These Billionaires Were Raised By Single Mothers

ByGigi Zamora,

Forbes Staff.

S

ome say that behind every great man is a great woman. In the case of these billionaires, it was actually a great mother who helped them defy the odds to join the three-comma club.

At least 25 self-made billionaires were raised primarily by a single mom before going on to build businesses such as Home Depot, WhatsApp and Patron tequila. Their mothers, some of whom escaped abusive husbands or were widowed at a young age, often worked multiple jobs, facing economic uncertainty as they gave up their own dreams to put their kids first. Meanwhile two of the most famous self-made women billionaires on the planet got their starts as single moms: Diane Hendricks, who got pregnant as a teen, divorced her baby’s father young and went on to support her son by becoming a Playboy Bunny and working in real estate before remarrying, while single mom JK Rowling was on welfare when she wrote the Harry Potter series.