Top 10 Famous University Dropouts

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding Facebook, Inc., where he serves as chairman and chief executive officer. Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004 while attending Harvard University.... read more

He left Harvard to invent that site you spend way too much time on.

Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, author, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates served as chairman, chief executive officer, president, and chief... read more

Gates attended Harvard in the fall of 1973, only to drop out two years later to found Microsoft with childhood buddy Paul Allen. In 2007, he ended up receiving an honorary degree from Harvard.

Ted Turner

The CNN creator was expelled from Brown University after he was caught with a girl in his room.

Brad Pitt

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three Academy Award nominations for acting, in addition to three more nominations and one win as a producer under his company, Plan B Entertainment.... read more

He was set to be a journalist when he dropped out of the University of Missouri, two weeks before graduation.

I mean, he never did anything to demonstrate his intelligence.

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, producer, and LGBT activist. She starred in the sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and hosted The Ellen DeGeneres Show from 2003 until 2022. DeGeneres has received multiple Emmy Awards and was awarded the Presidential Medal of... read more

This funny lady dropped out of the University of New Orleans after just one semester. Maybe she got the last laugh after all.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986 to 2011. She is also the founder of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and has been a powerful influence in both media... read more

She dropped out of Tennessee State University.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American novelist and short story writer widely recognized for capturing the spirit of the Jazz Age. He is best known for his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, which explores themes of wealth, love, and the American Dream. Fitzgerald also wrote several other notable works... read more

He left Princeton University because of poor grades.

Didn't he come out ahead in the end!

Russell Simmons

Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur and business magnate. He co-founded Apple Inc., serving as chairman and chief executive officer. He also founded NeXT, where he was chairman and CEO.... read more

Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Anne Bedingfield is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album Unwritten in 2004, which featured up-tempo pop songs influenced by R&B. The title track became a major hit and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Well, she's a singer, but does she have many brains?

?

Lillian Hellman

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G. K. Chesterton

Gilbert Keith Chesterton KCSG (May 29, 1874 - June 14, 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown and wrote extensively on apologetics, including works such as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting... read more

Steve Wozniak

He withdrew from the University of California, Berkeley, only one year after enrolling.
He is an American pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s, along with Apple Computer co-founder, Steve Jobs. Wozniak is also an inventor, electronics engineer, and computer programmer who single-handedly developed the 1976 Apple I, the computer that launched Apple.

Woody Allen

Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg. November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, primarily for Your Show... read more

He was thrown out of New York University after one semester for poor grades and also dropped out of City College of New York. As he admitted, "I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me."

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd is a Canadian‑American actor, comedian, musician, businessman, and filmmaker. He first rose to fame as an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd co‑wrote and starred in The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters, two iconic comedy... read more

The funny guy from The Blues Brothers dropped out of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Ben Affleck

Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also directed several acclaimed films, including Argo and The Town.

Left the University of Vermont after one semester. Then dropped out of Occidental College to pursue acting.

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker.

He is known for his performances in Splash, Big, Turner & Hooch, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, You've Got Mail, The Green Mile, the Toy Story franchise, Cast Away, The Da Vinci Code... read more

Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.

Early in her career, she performed at Lollapalooza on August 4, 2007, as part of "Lady Gaga & The Starlight Revue," where she was noticed by Interscope Records executive Vincent... read more

Giorgio Armani

Dropped out of medical school at the University of Bologna because he couldn't stand the sight of blood.

Howard Hughes

Dropped out of two universities - California Institute of Technology and Rice University.
Then founded Hughes Aircraft and Co and went on to become a billionaire.

Lauren Southern

She is a shining star that is maturing magnificently. She understands the plan and tries to counter the agenda. Keep it going, girl.

Elon Musk

Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer best known for being the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter). He co-founded PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002.... read more

Finally, a billionaire that cares. Rock on.

Frank Lloyd Wright

America's most celebrated architect spent more time designing colleges than attending them. He left the University of Wisconsin-Madison after only one year.

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He is ranked among Forbes magazine's most bankable stars and is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Damon gained fame with Good Will Hunting (1997), which he co-wrote with Ben Affleck and for which they won... read more

John Mayer

John Clayton Mayer is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston but left before graduating. He moved to Atlanta in 1997 with Clay Cook, where they formed a short-lived two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters... read more