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Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growing Up?

I’m doing a school research project on tech billionaires for a class, and I have a question. It seems like most successful tech entrepreneurs were into tech or coding from a young age, but I’m curious—are there any who were just regular kids growing up? Maybe ones who weren’t coding at 10 or didn’t grow up as ‘geeks’ but still made it big in tech? I’m looking for examples of people who might have been considered ‘cool’ or ‘normal’ as kids and still became successful in the tech world. Are there any exceptions to the stereotype of the ‘tech geek’?
( 13 comments | on HN )
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by hedayet on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @08:13PM (#44253197)
Steve Ballmer
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by platinumrad on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @08:07PM (#44253164)
Larry Ellison.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by taeric on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @08:34PM (#44253291)
I find this a more fun question than I would expect.

It would be like being surprised that a famous athlete was into athletics as a kid. It seems somewhat expected?

That said, I can't help but find myself trying to think of counter examples. To both the successful athlete and the tech person. :D

Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by GianFabien on Thursday June 12, 2025 @12:27AM (#44254312)
The Venn Diagram of jocks and nerds in high school has as intersection the null set.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by taeric on Thursday June 12, 2025 @03:40AM (#44255059)
Add a circle for bullies, sadly...
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by defrost on Thursday June 12, 2025 @12:41AM (#44254369)
A fair number of rugby players in the Commonwealth tradition have university degrees alongside skill in the scrum .. that's thugby for you.

eg: https://www.uts.edu.au/news/2024/09/how-sports-phd-became-hi...

Sports science blends biomechanics, data science, nutrition, and often a personal interest or involvement in one or several sports.

Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by sandra_vu on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @09:05PM (#44253448)
look at the story of Evan Spiegel, Snapchat. Also his mentor, Scott Cook.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by sargstuff on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @09:19PM (#44253497)
Not sure if 'strong passion / entrepeneurial drive' would be considered "normal" but:

Jack Dorsey; Richard Branson; Evan Williams

Depends on how 'tech/coding'nerd defined: Michael Dell; Jan Koum; Mark Zuckerberg

Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by jleyank on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @09:35PM (#44253553)
I would suspect the best (proto) coders end up being employed by the (proto) business people. Internal vs external interests, Woz vs Steve.

The money and the status-in-field really differ, though.

Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by helveticabold48 on Wednesday June 11, 2025 @09:36PM (#44253555)
John McAfee was probably as far away from a nerd as you can get? I could be wrong.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by GianFabien on Thursday June 12, 2025 @12:25AM (#44254308)
Jeff Bezos ? I believe he worked in finance and saw an opportunity selling books online.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by claudiulodro on Thursday June 12, 2025 @02:24PM (#44261070)
Peter Thiel and Larry Ellison didn't even get into tech until their 20s, but they definitely were/are not 'cool' or 'normal' people. The tricky part about your question is if you're looking at billionaires, you're not going to find a ton of relatable people.
Re:Are There Any Tech Billionaires Who Weren't 'Nerds' Growi... by moneyhungry on Thursday June 12, 2025 @03:03PM (#44261748)
Billionaires in real estates, finance etcetera all seem more normal