Economics, business administration, and engineering are the most popular subjects studied by top CEOs. On average, 34.6% of top CEOs have a master's or doctorate degree and. 22.3% of top CEOs have a Master of Business Administration (MBA), 16.4% of top CEOs studied abroad; and.
When looking to fill the role of CEO, companies require candidates to have a strong educational foundation in business or related areas — like a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Organizational Leadership or an advanced degree like a Master of Business Administration (MBA.)
Although business and computer science degrees are solidly represented, there are some less common inclusions. And, of course, the majority of the CEOs obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Keep reading to discover the undergraduate and graduate degrees of some of the country's top CEOs.
CEOs are well-educated
Chief Executive Officers are generally well-educated professionals. Globally, 98% of the sample hold at least a Bachelor's degree; 64% hold at least a Master's degree or equivalent (including MBAs); and 10% hold a Doctorate degree.
According to a recent study, 22% of the world's top CEOs have MBA degrees. The vast majority are located in the US—the birthplace of the MBA—where around 69% of CEOs are MBA grads.
While they share many similarities, the important distinction is that an MBA is simply a type of master's degree in general business administration, while a master's degree in business involves more concentrated study in areas like accounting, business analytics, or human resources.
The highest-ranking MBA is Michael Bloomberg at number nine: the founder, CEO, and owner of tech giant Bloomberg LP. Bloomberg earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, like most of the other MBAs in the top 100.
US-Sierra Leonean Abdul Karim Bangura is perhaps the most educated man in the world with 5 PhDs.
That is at the foundation of what a CEO does.” “Engineering skills include analytical thinking and problem solving, which are essential for being in a leadership position.” “Engineers are more organized and logical thinkers. They reason through the consequences of a decision before making a commitment.”
Robert Bruce Banner or 'The Hulk' has not one but 7 PhD's. Biomedical engineering- Banner started out thinking he was researching new medical applications of gamma radiation and from my understanding he mainly had to deal with instrumentation of machines needed for gamma ray creation.
Elon Musk went to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he received bachelor's degrees in physics and economics in 1997.
Fittingly, the most common subject matter for higher education was economics and finance, suggesting that when you know money, you know how to make money! Billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Alice Walton, and Elon Musk have degrees in economics.
Business degrees are some of the most popular among budding entrepreneurs because they give a broad overview across every aspect of running a business. You will learn a diverse range of transferable skills and knowledge through a Business degree that can help you become an entrepreneur.
In many cases, the chief executive officer serves as the public face of the company. The CEO is elected by the board and its shareholders. They report to the chair and the board, who are appointed by shareholders.
Harvard University boasts the most alumni who are now a Fortune 500 CEO, with 41 having attended Harvard for their undergraduate or graduate degrees. Thirty-five of the CEOs earned a graduate degree at Harvard University and 9 of the CEOs went there for their undergrad, some of which attended Harvard for both.
Executives take on increased responsibility and, with it, longer working hours and the pressure of managing the future of their companies and teams, as well as their own workloads. This demanding work schedule leaves executives at a high risk of stress.”
The C-suite roles that lead to CEO
Spencer Stuart found that over the past 20 years, 85 percent of S&P 500 CEOs come from four roles: CFO, COO, Divisional CEO and what the firm refers to as leapfrog leaders, or people promoted from a level of management below the C-suite.
Engineering remains male-dominated because of many factors common in other STEM fields. They include gender bias and stereotypes, male-dominated educational settings and workplaces, and sexual harassment.
The youngest person to be awarded a PhD is the German child prodigy Johann Heinrich Friedrich Karl Witte (born 10 July 1800; better known simply as Karl Witte), who received his doctorate from the University of Giessen, Germany, on 10 April 1814 at the age of 13 years 283 days.
In fact, according to the National Science Foundation, more PhDs are being granted than ever before. PhDs are rare because they are difficult to earn — they are valuable. However, this value is dependent on context. PhDs are not valuable in academia anymore.
The average age of PhD students is quite varied, depending on the field of study. Generally speaking however, the average age of a PhD student can range from 27 to 37 years old. You can see in the table, below, that physical sciences and earth sciences PhD graduates are typically younger than those in other fields.
Does Elon Musk have an MBA? No. Is Elon Musk sceptical of MBA's? Yes.
Business icons across the world—including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Spanx Founder Sara Blakely—do not have MBAs. And yet, they run billion-dollar-plus business empires.
Billionaire, businessman and the chairman and chief executive of LVMH (LVMUY), Bernard Arnault holds the crown as the richest person in the world. According to Forbes, Arnault has a fortune of $234.5 billion.