Top 20 Stories Of Self Made Millionaires

Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm is the 50th richest person in entire world, an oiling expert worth $16 billion. He was born to Oklahoman sharecroppers and one of 13 kids. At the early age of 17, he had left home to work as a carpenter and gas station worker in the city Enid, Oklahoma. He strived to finish high school by enrolling in an entrepreneurship program; it also allowed him to work full time. And that was when he met his first wife, Judith Ann, and had three children. Not long after, he started his own business Shelly Dean Oil Co., later known as Continental. The company ended up being incredibly successful, operating numerous oil wells across the state of Oklahoma.

A couple decades later, he acquires more than 500 oil and gas wells, setting a world record for company acquisition. More success came his way when he divorced Judith Ann and married Sue Ann. As an economist and a lawyer, Sue Ann represented Continental as well as managing a large part of its operations. Business really skyrocketed. So much so that Hamm found it ideal to purchase a monument to its success, the Continental Center. The Continental is a pioneer in numerous processes of oil production and field drilling. And after going public in 2007, profits went up even higher (by 500 percent). Today, Hamm is a campaign adviser on energy for top politicians and stays in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.