Meet The Billionaires With Fast Food Origin Stories

Before they were among the richest people in the world, these eight billionaires worked behind the counters at some of the most recognizable fast food chains. 

As Forbes released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans this week, Martina Castellanos took a look at the early careers of some of the wealthiest people in the world. Jeff Bezos, for example, got his first job at a Miami McDonald’s when he was just 16 years old, spending his days cracking eggs, flipping burgers and scrubbing bathrooms. “My dad had worked at McDonald’s when he was young, too, so in some ways it felt like a right of passage,” Bezos, now worth more than $244 billion, told Forbes. 

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also got his professional start at a Golden Arches location in Canada. 

Other origin stories began at different fast food chains. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, for example, started working at a Denny’s in Oregon. Swedish fintech billionaire Sebastian Siemiatkowski paid his dues at a Burger King broiler station, eventually meeting his Klarna cofounder Niklas Adalberth across the assembly line. 

And there are those, like Bubba, Dan and Trudy Cathy of Chick-fil-A and Lynsi Snyder of In-And-Out, who worked for their family-owned chains. 

Hope this didn’t make you too hungry, folks! Now, onto this week’s work news.

—Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Careers Reporter

WORK SMARTER 

Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter.

• Join Gen Zers and spend the rest of the year “locking-in” on your career by setting these five goals. 
• Feeling paralyzed in your job search? Here’s how to overcome the most common fears. 
• You shouldn’t have to “recover” from a career. Here’s what to look for to ensure you find one you’ll enjoy. 

TOUCH BASE

News from the world of work.

• Influencers, rideshare drivers, performers and baristas are among the employees set to be included in President Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy, according to multiple reports. The provision allows service professionals to deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal income taxes on top of the standard deduction, allowing them to shave a little over $40,000 off their income for tax purposes. 
• Tensions are high after Homeland Security detained 475 people, more than 300 of them South Korean nationals, at a Hyundai electric battery plant in Savannah, Georgia. While South Korean officials raised concerns over the immigration raid on Friday, the workers are now voluntarily leaving the U.S. instead of being deported. 
• AI’s next job? Recruiting people to train more AI, reports Forbes’ Richard Nieva. Startup Mercor has grown from an AI recruiter platform to a data labeling company that pairs experts with large language model providers. The shift earned Mercor the 89th spot on Forbes’ Cloud 100 list. 
• The Federal Aviation Administration has supercharged hiring in efforts to curb the air traffic controllers shortage, but it’s hitting one major roadblock—not enough instructors. Most instructors are retired air traffic controllers that are required to work long hours, and even have to buy their own coffee, according to Bloomberg. 
• More than 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” protests slammed major U.S. cities on Labor Day, including New York City, Chicago and Boston, prompting a defensive response from the Department of Homeland Security.

NUMBER TO NOTE

911,000

That’s how many fewer jobs were added from March 2024 through March 2025 than previously reported, according to the latest revisions from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.