Do You Need an MBA to be a Highly Paid CEO?

One of the highest paid CEOs in the world is Fuqua (Duke) MBA Tim Cook. He is the CEO at Apple and his compensation package totals $378 million. This raises the question: do you need an MBA to be one of the highest paid CEOs in the world?

Not exactly.

If you take a look at a list of the globe’s wealthiest people, you’ll find CEOs that have dropped out of school (Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates). You’ll also see many that simply inherited it like the Sam Walton progeny. A large number tinkered and invented their way to the list like Dell, Steve Jobs, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google.

Yes, there are other MBAs on the list beside Cook. Russia’s Alexei Mordashov is the wealthiest MBA (he’s ranked #29). Michael Bloomberg has an MBA from Harvard and ends up at #30.

The wealthiest people in the world probably don’t have an MBA. But that doesn’t mean an MBA is without merit. The MBA is about getting you into that corner office, not putting you on the list of wealthiest people in the world.

But it is important to note that 40 of the 100 best paid CEO’s in America have an MBA.

New Article on Why You Should Get an MBA

Perhaps you’ve asked, “why get an MBA?

There are many reasons. Salary is the big one of course–studies show that graduates with an MBA start out at a salary of $11,000 more than those who do not have an MBA.

But you also must consider how your communication will improve. Not only because you will be trained on how to better communicate with your peers, but also because you will understand the business. When you understand the business better, you will be better equipped to ask your boss for a larger budget for a aspect of your team.

You most likely have a university in your area that offers a part-time MBA program. A program which allows you to take classes after work. I’m currently going to school once a week, 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM at an accredited university with an excellent reputation. My classmates are intelligent working professionals who are great to network with.

Perhaps you live far from a university offering a part-time MBA program. It’s never been easier to get an MBA with so many online MBA programs available.

Read more on why you should get an MBA.