Dyslexic Business Millionaires
A learning difference didn't slow these sharks down
The one thing I have learned about dyslexia is that it is not racist or sexist, it doesn’t care what color or gender you are, who you are, or where you come from; if you have it, you have it. But just because you have it, doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. There are many examples of dyslexics that are thriving in the business world, despite having to learn through their dyslexia. I’ve composed a list of some famous businesspeople that have stood against the odds and risen to the top.
Another thing that I have learned about successful people who have dyslexia, is they often say their dyslexia is the thing that made them millionaires because they learned from a young age that they’d have to work harder than most. That’s what Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank Says. Also, she’s not the only Shark with dyslexia. She started her business using a $1,000 loan, and decades later she sold her real estate company for $66 million. That’s an amazing example of not being stopped by learning a little differently.
Shark Tank Entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary shares his story of growing up with dyslexia and how he started a software company from his Toronto basement back in 1968 which was then called Softkey Software. This company then turned into the Learning Company, which he co-founded and then sold for $4.2 billion in 1999. O’Leary calls his dyslexia a “superpower.”
Damond John started his company FUBU back in the early 1990s, but even as a kid he was already sewing simple tie-top hats out of his childhood home for just $10 apiece. However, he did know his childhood friend and later signer who we all know now as LL Cool J who helped give him notoriety by wearing John’s FUBU hats in a commercial. He later managed a deal with Samsung and sales went up in 1998 to $350 million. He became known as the “Godfather of Urban Fashion.
30 Richest Dyslexic Entrepreneurs
And last but not least, here is a list of the 30 richest entrepreneurs who also have/had dyslexia. I have a lot of hope and inspiration when I see how many people have been so successful even despite a diagnosis of dyslexia and learning a little differently.