7 People Whose Rags-To-Riches Stories From 2022 That Will Inspire You To Chase Your Dreams
After being orphaned as a child, Su-Jin worked as a janitor at hotels before starting the app Yanolja. Today, Forbes estimates Lee and his family¡¯s net worth at $2 billion.
There are many people who become as big as their dreams and make their way to glory themselves. Coming from nowhere, overcoming all odds through hard work and self-belief and creating an unimaginable benchmark, they are legends in their own right.
Here's a list of 7 such stories that have been an inspiration for many to chase their dreams and make it big. Their journey might not be like most of the ¡®richest¡¯ people in the world, but they are fascinating ¡®rags-to-riches¡¯. Indiatimes covered these stories in 2022 as it made headlines for one reason or the other. Take a look.
1) From Lift Boy To Founder Of Gucci
One of the most desired brands in the world, Gucci turned 100 last year. Founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921, it became known for its travel bags, with a high standard of quality made by artisans born in the Tuscany region.
Guccio Gucci was born to Tuscan parents, Gabriello Gucci, a poor leather craftsman from San Miniato, and Elena Santini, from Lastra a Signa in Florence, Italy, in 1881.
Luxuryabode
When he was 17, he left his country to travel to London where he found a job at the Savoy Hotel as a lift boy where he was inspired by the richness of the guests who carried the luxurious luggage, and from there he understood what differentiates quality bags from cheap bags, and how it affects a design.
Today, the high-end luxury fashion brand has around 500 stores spanning across the globe and in 2021, Gucci generated a global revenue of about 9.73 billion euros.
2) From Selling Fountain Soda To Rs 650 Crore Empire
In 1907, Vadilal Gandhi, a resident of Ahmedabad began selling soda at his little shop and gradually added ice cream as well. It was this small but fast-growing business that Ranchod Lal Gandhi, Vadilal Gandhi's son, inherited. The small shop business soon turned into an empire and there was no looking back.
It began growing in the early 70s and by the 90s, the fourth generation of the Gandhi family had joined the business.
Today, the company offers their customers over 200 different flavours of ice cream made at their state-of-the-art manufacturing units and has outlets in over 49 countries.
vadilal
Having clocked a revenue of Rs 650 cores in financial year 2019-20, the company continues to be positive of a larger revenue amount this financial year.
Vadilal has also gone on to become the biggest ice cream producer brand in the United States and has a strong global presence in many countries today. In 2020-21, the company had saw an export surge of 250 cr.
3) Son Of Farmer Now 1st Indian To Own Rs 100 Crore Helicopter
Today, B Ravi Pillai is a Dubai-based Indian businessman who hails from a coastal town in Kollam in Kerala. But things were not always so smooth for Pillai.
68-year-old B Ravi Pillai is the son of a farmer, and his family struggled to make ends meet when he was a kid. However, despite facing adverse poverty, he worked hard to do better for himself.
In June 2022, Head of the RP Group of Companies, B Ravi Pillai made headlines for becoming the first Indian owner of the Airbus H145 helicopter. 68-year-old billionaire Ravi Pillai bought this helicopter for Rs 100 crore.
Pillai was born into family that used to feed themselves through agriculture. Even with no finanical sources, Ravi Pillai gave great importance to education. He completed his post-graduation in business administration from Kochi University after graduating from a local college.
While studying, he started his own chit-fund company by borrowing Rs 1 lakh from a local moneylender. After earning money from his business, he repaid his loan and kept accumulating profit money. After that, he started his own construction company. He later moved to Saudi Arabia.
From here, he started growing like there was no tomorrow. According to Forbes, Pillai's net worth is $2.5 billion. He is an employer of around 70,000 employees in various companies. Forbes magazine even included Ravi Pillai in the list of 1000 billionaires of the world.
4) Dropped School, Today He's CEO Of Deloitte
Punit Renjen, current CEO of Deloitte, got the job back in 1989 and today, he heads the company. But, his life was full of challenges that he now just overcame but crushed to realise his dreams.
He had to drop out school because his parents couldn't afford school fee and graduated from a local college in Rohtak because it was cheap. Then, he went to Delhi to find jobs based upon an advert for Usha that he saw in a newspaper.
#TIL - Punit Renjen, now CEO of Deloitte, had to drop out of a school because his parents couldn't afford the school fees.
¡ª Ravi Handa (@ravihanda) November 8, 2022
Graduated from a local college in Rohtak because it was cheap.
Went to Delhi to find jobs based upon an advert for Usha that he saw in a newspaper. pic.twitter.com/HPrVYyn1Sm
He got a Rotary Scholarship, basis which he took the first flight of his life to the US for masters. With two pair of tight jeans and couple of hundred dollars, Renjen began his student life and worked hard to stand out.
He got featured in one of the local magazines as one of the 10 best students and that changed his life. That magazine was picked by a Deloitte partner (Touche Ross) while taking a flight. He was then called for an interview.
He got the job. That was in 1989. 33 years later, today, he heads the company.
5) Sold bags on streets of Mumbai with son, owns Rs 250 crore business today
In 1992, hundreds of people lost their money to the infamous stockbroker Harshad Mehta scam. A family from Mumbai also suffered a massive blow due to the scam. It was Tushar Jain's family. Today, he is the co-founder and MD of High Spirit Commercial Ventures Pvt Ltd. valued at Rs 250 crores. Yes, that's right.
Story of Tushar Jain Founder and MD, High Spirit Commercial Ventures Pvt Ltd | urbanmelange
According to Yourstory, when Jain's family situation worsened after the scam, he started selling bags on the streets of Mumbai with the help of his teenage son. With grit and determination, Jain improved his position through struggle and hard work and successfully founded his company in 2012.
Now, its the fourth largest backpack and luggage selling company in India. The Rs 250-crore company has its headquarters in Mumbai and 10 regional offices spread across India, covering every district of the country.
6) Was janitor at hotels, is worth $2 billion now
Su-Jin has an extravagant rag to riches story, and it is all about sheer perseverance which has made him a self-made billionaire today. After being orphaned as a child, Su-Jin worked as a janitor at hotels before starting the app Yanolja.
Su-Jin, 44, who holds a bachelor¡¯s degree in engineering from South Korea, used his connections with toilet paper suppliers and hotel owners to launch Yanolja in 2005, according to a Bloomberg report. Forbes estimates Lee and his family¡¯s net worth at $2 billion.
bloomberg
Yanolja means ¡°Hey, let¡¯s play¡± in Korean. The billionaire's superapp has expanded from short-stay hotels to transportation and, more recently, cloud-computing software that helps hotels and travel companies digitize business processes.
The company reported that first-quarter revenue rose 19% year over year to 100.5 billion won ($80 million), while net income decreased slightly to 8.8 billion won from 9 billion won during the same period, as per Forbes.
7) School Dropout Went On To Build A $105 Million Video Gaming Startup
32-year-old Josh Fabian¡¯s life is a testament to how never giving up and believing in yourself can turn fortunes around for you. After being adopted and raised by a white couple who also fostered a rotating cast of sometimes-troubled children in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA), he used to feel isolated everywhere he went, because of his skin colour.
He says marginalization can be a powerful motivator, as per a CNBC report. Today, he¡¯s the co-founder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Metafy, a two-year-old online platform where amateur video gamers pay for coaching sessions with some of the world¡¯s top players.
At the age of 16, Fabian had reportedly dropped out of high school and became a father for the first time by age 20. He and his then-girlfriend had lived off food stamps for a time, occasionally resorting to stealing diapers and other supplies for their baby, Fabian says.
Pittsburgh post gazette
Fast forward to now, he launches his app, Metafy, that was valued at $105 million in February 2022, as per the CNBC report.
Since launching during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic, Metafy has attracted more than 50,000 users and thousands of coaches, including top-ranked players of popular games like ¡°League of Legends¡± and ¡°Super Smash Bros.¡±
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Senior Writer at Indiatimes. She writes on Lifestyle, fashion, beauty, astrology and health.