Nowadays， there are lots of lists of the inspirational entrepreneurs both at home and abroad. A list of the most inspirational entrepreneurs is necessarily subjective， but the following is a list of some risk-takers who really left their marks， despite their challenging upbringings.

现如今海内外各种创业家排行榜俯拾皆是，诸如最具影响力的企业家之类的排行榜更是难免沾染主观色彩。不过，下面这几位企业家，可是真真正正青史留名的“探险者”，尽管他们的成长背景并不优越。

Andrew Carnegie—

The Self-made Philanthropist

安德鲁·卡内基——白手起家的大慈善家

As a Scottish immigrant in the 19th century， Carnegie arrived in America as a poor teenager and worked his way through the ranks， starting with a daily 12-hour job changing spools. He eventually made a fortune as an investor during the Civil War， including a single $40，000 investment in the oil-rich Story Farm， which earned him $1 million in dividends by the end of the year.

After the war， he launched Carnegie Steel Corporation， which he later sold to J. P. Morgan for $480 million. Besides， he increased his wealth and fame with his writing， including the famous book Gospel of Wealth describing the philanthropic responsibilities of the self-made rich， and he became well-known for his own philanthropy， including millions of dollars of donations to the New York Public Library， the establishment of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh （Carnegie-Mellon University today）， and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

19世纪时，卡内基作为苏格兰移民来到美国，那时的他还是一个穷困小青年；从一份每天12小时更换线轴的工作开始，他一步一步走上人生赢家之路。最终，在美国南北战争期间，他作为一名投资者发了大财，其中包括投资40000美金于储油丰富的Story Farm，一年之后这笔投资就让卡内基获得了一百万美金的分红。

战后，他成立了卡内基钢铁公司，之后他以4.8亿美元的价格把公司卖给了JP摩根。此外，卡内基还通过写作出书不断斩获名利，其中包括著名的《财富的福音》，该书讲述了白手起家的富人们的慈善责任，从此他也因自己的慈善事业而闻名。他不仅向纽约公共图书馆捐赠了百万美金，还成立了匹兹堡卡内基工学院（今天的卡内基梅隆大学）、建立了卡内基国际和平基金会。

Oprah Winfrey—The Teenage Mother Who Became a Household Billionaire

奥普拉·温弗瑞——从少龄妈妈到家喻户晓的巨富

Oprah was born into a poor family with a single teenage mother and experienced a tough childhood， becoming a teenage mother herself at 14 and losing that son shortly after. In high school she got involved with radio， and at 19 she began co-anchoring the local evening news. She later worked in a daytime talk show， which went from last-ranked to the top-ranked talk show in Chicago during her time there. After that， she started The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Her show， which started as a tabloid talk show， gradually expanded to broader topics， including celebrity interviews： her 1993 prime-time interview of Michael Jackson became the most watched interview ever. When her show went national， Oprah became a millionaire at 32， and today she is a billionaire.

奥普拉出生于一个贫穷家庭，有一个单身少龄母亲，自小就经历了不少困难。14岁的时候奥普拉自己也成为一名少龄母亲，不久后儿子夭折了。在高中时，奥普拉开始接触播音，19岁开始在当地《晚间新闻》节目担任联合主播。之后她在一档日间脱口秀栏目工作，其间，这档节目的排名从芝加哥地区的垫底行列直升至榜首。……