Why they ARE the one percent: part 2

In continuation of this series, we will continue with the next two people on the Forbes list, Warren Buffet and Larry Ellisons

In Warren Buffett's childhood, he used his free time to sell small object door to door. He bought his first shares of stock with money he earned when he was 11 years old. He graduated with his Bachelor's degree in Business  Administration when he was 19 years old. Pretty impressive. Immediately following, he enrolled in Columbia and received a masters degree in Economics. He worked for multiple stock companies after he graduated. He bought a five bedroom house in Omaha, the house he still lives in today. 

In 1962, he became a millionaire. He hit billionaire status May 29, 1990. But material possessions were never his goal in life. On multiple occasions he stated that if having material possessions made the world better, he would go all out, but he knew that him owning things wouldn't do that. He also insists that more money goes to charity than his children. His quote to the New York Times read, "I don't believe in dynastic wealth." He didn't think that just because someone is born to rich parents means that they should have money dropped in their lap, they should work for it. He also said, "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing".  Buffett is a huge contributor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 83% of his wealth is left to their foundation in his will. 

Clearly, Buffett didn't sit to get where he is. He used his skills and started earning money as a young boy, proving that at any age, someone can start building their career.

Larry Ellison is the co-founder of the Oracle Software company. He is worth about $33 billion. His mom was an unwed mother and gave her aunt and uncle to care for him. He attended University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Chicago, but dropped out of both. He worked closely with Steve Jobs at Apple until 2002. He then went back to Oracle and made it a very strong company with a great deal of influence. 

He has donated millions of dollars to medical research, though says he prefers to keep his donations private. 

Both of these men worked their way to the top. Again, they never stood in a park asking someone to give them something. They didn't see themselves as entitled to something that the government was going to give them. They knew that what they wanted was only achievable through hard work. Maybe our occupiers should take a hint...