Which Colleges and Universities Have the Most Alumni Who Are CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies?
Business executives, and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in particular, are frequently linked to significant financial rewards. They have the potential to earn big salaries, bonuses, stock options, and other monetary incentives, which may be alluring to people looking to grow financially.
“Which academic institutions have been the cradle of today’s Fortune 500 CEOs?” This intriguing subject occurs in the vibrant center of business, where decisions change industries and organizations shape economies.
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Methodology
Which colleges and universities have the most alumni who are now Fortune 500 CEOs? Our research team dug into the data to find the answers.
The research team at Academic Influence searched the company bios of all of the Fortune 500 CEOs in 2021 to find the colleges and universities they graduated from as well as the subject(s) they earned a degree in. The team then analyzed this data to find the colleges and universities that have the most alumni who are Fortune 500 CEOs as well as the most commonly earned undergraduate and graduate degrees among the 500. Read on to see which colleges and universities have the most alumni who are now Fortune 500 CEOs.
What is a Fortune 500 company? The list of Fortune 500 companies is compiled by Fortune magazine every year and recognizes the 500 largest companies in the U.S. To be considered as a Fortune 500, a company must meet specific criteria, including being based in the United States and publicly traded on a major stock exchange. Additionally, the Fortune 500 list is determined by the annual revenue each company earned during the fiscal year and includes public as well as private companies.
The 500 CEOs of these U.S. companies have had much success and are now worth millions, and in some cases, they are even worth billions and are among the richest people in the world. But we are not here to talk about their vast wealth: We are thinking about where these successful business men and women got their start.
By AcademicInfluence.com
Which College or University Has the Most Fortune 500 CEO Alumni?
Harvard University, a highly prestigious Ivy League school, boasts that they have the most alumni who are Fortune 500 CEOs, with 41 having attended Harvard for their undergraduate degree or graduate degree. Thirty-five of the Fortune 500 CEOs earned a graduate degree at Harvard and 9 of the CEOs went there for their undergraduate degree, some of which attended Harvard for both.
Of the CEOs that attended graduate school there, a majority graduated from Harvard’s Business School, with 28 having received their Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Which bigwig CEOs attended Harvard University? All of these Fortune 500 CEOs earned their MBAs from Harvard. Some of the names include:
- Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy
- CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon
- Larry Culp of General Electric
- McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski
- CEO of Kellogg Steve Cahillane
- Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of The Blackstone Group
Other Harvard graduates, including John Thain, Lloyd Blankfein, Robert Iger, Indra Nooyi, Meg Whitman, and Jeffrey Immelt were “Former Fortune 500 CEOs.”
Below is a list of the colleges and universities that proved to be popular choices for the most successful business executives in the United States.
The 10 Colleges and Universities With The Most Alumni Who Are Fortune 500 CEOs
- Harvard University: 41
- University of Pennsylvania: 23
- Stanford University: 22
- Northwestern University: 20
- Columbia University: 18
- University of Chicago: 15
- University of Michigan: 12
- Cornell University: 10
- Dartmouth College: 10
- University of Virginia: 10
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Which Degree Did the Most Fortune 500 CEOs Earn at College?
Engineering was the most common undergraduate degree earned by Fortune 500 CEOs, with 19.2% of the CEOs having earned an engineering degree across a wide variety of specialties. Out of these 96 CEOs, mechanical engineering was the top specialty for 26 CEOs, while electrical engineering was a close second, with 23 CEOs having earned an electrical engineering degree.
After engineering, economics was the second most common of the 500 degrees, with 11.8%, or 59 CEOs, having earned an economics degree during their time in undergrad studies. Other business majors that proved to be popular undergrad degrees for Fortune 500 CEOs include business administration, accounting, and finance.
We take a closer look at Fortune 500 CEOs with an engineering degree in our article Why Do Many Engineering Students Become Fortune 500 CEOs?.
The most common graduate degree was a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which 41% of all of the Fortune 500 CEOs have earned. The second most common was a Juris Doctor degree, earned by just 5% of the CEOs.
Back to TopWhich CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies Dropped Out of College?
Not all of the Fortune 500 CEOs completed a college degree, though. Seven CEOs dropped out of their undergrad program, and one dropped out during grad school. You may be surprised to see which of these famous Fortune 500 CEOs dropped out, as some of them are now the world’s richest people. Below is a list of the Fortune 500 CEOs who dropped out of college but still went on to become very successful.
Fortune 500 CEOs Who Dropped Out of College
- Michael Dell
- CEO of Dell Technologies, dropped out of the University of Texas undergrad program.
- Mark Zuckerberg
- CEO of Meta Platforms, dropped out of Harvard’s undergrad program.
- Richard A. Gonzalez
- CEO of AbbVie, dropped out of the University of Houston’s undergrad program.
- Todd Jones
- CEO of Publix Super Markets, dropped out of an undergrad program at Cornell University.
- Larry Ellison
- CEO of Oracle, dropped out of both the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago’s undergrad programs.
- Jack Dorsey
- CEO of Block, dropped out of New York University’s undergrad program.
- Bobby Kotick
- CEO of Activision Blizzard, dropped out of the University of Michigan’s undergrad program.
- Elon Musk
- CEO of Tesla, dropped out of grad school at Stanford University.
Although formal education substantially helps an individual succeed and create a legacy, these Fortune 500 CEOs have proved that it’s not the only factor. To achieve notable success in the business world, entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity, tenacity, and the capacity to take risks can all play essential roles.
It’s interesting to see how well these colleges and universities stack up when ranked on a variety of other factors as well, such as the best research universities for undergrads, the richest universities in North America, or the most affordable colleges and universities in the United States.
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Graduate Schools With the Most Alumni Who Are Fortune 500 CEOs
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The Top 3 Schools With the Most Graduate Program Alumni Who Are Fortune 500 CEOs
Harvard University
Number of Alumni: 35
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Amazon | Andy Jassy |
| 19 | JPMorgan Chase | Jamie Dimon |
| 33 | Citigroup | Jane Fraser |
| 38 | General Electric | Larry Culp |
| 55 | Prudential Financial (U.S.) | Charles F. Lowrey |
| 94 | Honeywell International | Darius Adamczyk |
| 95 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | Marc N. Casper |
| 112 | Amgen | Robert A. Bradway |
| 121 | Broadcom | Hock E. Tan |
| 122 | CBRE Group | Robert E. Sulentic |
| 128 | US Foods Holding | Pietro Satriano |
| 157 | McDonald’s | Chris Kempczinski |
| 169 | General Mills | Jeff Harmening |
| 175 | Marsh & McLennan | Daniel S. Glaser |
| 201 | Mastercard | Michael Miebach |
| 208 | Automatic Data Processing | Carlos A. Rodriguez |
| 216 | Qurate Retail | Greg Maffei |
| 222 | Kellogg | Steve Cahillane |
| 248 | Leidos Holdings | Roger Krone |
| 252 | State Street | Ronald P. O’Hanley |
| 271 | DaVita | Javier J. Rodriguez |
| 277 | Corning | Wendell Weeks |
| 297 | Republic Services | Jon Vander Ark |
| 326 | Liberty Media | Greg Maffei |
| 344 | EMCOR Group | Anthony Guzzi |
| 355 | Eastman Chemical | Mark J. Costa |
| 356 | CommScope Holding | Charles L. Treadway |
| 359 | Constellation Brands | Bill Newlands |
| 360 | Insight Enterprises | Joyce Mullen |
| 409 | First American Financial | Kenneth D. DeGiorgio |
| 424 | Booking Holdings | Glenn Fogel |
| 443 | Northern Trust | Michael G. O’Grady |
| 454 | Blackstone Group | Stephen A. Schwarzman |
| 475 | Academy Sports and Outdoors | Ken C. Hicks |
| 488 | Roper Technologies | Neil Hunn |
Northwestern University
Number of Alumni: 19
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Exxon Mobil | Darren Woods |
| 65 | Merck | Robert M. Davis |
| 70 | Allstate | Thomas J. Wilson |
| 90 | Northwestern Mutual | John E. Schlifske |
| 153 | Union Pacific | Lance M. Fritz |
| 235 | Aramark | John J. Zillmer |
| 240 | Illinois Tool Works | Ernest Scott Santi |
| 258 | W.W. Grainger | Donald G. Macpherson |
| 260 | Ball | John A. Hayes |
| 267 | Keurig Dr Pepper | Bob Gamgort |
| 295 | Edward Jones | Penny Pennington |
| 322 | Murphy USA | Andrew Clyde |
| 363 | Yum China Holdings | Joey Wat |
| 380 | Intuit | Sasan K. Goodarzi |
| 413 | Owens Corning | Brian Chambers |
| 439 | Veritiv | Salvatore A. Abbate |
| 446 | NCR | Michael D. Hayford |
| 456 | Fortune Brands Home & Security | Nicholas Fink |
| 461 | Equinix | Charles J. Meyers |
Stanford University
Number of Alumni: 18
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Alphabet | Sundar Pichai |
| 22 | General Motors | Mary Barra |
| 40 | Intel | Pat Gelsinger |
| 85 | Nike | John Donahoe |
| 99 | Capital One Financial | Richard Fairbank |
| 100 | Tesla | Elon Musk |
| 115 | Netflix | Reed Hastings |
| 150 | Cummins | Tom Linebarger |
| 160 | PG&E | Patricia K. Poppe |
| 184 | Nvidia | Jensen Huang |
| 221 | Gap | Sonia Syngal |
| 276 | eBay | Jamie Iannone |
| 320 | Dick’s Sporting Goods | Lauren Hobart |
| 329 | SpartanNash | Tony Sarsam |
| 340 | Air Products & Chemicals | Seifi Ghasemi |
| 366 | Andersons | Patrick E. Bowe |
| 419 | Jefferies Financial Group | Richard B. Handler |
| 497 | NetApp | George Kurian |
The Most Common Graduate Degrees of Fortune 500 CEOs:
- M.B.A.: 204
- J.D.: 24
- Master’s in management: 10
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The Top 3 Schools With the Most Undergraduate Program Alumni Who Are Fortune 500 CEOs
Cornell University
Number of Alumni: 9
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | Procter & Gamble | Jon Moeller |
| 69 | Publix Super Markets | Todd Jones |
| 171 | Carrier Global | David Gitlin |
| 217 | Wayfair | Niraj Shah |
| 239 | Loews | James S. Tisch |
| 293 | Marriott International | Anthony Capuano |
| 354 | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | Leonard Schleifer |
| 411 | Toll Brothers | Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. |
| 416 | Arthur J. Gallagher | J. Patrick Gallagher Jr |
Harvard University
Number of Alumni: 9
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Amazon | Andy Jassy |
| 24 | Centene | Sarah London |
| 34 | Meta Platforms | Mark Zuckerberg |
| 128 | US Foods Holding | Pietro Satriano |
| 208 | Automatic Data Processing | Carlos A. Rodriguez |
| 226 | Edison International | Pedro J. Pizarro |
| 334 | Interpublic Group | Philippe Krakowsky |
| 427 | Clorox | Linda Rendle |
| 485 | Electronic Arts | Andrew Wilson |
University of Pennsylvania
Number of Alumni: 8
| Fortune 500 Rank | Company | CEO |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Comcast | Brian Roberts |
| 98 | The Travelers Companies | Alan D. Schnitzer |
| 100 | Tesla | Elon Musk |
| 320 | Dick’s Sporting Goods | Lauren Hobart |
| 359 | Constellation Brands | Bill Newlands |
| 394 | Global Payments | Jeffrey S. Sloan |
| 424 | Booking Holdings | Glenn Fogel |
| 425 | Williams-Sonoma | Laura J. Alber |
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The Most Common Undergraduate Degrees of Fortune 500 CEOs
- Engineering: 96 Fortune 500 CEOs have an engineering degree, specializing in:
- Mechanical engineering: 26
- Electrical engineering: 23
- Chemical engineering: 17
- Unspecified engineering: 12
- Industrial engineering: 6
- Civil engineering: 5
- Petroleum engineering: 3
- Other type of engineering: 17
- Economics: 59
- Business administration: 40
- Accounting: 36
- Finance: 12
- Computer science: 11
- Marketing: 9
- Political science: 8
- Mathematics: 8
Frequently Asked Questions
What role do alumni networks play in the success of graduates becoming Fortune 500 CEOs?
Alumni networks can play a significant role in the success of graduates becoming Fortune 500 CEOs. Alumni networks allow students to connect with other graduates who have gone on to have prosperous professions. These connections may result in career-advancing mentorships, alliances, partnerships, and job recommendations.
Who is the highest-paid among the Fortune 500 CEOs?
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors (TSLA) is the highest-paid CEO in 2023, with a net worth of $190 billion.
What other colleges and universities, besides those that produced Fortune 500 CEOs, were home to today’s big business leaders?
Top-ranking colleges and business schools today with superior undergraduate degrees and internationally acclaimed MBAs and graduate business programs include Purdue University, Yale University, Princeton University, Georgetown University, Boston College, Boston University, Brown University, New York University, University of Wisconsin School of Business, and the University of Southern California Business School.
Some of the institutions mentioned comprise the Big Ten Schools of the Big Ten Conference known for their excellent academic reputations and massive financial endowments.
If you are interested in finding out which schools top the list for the best research universities, check out 50 Best Research Universities for Undergrads, and if you are looking for the top public colleges, take a look at the 50 Best Public Colleges and Universities.
