Which B-Schools Produce Billionaires

Which B-Schools Produce Billionaires? by: Jeff Schmitt on November 17, 2014 | 0 Comments Comments 3,620 Views November 17, 2014A Learjet on standby for treks to St. Barts. A heated marble driveway for their Lamborghini Veneo Roadster. An Olympic-sized swimming pool surrounded by waterfall grottos. Twenty-four-karat gold-leafed walls peppered with Picassos, Monets, and Cà ©zannes. Admit it: You’ve probably dreamed of living like business titans, with their labyrinth gardens and two-story wine cellars. Ah, ‘champagne wishes and caviar dreams.’ And who would turn down the opulence, glamor, and renown of being a billionaire? Just imagine your face dotting the cover of Fortune or walking past buildings bearing your name? Still, any  bliss inherent to wealth must be  rooted in something deeper than ritz, ego, and security. It’s about knowing that you’ve left a legacy  . . .  and that your sacrifices were worth it.Make no mistake: business maj ors are looking to make it big. They may not aspire to be a Carlos Slim or Abigail Johnson, but they’re ultimately seeking certain comforts. That’s why they forfeit steady paychecks for two years; they’re polishing their skills and building their networks for a pending  payout. If future captains of industry  are looking to hit the jackpot and join the billionaires club some day, there is one undergraduate program that stands above all others: The University of Pennsylvanias Wharton  School.PENN TOPS UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMSUniversity of Pennsylvania Wharton SchoolAmong undergraduate programs – which were not restricted to business schools – the University of Pennsylvania ranked No. 1,  with 25 billionaire alumni.  That was the finding from the 2014 Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census released Nov. 11. According to their research, Penn was closely trailed by Harvard University (22) and Yale University (20), and the University of Southern Ca lifornia (16). Princeton University, Cornell University, and Stanford University were tied with 14 billionaire bachelor’s degree holders each. Overall, American undergraduate programs held the top eight spots (and 16 of the top 20 spots) for alumni billionaires, with the University of Mumbai (12), the London School of Economics and Political Science (11) and the Lomonosov Moscow State University (11) performing best among non-U.S. undergraduate programs.Nearly 25% of billionaires who held a bachelor’s degree from American programs started as international students. And 39% who pursued post-bachelor’s degrees in the U.S.  were born outside the country. While half of MBAs congregated in 10  programs, just 16% of billionaires with bachelor’s degrees attended the 20  undergraduate programs with the most MBAs.Harvard Business School at nightTHE BILLIONAIRE POPULATION IS EXPLODINGAccording to Wealth-X, there are currently 2,325 billionaires globally, an i ncrease of 7% over the previous year. Their combined wealth   $7.3 trillion   reflects a 12% jump over the previous year. Despite this lofty figure, billionaires only control four percent of the world’s wealth. Wealth-X also projects that the number of billionaires will exceed 3,800 by 2020, a 39% increase in just six years. Page 1 of 3123 »