Bourgeois Society
Magazine
Black Excellence at Its Best
Bourgeois Society  ·  Black Excellence at Its Best
Bourgeois Society > Came From Nothing

Came From Nothing

Immigrants, overcomers and self-made moguls who started at zero — proof that where you start is not where you finish.

Every list is published in Top 10, Top 12 and Top 15 installments. Every profile is fact-checked against its sources, and every person appears exactly once in this edition.

One list of ten in this edition: immigrants, overcomers and self-made moguls who started at zero — and treated zero as a starting line, not a verdict.

The ten include Byron Allen, Mo Ibrahim, Tope Awotona and Myron Golden. The list tells their beginnings plainly: a child comedian mailing jokes; a Sudanese engineer told to leave; a man with polio in a segregated town.

Every profile is fact-checked and every source linked, and no person appears twice in this edition. What the ten prove, between them, is the claim above: where you start is not where you finish.

Byron Allen
Image: Branding Magazine
Mowa Haile
Image: University of Colorado Leeds School of Business
Black Excellence · Came From Nothing

Came From Nothing: Black Excellence

A child comedian mailing jokes. A Sudanese engineer told to leave. A man with polio in a segregated town. Zero is just a starting line.

Top 10 · Read the list →

Departments: Etiquette  ·  Gentleman  ·  Lady  ·  Well-Kept Self  ·  Dining  ·  Household Staff  ·  Travel  ·  Money & Legacy  ·  Family  ·  Social Season  ·  The Address  ·  Culture & History

Questions & Answers

What are famous rags-to-riches business stories?

Every list is published in Top 10, Top 12 and Top 15 installments. Every profile is fact-checked against its sources, and every person appears exactly once in this edition. Immigrants, overcomers and self-made moguls who started at zero — proof that where you start is not where you finish. It links to 1 story page — open any card to read the full piece.

What key traits do people who rise from nothing share?

Immigrants, overcomers and self-made moguls who started at zero — proof that where you start is not where you finish. Every list is published in Top 10, Top 12 and Top 15 installments. Every profile is fact-checked against its sources, and every person appears exactly once in this edition.

How do I read the full stories on Came From Nothing?

Choose any card on this page. Each one opens a full page of its own — the complete story or article, with its sources linked.

Top ↑