutritionist, and his father was an engineer, airline pilot and owner of half of an emerald mine. At the age of eight, his parents separated, and he was the only one of his three brothers who lived with his father. In his biography, Musk describes an abusive relationship with his father and, at school, he was bullied for being the smallest and youngest person in the class.
As a youth, he took his first steps in programming, writing BASIC-based video game code at the age of 12 for a magazine called PC and Office Technology, earning around US$500 (R$2,800).
Jeff Bezos, in turn, was born in Albuquerque, in the United States, and had a normal childhood. Bezos’ grandfather owned a farm, where he spent most of the summers during his childhood and teenage years, helping with farm work. Since he was small, he showed great skill with mechanical tasks, playing together and disassembling his crib with a screwdriver. He also developed an alarm to keep his brothers out of his room and converted his parents’ garage into a science laboratory.
As a result of so much creativity, Amazon was created, one of the five largest technology companies in the world, with assets of US$207 billion (R$1.1 trillion).
Mark Zuckerberg was born in New York, the son of dentists and had two older sisters and a younger brother. He was raised in a Jewish family that respected tradition. His father, Edward, taught him the BASIC language, used in Atari consoles. When he noticed his son’s interest, he hired a private programming tutor. At the age of 12, Zuckerberg received a computer for Christmas and created a naval battle game for his friends, as well as an instant messaging program for school. Seven years later, he redefined the concept of internet interaction with the creation of Facebook, accumulating assets of US$203 billion (R$1.1 trillion).
Bill Gates was born in Seattle, in a middle-class family. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a university professor and bank director. During elementary school, Gates described himself as a disorganized, nerdy and shy child, who preferred to go unnoticed because of his discography and love of books. Recognized as one of the pioneers of the consumer computing revolution, he has a fortune of US$106 billion (R$595 billion).
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Warren Buffett, the world’s greatest investor, with a fortune of US$145 billion (R$814 billion), was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He grew up in a home where his mother was a housewife and his father, Howard, worked as a stockbroker. From a young age, Buffett showed a keen interest in business and investing. At the age of seven, he borrowed the book from the local library A Thousand Ways to Make $1000 (A Thousand Ways to Earn US$1,000) and fell in love with the subject, devouring all the investment books his father kept at home. As a result of this early passion, he built an empire in the world of investments, becoming a living legend in the sector.
See what these billionaires were like as children
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Elon Musk
Net worth: US$246 billion
Age: 53 years old
Source from Fortune:Tesla, SpaceX
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Jeff Bezos
Net worth: US$206 billion
Age: 60 years old
Source of fortune: Amazon
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Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: US$203 billion
Age: 40 years old
Source from fortune: Facebook
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Bill Gates
Net worth: US$106 billion
Age: 68 years old
Source from Fortune: Microsoft
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Warren Buffett
Net worth: US$144 billion
Age: 94 years
Fonte da fortune: Berkshire Hathaway
Elon Musk
Net worth: US$246 billion
Age: 53 years old
Source from Fortune:Tesla, SpaceX