While nepotism and generational wealth are often behind the success and power of the world's richest people, it can be interesting to see how a college education — or lack of it — helped shape the path these individuals eventually followed.

Using Forbes's real-time billionaires list, Smartick mapped the educational background of the wealthiest people across the globe by country and degree subject. The net worths are accurate as of November 20, 2023.

Key Findings:

• The most common college degrees among billionaires are business (22), economics (12) and engineering (11).

• Spanish businessman Amancio Ortega Gaona, worth $93 billion, is one of 10 billionaires on the list without any degree at all.

• Elon Musk — the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $241.2 billion — has obtained degrees in multiple areas of study.

• Luxury goods businessman Bernard Arnault, who is the world's second-wealthiest individual along with his family, has a degree in engineering.

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Via Smartick.