How to Become a Billionaire - updated for 2019

Billionaires’ First Steps: The Richest People’s First Jobs & Education

 General Trends

80 of the world’s richest 100 people have earned a degree. Exactly a quarter of these graduated with a degree in engineering.

54% of the world’s richest started working in a non-family owned business.

14% of the World’s top 100 billionaires started their careers by setting up their own business.

2019 Trends

Are billionaires getting younger? In 2017, Mark Zuckerberg was the only individual in the wealthiest 100 under the age of 40. In 2019, there are now five top 100 billionaires below 40, with a trend of software entrepreneurs joining the list.

The wealth of China is becoming more prominent in the billionaire list. Over the last 2 years, China has moved from having the 4th most individuals in the wealthiest 100, up to 2nd, only behind the United States.

What type of person is more likely to become a billionaire? New research from Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment examines the wealthiest 100 people’s career backgrounds.

The research suggests that engineering graduates are most likely to become billionaires, and if you want to become one of the world’s richest you should start your career as a software developer or in a stock trader role. Furthermore, you are far more likely to make the top 100 list if you are a graduate as 80% of the top 100 has earned a degree.

The research into first career steps looks at the billionaires who started working in an organisation that was not their own, or family-owned. These billionaires were then grouped into the type of their first job, which gave the following job roles as the top 5 results:

Starting Job Role	Count of Job Category (Total = 54)
Engineer	8
Stock trader	8
Software Developer	7
Salesman	6
Analyst	5

The study also looks at the top degree subject by type, which gave the following degree categories as the top 5 results:

Degree Type	Count of Degree Studied (Total = 80)
Engineering	20
Finance & Economics	12
Business	12
Sciences	4
Philosophy	3

For the full results of the study, please visit: https://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/news/top-100-billionaires-2019.aspx

Rob Scott, Managing Director at Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment said: “In 2019 we are seeing a shift in old-money wealth from minerals and resources to a new generation of billionaires from software entrepreneurship. It’s unsurprising that highly educated and technically experienced entrepreneurs are making their way to the top, with a degree being a great basis for the start of your career.”

What Does Smart-Casual Really Mean?

The most common dress code in today’s climate seems to be ‘smart-casual’. When what you wear has a big impact on your confidence and productivity, it’s clearly important to get it right! How well do you understand what smart-casual means? Today we’re undressing it!

Smart Casual for Men

Smart casual menswear gives men a lot of freedom to use different colours and fabrics all year round to match the weather! Here are some options: 

When it comes to smart casual for men, you can’t go wrong with a smart shirt and chinos. Chinos are a great fabric for comfort and breathability but are tailored enough to ensure a smart and professional first impression. Dress this outfit up with watches and simple jewellery. Boat shoes are a good match for this look.

This look definitely sits at the more casual end of the spectrum. Tee shirt or polo shirt fabric paired with tailored or skinny jeans in formal colours such as black, navy and grey are also safe casual wear options. As long as you avoid ripped jeans, blue jeans and bright coloured tops, this is a smart and respectable look!

Sticking with jeans, this smart casual look includes layering and accessories, and whilst it takes liberties in some areas such as the sports trainers, it dresses up in other ways with the blazer jacket. This complicated smart casual attire can be broken down into tailored jeans and a colourful suit jacket to match the trainers over a simple white tee shirt. Practical, colourful, but definitely smart casual! 

This look is for the office fashionistas! Pair a shirt and monotone jumpers work with tailored jeans or chinos and accessorise to show a little personality. Check your company policy on hats and jewellery but definitely prioritise a smart watch and either a bold tie or bow tie. 

Smart Casual for Women

These looks look fantastic and professional but are simple enough to achieve! We’re going to break down some smart casual looks for women.

This bold look is both fashionable and formal and has perfectly achieved the smart casual balance.

It might look catwalk complicated but it’s super simple – tailored textured trousers, a soft white shirt and a statement jacket!

This look provides comfort but professional approachability and is great for layering warm clothes in the colder seasons.

For a more casual outfit, try wearing jeans, a monochrome tee shirt and a cardigan. Much like the men’s casual outfit choice, this look depends on monochrome colouring but super simple fashion pieces. Dress this look up with accessories such as necklaces, bracelets and watches and you’ll have achieved the right balance!

If you’re looking to achieve a look that means business, whether you’re a manager or out in the world networking, we recommend going for a smart casual look that is business on top and casual on the bottom.

This look uses a button up shirt, a smart tailored blazer jacket, jewellery, black jeans and Chelsea boots to achieve the perfect managerial outfit that’s as stylish as it is serious!

When it comes to dressing smart casual for women, we recommend you acknowledge the two key elements, of which you always have to achieve one – formal pattern and colour and/or traditional silhouette.

Today’s fashion is testing the limits by using formal print in casual cuts and casual prints in formal cuts. This plaid monochrome jumpsuit definitely adds some personality to the office!

How to conduct an effective video interview – a short guide for employers

Employers are, quite rightly, increasing their use of Video Interviewing as the technology usually is free, and most people these days have a reasonable data connection at home. It can save time, money, unnecessary travel, and, when conducted effectively, can form an essential part of your recruitment process.

However, we hear from both employers and candidates the trouble that they’ve had in having a smooth communication. Typically both employers and candidates do not plan video interviews as well as face-to-face meetings, and consequently, time is wasted trying to get the process going. In this quick guide, we provide employers with quick tips to ensure that their video interviews are as professional as possible. 

This includes:

• The benefits of video interviewing
• In which situation should you use a video interview?
• Critical steps to conducting an effective video interview
• Common pitfalls and things to consider

Click here to access the free guide to conducting video interviews for employers.

Video interview tips for candidates to ensure that they perform their best at a Skype or video interview can be accessed here: https://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/candidates/advice/how-to-succeed-in-a-skype-sales-interview.aspx