How Self-Made Billionaires Got Their Start

Text on the meme

HOW "SELF-MADE" BILLIONAIRES GOT THEIR START Mom sat on the same board as the CEO of IBM and convinced him to take a risk on her son's new company Started Amazon with $300,000 in seed capital from his parents and more from some rich friends The son of a powerful congressman who owned an investment company Dad owned an emerald mine in apartheid South Africa

What it means

A satirical infographic shows Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and Elon Musk with captions describing their supposedly “self-made” beginnings. The joke is that each billionaire benefited from family connections, wealth, or privilege, undermining the idea that they became successful entirely through personal effort. It is used as a reaction to claims that billionaires are completely self-made.

Who

Bill Gates (Билл Гейтс)Jeff Bezos (Джефф Безос)Warren Buffett (Уоррен Баффет)Elon Musk (Илон Маск)

Objects

four male portraits / четыре мужских портрета older man with glasses / пожилой мужчина в очках bald man / лысый мужчина elderly man in a suit / пожилой мужчина в костюме younger man in a suit / молодой мужчина в костюме sweater / свитер button-up shirt / рубашка на пуговицах black shirt / чёрная рубашка business suit / деловой костюм glasses / очки text captions / текстовые подписи white background / белый фон infographic layout / макет инфографики portrait photos / портретные фотографии Amazon / Amazon IBM / IBM emerald mine / изумрудная шахта investment company / инвестиционная компания congressman / конгрессмен seed capital / стартовый капитал