President-elect Donald Trump will be the first US president with a degree from the University of Pennsylvania.REUTERS/Carlo AllegriAn Ivy League university and one of the best colleges in America, the University of Pennsylvania has produced some of the most successful entertainers, entrepreneurs, and politicians in American history.Advertisements
And soon, the school will count a US president among its alma mater.
President-elect Donald Trump graduated from UPenn's Wharton School of Finance in 1968 after transferring there in his junior year.
Trump joins a host of other successful alumni, ranging from business magnate Warren Buffett to fashion designer Tory Burch to tech mogul Elon Musk.
The Philadelphia Ivy has also produced 25 billionaires — more than any other school in the world. Here are some of the most notable names on the list:
President-elect Donald Trump started at Fordham University but transferred to UPenn after two years, graduating in the class of 1968. "I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best," Trump said in his book "Trump: The Art of the Deal."
Source:"The Art of the Deal"
American civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred earned her Bachelor of Arts in English at UPenn in the early 1960s. Her senior honors thesis on Armenian writers opened the door to her civil rights work.
Source: Gloria Allred.com
Indian business magnate Anil Ambani got his MBA from UPenn's Wharton School of Business in 1983. The former Reliance Group CEO was the first recipient of the Wharton Indian Alumni Award and serves on Wharton’s Board of Overseers.
Source: Wharton Alumni Magazine
In the early 1990s Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk was offered a full scholarship to the Wharton School of Business. Musk completed bachelor's degrees in economics and physics.
Source: Evan Carmichael, Wharton
"Hunger Games" actress Elizabeth Banks graduated magna cum laude in 1996. She met her husband at school and was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian, Business Insider
Warren Buffett spent two of his undergraduate years at the Wharton School of Business before finishing his degree in Nebraska in 1951. The billionaire Berkshire Hathaway CEO was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity at UPenn.
Source: Biography.com, Fortune
UPenn was Tory Burch's first choice college when she applied to schools. The billionaire fashion designer majored in art history, and she helped found the school's Kappa Alpha Theta chapter. Before graduating in 1988, Burch studied abroad at sea.
Source: UPenn Gazette
Two-time Academy Award nominee Bruce Dern attended UPenn in 1954, following in his father's and brother's footsteps, but he dropped out to pursue his acting career. "If you want to be an actor, you can’t learn how to act in college," he said.
Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan earned her BA from UPenn in 1985. As an undergraduate she dated Steve Jobs, who installed a Macintosh computer in her dorm.
Source: The University of Pennsylvania, The Guardian
Warby Parker co-CEOs Dave Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal came up with the idea for their $500 million glasses company at a Penn bar. The 2010 Wharton graduates met their two other cofounders, Jeffrey Raider and Andrew Hunt, in business school as well.
Source: Penn Gazette, Forbes
Former MetLife CEO Rob Henrikson earned his BA at UPenn in 1969 and later graduated from Wharton's Advanced Management Program. He stays involved as the chairman of the board of Wharton's SS Huebner Foundation.
Source: Huebner Foundation
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, earned her undergraduate degree at UPenn, where she double-majored in political science and economics. The 1985 graduate went on to earn her MBA from Stanford, and today runs several successful ventures and holds a net worth upwards of $14 billion.
Source: Business Insider
The chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder, Leonard Lauder attended UPenn along with his brother in the 1950s. Together they cofounded the school's Joseph H. Lauder Institute to provide business students with an interdisciplinary education.
Source: Wharton Alumni Magazine
Soulful crooner John Legend was John Stephens to his UPenn friends. The nine-time Grammy winner was the president of the jazz a capella group. The 1999 graduate delivered the commencement speech at his alma mater in May 2014.
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Source: The University of Pennsylvania
Ben Lerer founded Thrillist Media Group two years after graduating from UPenn, and he now serves as the CEO. While at school, the 2003 graduate was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.
Source: Business Insider, Inc.
Following in her father's footsteps, Ivanka Trump transferred to Wharton in her junior year of college and graduated in 2004. The businesswoman, writer, and future first daughter graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in economics.
Source: CBS News
Marc Lore earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business in 2007. He has since gone on to found Quidsi, which he sold to Amazon for $545 million, and currently serves as CEO of e-commerce site Jet, which he cofounded.
Source: Business Insider, Business Week, Tech Crunch
NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell has been a journalist since her UPenn days, when she was the news director for the student radio station WXPN. The English lit major, who graduated in 1967, is now a trustee of the school.
Source: Wharton News, UPenn
David Montgomery was a Phillies fan and regularly attended games while at UPenn, later going on to become president and co-owner of the team. He was a history major and Phi Sigma Kappa as an undergrad, and returned for an MBA in 1968.
Source: Penn Gazette, Business Insider
Dr. Mehmet Oz earned dual medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. While in medical school, Dr. Oz served as the student body president. He now hosts the daily "Dr. Oz Show."
Source: Wharton News, UPenn
Michelle Peluso chose to attend Wharton because she could pursue her interest in business while still receiving a well-rounded liberal arts education. She earned her Bachelor's in '93 and went on to serve as CEO of Travelocity before taking over as the CEO of Gilt in 2013. She joined IBM as its CMO in September.
Source: Wharton, Gilt, Business Insider
Theatrical producer Harold Prince, '42, graduated from UPenn in just three years. He went on to become the most decorated Tony Award winner in history, earning 21 awards. The university honored his achievements by naming a theater after him.
Source: The New York Times
Brian L. Roberts earned his degree from the Wharton School in 1981. He was an All-American squash player and member of the Zeta Psi fraternity. After graduation, he worked for his father's company, Comcast, and took over as CEO at just 31 years old.
Source: Business Insider
After earning his MBA from Wharton in 1963, John Sculley went on to serve as the CEO of both Pepsi Co. and Apple throughout his career. He credits Wharton professor Wroe Alderson as a significant business influence.
Source: Wharton Alumni Magazine
David Tisch is the cofounder of Spring and TechStars, as well as an angel investor through BoxGroup. The '03 UPenn alum was president of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity during his time in school.
Source: David Tisch, Business Insider
Invite Media and Flatiron Health founder and CEO Nat Turner spent his time at Wharton taking entrepreneurship classes. In 2007, the summer before his senior year, Turner was awarded one of five Wharton Venture Awards, which allow students to develop their own businesses.
Source: Wharton
Las Vegas hotel magnate Stephen "Steve" Wynn studied cultural anthropology and English literature before graduating in 1963. The Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity brother is now the chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts Limited.
Source: Business Insider, Forbes
Mortimer Zuckerman graduated from the Wharton School in 1963. He cofounded the real estate investment trust Boston Properties, and he now owns The New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report, where he serves as editor-in-chief.
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Source: Wharton Alumni Magazine
