Business
College Dropout Joins Forbes List With Rs 1.15 Lakh Crore Net Worth
Listening to the stories of the world’s most prominent billionaires, one thing becomes clear: there’s no single roadmap to success. Some achieve extraordinary heights without even finishing college. Icons like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are well-known examples—but now, a new name has joined their ranks: Lucy Guo.
Lucy Guo is a 30-year-old woman who is the founder of a content creator platform called Passes. In June 2025, Forbes named her the youngest self-made billionaire, with her net worth estimated at $1.25 billion (approximately Rs 115,271,000,000). But Lucy’s journey wasn’t easy.
She studied computer science and human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States. However, she dropped out of college with just one year left to complete her degree.
In 2011, she joined the Thiel Fellowship, where PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel awards $200,000 to selected young people to start their own companies. This decision was a shock to her parents.
According to a CNBC report, Lucy said, “My parents risked everything for our future in America. When I left school so close to my graduation, it felt like giving up on a dream.” But Lucy didn’t give up. She started her first business, Scale AI, which was later acquired by tech giant Meta. This deal changed her life.
She also said, “My advice is to go to college for at least a year or two. You’ll find your best friends and the smartest people in life there.” Lucy believes that college is a place where everyone is open to friendship and learning. She said that future partners and employees can also be found there. “So, identify smart friends in college and make friends with them – they may later become part of your company,” she said.
The Thiel Fellowship marked a turning point in Lucy’s life. She explained that it brought her into a community where building unicorn startups was commonplace. Lucy said, “Building a successful company requires a little madness and a lot of confidence. The fellowship gave me the environment where I felt, ‘Yes, I can do this too’.”
Lucy’s story is an inspiration for every young person. Dropping out of college isn’t easy, but choosing the right path can lead to new heights. Today, at 30, she runs Passes, a company that is taking content creators to new heights. Her inclusion on the Forbes list proves that anything can be achieved with hard work and courage.