It all depends on how you define self made. Traditionally, defining someone as self made means they didn't inherit their fortune. This is how Forbes does it for

It all depends on how you define self made. Traditionally, defining someone as self made means they didn't inherit their fortune. This is how Forbes does it for instance. Today there seems to be a trend of saying that simply if you were born in a society, you're not self made, because after all, you didn't pave your own roads! This is just bizarre to me because everyone has access to roads and other basic functions of society. If someone created a billion dollar fortune in their own lifetime, there's likely some unique and interesting character traits that they have.