The world of entrepreneurship loves the tale of a small business startup that grew into a billion-dollar business. The team at Ooma illustrated the biggest names in this world of billionaires with a timeline showing how long it took them to reach their status from a small business start-up to a billion-dollar milestone.

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The graphic features 28 billionaires who built up from a small business. All names were pulled from the Forbes 400 list. While the graphic is stuffed full of details, the most fascinating is the measure of how many years they needed to become billionaires.

The first person to achieve the “self-made” billionaire status was John D. Rockefeller in 1916. The oil tycoon rode the wave of the industrial era to billionaire status. Today, there are almost 3,000 billionaires worldwide. The U.S. is home to the highest number, at 813 billionaires. We can see an industry trend in this graphic, which is that tech dominates. This is no surprise. As Rockefeller benefited from the need for oil, how we worked and what we produced changed completely, and tech has changed every aspect of our lives, so it’s no surprise that these entrepreneurs have reaped the rewards.

Notable examples are Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, who led the way in introducing the personal computer to the general public. Warren Buffett took a different approach. He grew wealth by investing wisely in assets. Elon Musk started his first business with Zip2 in the early days of the Internet.

The Billionaire Journeys

The chart shows us that it took different people vastly different amounts of time to reach their status. Bezos and Zuckerberg were the fastest, becoming billionaires in just four years. Others like Donald Bern and John Menard Jr. had a slow build that took 43 years. Many people land somewhere in between these extremes, emphasizing that successful entrepreneurship takes dedication and persistence. We also see on that chart that there is only one woman, Diane Hendricks. This suggests that entrepreneurship and business are still rife with bias.

The Journeys of the Top 10 Billionaires

This is how long the wealthiest billionaires took to hit their status:

• Jeff Bezos: 4 years
• Mark Zuckerberg: 4 years
• Jan Koum: 5 years
• Larry Page: 6 years
• Sergey Brin: 6 years
• Henry Samueli: 9 years
• Bill Gates: 12 years
• Michael Dell: 12 years
• Steve Cohen: 12 years
• David Tepper: 13 years

Many people on this list transformed their industries, showing that successful entrepreneurs are creative and innovative. They show us that entrepreneurs should look for emerging trends in their industry, leverage new technology, and make strong investments. While a lot depends on love, it’s clear that persistence is key. The list gives us an idea of what kind of industries people can generate billion-dollar businesses in and how long it might take to get there. This chart is a great introduction to these business pioneers, and many of these billionaires have published books and given out advice on how they made their businesses a success.

Every year, Fortune magazine publishes its much-anticipated Fortune 500 list. This list is meticulously analyzed by company owners, investors, and influential figures in the business world. So, what makes the Fortune 500 so significant? In this article, our team at The Chartistry provides an in-depth examination of the list, exploring why it attracts so much attention and what it takes for a company to be included.

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What is the Fortune 500?

The Fortune 500 is the finance magazine’s list of the 500 most profitable companies in the United States. The company ranked at the top of the list brings in the most revenue based on its financial documents from the most recent fiscal year. The Fortune 500 list for 2024 has Walmart ranked in the top spot with revenue of $648.125B. In fact, this giant retail store has been ranked number one for the last eleven years.

What Does It Take to Make It Onto the Fortune 500?

To become a Fortune 500 company, a business must be incorporated and conduct operations in the U.S. In addition, the company’s financial documents must be public for it to be considered by Fortune.

Why Do Companies Want to Be on This List?

Fortune magazine published its first list of the top 500 U.S. companies in 1955. Since then, the presence of reputable companies such as Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs Group, and General Mills has given the list an air of prestige. Plus, these 500 businesses bring in incredible amounts of revenue and contribute to the strength of our economy. Wouldn’t you want your company to appear on a list alongside Walmart, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway?

Have Any Companies Appeared on the Fortune 500 for Decades?

Yes, some companies have made repeated appearances. Some famous names have been on the list every year since 1955, including Kellogg, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil, to name a few.

Fortune 500 Companies by State

Walmart, the number one ranked company on the Fortune 500, is located in Arkansas, with its headquarters in Bentonville. Fortune’s number two company, Amazon, is the biggest in Washington, with its headquarters in Seattle. Exxon Mobil is the biggest Fortune 500 company in Texas, and it does business out of Houston.

An interesting thing to note about this list is that not all 50 states are home to a Fortune 500 company. The states without one include:

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

The Largest Fortune 500 Company Headquartered in Each State

Do Some States Have More Than One Fortune 500 Company?

Yes, several states have multiple companies on the list. Texas leads with 55 companies on the Fortune 500, followed by California with 52 and New York with 50. These states all boast a large population and bustling metropolitan areas.

Do Some States Have Just One Fortune 500 Company?

Yes, some states on the list are home to just one. These states include Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina. In terms of total population, each of these states ranks in the lower half on the list of 50. Delaware has the lowest population, with 1,044,320 people in 2024.

Are Some Cities Home to More Than One Fortune 500 Company?

Absolutely! In fact, some cities serve as the home base for multiple Fortune 500 companies. Some notable examples include:

Chicago

Illinois has 33 Fortune 500 companies, including Walgreens, McDonald’s, and United Airlines, among others. Dozens of these companies are headquartered in the Chicago area.

Houston

Of the 55 Fortune 500 companies in Texas, Houston is home to 21. Exxon Mobil, Sysco, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) are just a few of the impressive companies in the collection.

Atlanta

According to our chart, the biggest Fortune 500 company in Georgia is Home Depot, ranked at number 20. But Home Depot is not alone. There are 18 Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta, including Aflac, Delta Air Lines Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, and others.

Make sure to explore our other lists and visuals, which provide insight into the world of big business. One list ranks companies by employee profits (which happens to be one of our original visualizations), while another categorizes the most profitable companies by industry. It’s no surprise that many Fortune 500 companies frequently appear on various lists throughout the year, highlighting their achievements.

The Number of Fortune 500 Companies in Each State

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Fortune 500

Influencers may thrive on social media, but their online power often leads to legal battles. A study by LLC Attorney reveals some of the biggest lawsuits influencers have faced, highlighting the risks that come with digital fame.

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Top Lawsuits Against Influencers:

• MrBeast vs. Virtual Dining Concepts
  Claim: $100 million
  Details: VDC sued MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) for breach of contract and defamation over their MrBeast Burger partnership. MrBeast countersued, calling their food “inedible.”
• Eddie Hearn vs. Jake Paul
  Claim: $100 million
  Details: Hearn sued Jake Paul for defamation after Paul accused him of fixing boxing matches.
• Cardi B vs. Tasha K
  Claim: $4 million
  Details: Cardi B won a defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Tasha K, who spread false claims about the rapper’s personal life.
• Nebraska Attorney General vs. Liz Friesen
  Claim: $3 million+
  Details: Legal action over fraudulent business practices.
• Texas Attorney General vs. Brittany Dawn Davis
  Claim: $400,000
  Details: Davis was sued for misleading fitness programs.

From defamation to breach of contract, these cases reveal the serious legal consequences influencers face. As their platforms grow, so does their accountability, proving that online influence doesn’t come without risks.