Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
- Billionaires and millionaires in the US include people from all over the world.
- Through a combination of ambition and hard work, many immigrants living in the US, such as Elon Musk (Tesla), Sergey Brin (Google), and Pierre Omidyar (eBay) have risen to be some of the richest people in the world.
Moving to a new country is a big risk. Beyond the obvious barriers of distance, language, and culture, new residents often face prejudice and worse when moving to a new country simply to survive - nevermind thrive. Who will be there to rescue you if you fail in a foreign land? What kind of safety net will you have?
Through a combination of ambition, skill, and luck (and, in several cases, a knack for computer science), many American immigrants have risen to the highest and most exclusive echelon of society.
Here are 15 immigrants who struck it rich after the big move: