How "Self-Made" Billionaires Got Their Start

About

How "Self-Made" Billionaires Got Their Start is a series of memes based on an image macro revealing the assistance that billionaires Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk received from their parents during their careers as entrepreneurs. In late April 2022, the image macro gained virality as the source material for memes in which the billionaires accumulated their wealth through various means by changing the original text or editing in new people.

Origin

On November 17th, 2021, Facebook^[1] and Instagram^[2] page Soapbox posted an image macro titled, "How 'Self-Made' Billionaires Got Their Start," which described the help billionaires Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk received from their parents at the start of their careers. The posts received over 2,800 reactions, 1,600 shares and 12,300 likes in six months, respectively (shown below).

Spread

In the following months, the image received viral spread online through reposts on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. For example, on December 22nd, 2021, Facebook^[3] page BernieCrats United in Resistance & Revolution reposted the image, with the post gaining over 740 reactions and 890 shares in five months.

On December 11th, 2022, the Filipino Facebook^[4] page Ang Kapal Na Nga, Ang Kupal Pa posted the earliest edit of the macro, replacing Elon Musk with Filipino politician Bongbong Marcos. The post gained over 920 reactions and 370 shares in five months (shown below).

The image did not achieve virality as a meme format until April 26th, 2022, when Twitter^[5] user @JoshuaPotash reposted it, with the tweet gaining over 27,500 retweets and 154,100 likes in one week.

On April 27th, 2022, Twitter user @tinywienerbabe made the earliest viral edit of the image, combining it with the Dinner With Jay-Z or $500k meme. The tweet gained over 6,100 retweets and 93,000 likes in one week (shown below, left). Later on the same day, Twitter user @ITYSL_memes posted a meme referencing the sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, with the post gaining over 7,500 retweets and 76,400 likes in one week (shown below, right).

In late April and early May 2022, more edits of the image were posted on Instagram and other social media platforms.

Various Examples

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Search Interest

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External References