23. P.T. Barnum
The movie The Greatest Showman is amazing, and it captures the heart and soul of a boy’s journey to becoming a successful businessman. However, the movie isn’t very accurate to real life at all. The real P.T. Barnum began making money from a very early age by working at a local grocery store and running lotteries. His first “freak show” attraction was a slave woman who claimed to be over 100 years old, and Tom Thumb was his cousin. The Greatest Showman gets a lot of things wrong, but it’s still true that he supported people who would otherwise have never had successful careers in normal society. If you want to know more about how P.T. Barnum made millions, lost it all, and made it all back again, I highly recommend reading his book The Art of Money Getting.
Also Read: Fascinating Facts About the Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus.