I admit that it's a quick-and-dirty metric, but that applies to PG's argument as well as mine.

"People achieve that level of success without regards to their education."

Some do, but the point is that education helps. Consider this list:

"One of the best ways to become a self-made billionaire is to attend an Ivy League school. 16 of the 52 self-made billionaires have Ivy League educations:

Warren Buffett, Columbia Bill Gates, Havard Carl Ichan, Princeton John Werner Kluge, Columbia Edward Crosby Johnson, III, Harvard Sumner Redstone (Viacom), Harvard Charles Bartlett Johnson, Yale Edward Lampert, Yale Steve Ballmer, Harvard Geroge B. Kaiser, Harvard Leonard Blavatnik, Columbia, Harvard Ronald Owen Perelman, Penn Michael Bloomberg, Havard Stephen Schwarzman, Yale, Harvard Eric Schmidt (Google), Princeton Jeff Bezos, Princeton

An additional six billionaires have near-Ivy quality education:

Sergey Brin, Stanford Larry Page, Stanford Philip H Knight, Stanford Charles Schwab, Stanford George Soros, London School of Economics James H Simons, MIT

The conclusion is clear. If you want to become a self-made billionaire, get the most prestigious educational credentials.

The best degree to get is an MBA. The following nine self-made billionaires have MBAs, and it's worth noting that eight out of the nine have an MBA from one of the nation's top three business schools: Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford.

Steve Ballmer, Harvard, Stanford MBA Geroge B. Kaiser, Harvard, Harvard MBA Philip H Knight, Stanford MBA Charles Egen (Echostar), Wake Forest University MBA Leonard Blavatnik, Columbia, Havard MBA Ronald Owen Perelman, Penn, Wharton MBA Michael Bloomberg, Havard MBA Charles Schwab, Stanford MBA Stephen Schwarzman, Yale, Harvard MBA"