The question is: What kind of education is important?
And why do we keep saying to our kids, “Go to school to get a high-paying job,” when jobs keep migrating to lower-wage countries? Why become an accountant or attorney when technology makes it possible to hire accountants and attorneys in lower-wage countries? Why talk about job security when advances in technology make some jobs obsolete? And, just as important: Why is there so little, if any, financial education taught in our schools?
Top of the Food Chain
Most parents want their child to have a good education for a secure future. They want their child to make it to the top of the food chain. Most parents dread the thought of their child toiling at a menial job, underemployed, earning low wages, paying higher and higher taxes, and battling inflation all their lives.
Many parents hope a sound education will put their child at the top of the class or the leader of the pack—possibly a doctor, lawyer, or CEO.
The Sales Pitch
The sales pitch from the schools is:
“You must finish school.”
“You must have a college degree.”
“If you do not finish school, you will not be successful in life.”
The following are 50 people who did not finish school, but let that stop them. They made it to the top.
| 1. George Washington | President of the United States |
| 2. Abraham Lincoln | President of the United States |
| 3. Harry Truman | President of the United States |
| 4. Grover Cleveland | President of the United States |
| 5. Zachary Taylor | President of the United States |
| 6. Andrew Johnson | President of the United States |
| 7. John Glenn | Astronaut, U.S. Senator |
| 8. Barry Goldwater | U.S. Senator |
| 9. Benjamin Franklin | U.S. Ambassador |
| 10. Winston Churchill | Prime Minister of England |
| 11. John Major | Prime Minister of England |
| 12. Robert Frost | Poet |
| 13. Florence Nightingale | Nurse |
| 14. Buckminster Fuller | Futurist and Inventor |
| 15. George Eastman | Founder of Eastman Kodak |
| 16. Ray Kroc | Founder of McDonald’s |
| 17. Dave Thomas | Founder of Wendy’s |
| 18. Ralph Lauren | Fashion designer and Entrepreneur |
| 19. Doris Lessing | Nobel Prize recipient in Literature |
| 20. George Bernard Shaw | Playwright |
| 21. Peter Jennings | News anchor for ABC |
| 22. Christopher Columbus | Explorer |
| 23. TD Jakes | Pastor |
| 24. Joel Osteen | Pastor |
| 25. John D. Rockefeller | Founder of Standard Oil |
| 26. Karl Rove | Presidential advisor |
| 27. Ted Turner | Founder of CNN |
| 28. Quentin Tarantino | Movie director |
| 29. Peter Jackson | Movie director (Lord of the Rings) |
| 30. Mark Twain | Author |
| 31. Leon Uris | Author |
| 32. Carl Bernstein | Washington Post reporter |
| 33. Carly Fiorina | CEO of Hewlett Packard |
| 34. Charles Dickens | Author |
| 35. Andrew Carnegie | Industrialist |
| 36. William Faulkner | Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner |
| 37. Li Ka Shing | Wealthiest man in Asia |
| 38. Richard Branson | Founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Records |
| 39. Enzo Ferrari | Founder of Ferrari |
| 40. Henry Ford | Founder of Ford Motor Company |
| 41. J. Paul Getty | Founder of Getty Oil |
| 42. Jack London | Author |
| 43. Larry Ellison | Founder of Oracle |
| 44. Tom Anderson | Founder of My Space |
| 45. Mark Zuckerberg | Founder of Facebook |
| 46. Steve Jobs | Founder of Apple |
| 47. Steve Wozniak | Founder of Apple |
| 48. Bill Gates | Founder of Microsoft |
| 49. Paul Allen | Founder of Microsoft |
| 50. Ringo Starr | Beatle |
Stay in School
I’m not suggesting that kids should drop out of school, or that school is not important. Education is very important. The question is: What kind of education? And where will your child’s education take them? Will your child’s education prepare them for their future? Will a good education help your child’s financial security in a world with less and less security?
This book is about the education not taught in schools. It’s about putting your child on a path where they won’t need a job or a government pension to feel secure. It’s about getting to the top, rather than working for those at the top.
This book is about capitalism. It will explain why some of the greatest business leaders of our time never finished school. Notable