Kenny Troutt (Excel Communications)

Wealth: $1.5 billion

Although Kenny grew up in a poor and humble family, his only goal was to make as much money as possible to overcome his family’s financial situation. Since his family was poor, he started working at a young age so that he could study at all and pay all school fees. After graduating, he decided to launch Excel in 1988, a long-distance telephone service, together with his business partner Steve Smith. The company has grown in nine years, bringing billions of dollars to its founders. Kenny Troutt fulfilled his long-held dream in 1997 when Excel was sold to Teleglobe for $3.5 billion and the entrepreneur became a billionaire.