While some of the world’s wealthiest billionaires famously dropped out of college, their interest in reshaping education has only grown stronger. From founding private schools to funding nationwide initiatives, these influential figures are bringing their money, ideas, and controversies into the classroom. As the U.S. education system undergoes potentially profound change under President Donald Trump’s second administration including moves toward privatization billionaires are playing an increasingly visible role.
Here’s a closer look at the billionaires who are redefining, and sometimes disrupting, what school looks like.
1. Elon Musk: STEM Schools “To the Stars”
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has long had an interest in alternative education. His latest venture, Ad Astra, is a private preschool in Bastrop, Texas, set to open in Fall 2025 near his SpaceX Starbase facility. Designed for children ages 3 to 9, Ad Astra focuses heavily on STEM education and child-centered learning. Tuition will be subsidized in its opening year, later aligning with local private school costs.
Musk’s foundation donated $100 million to the preschool, according to tax filings. Initial permits allow just 21 students in the first year, with ambitions to expand into a STEM-focused university.
This isn’t Musk’s first school. In 2014, he launched a school by the same name for his children and SpaceX employees’ kids. That initiative evolved into Astra Nova, now an online school serving around 300 students worldwide with unconventional courses such as special relativity, songwriting, and ethical hacking.
2. Mark Zuckerberg: Ambitious But Complicated
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan launched The Primary School in 2016 under the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school connected education with healthcare and family services in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. But in April 2025, it announced plans to close by 2026, even as it served hundreds of students.
The closure coincided with a broader rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts by Meta and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Still, CZI pledged $50 million to support communities and families affected by the shutdown.
Zuckerberg and Chan also faced regulatory issues with a Palo Alto school after city officials alleged it operated without the proper permit. The couple insisted it was a homeschool program started during the pandemic, not a private school, and said city officials later confirmed homeschooling was allowed.
Zuckerberg’s net worth: $255.8 billion (August 2025, Forbes).
3. Jeff Bezos: A Nationwide Preschool Network
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, launched Bezos Academy in 2020 through the Day One Fund. The network of tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschools serves children ages 3 to 5 in under-resourced communities.
Bezos himself attended a Montessori school as a child, and his academies now operate in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington.
Bezos’s net worth: $234.5 billion.
4. Laurene Powell Jobs: Rethinking High School
Rather than build one school, Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, co-founded the XQ Institute in 2015. The nonprofit, backed by her Emerson Collective, has invested $300 million to “rethink high school” in light of technological and workplace changes.
XQ has funded high schools across the country, but has faced criticism over data and impact transparency. Still, Powell Jobs remains one of the most active billionaire philanthropists in education.
Her net worth: $13.7 billion.
5. Bill Ackman: Championing AI-Driven Learning
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has aligned himself with Alpha School, a private school network that embraces AI-driven learning. While not a formal founder, Ackman is considered a strong supporter and promoter. Alpha’s model uses AI to deliver core academic learning in just two hours per day, freeing afternoons for “life skills” workshops such as Startup Founder and Friendship Coordinator.
Tuition runs between $40,000 and $75,000 depending on location, with schools in Texas, Florida, and California. The schools employ “guides” instead of traditional teachers many without education degrees chosen for backgrounds in tech and entrepreneurship.
Ackman’s net worth: $9.5 billion.
6. Oprah Winfrey: Building Leaders in South Africa
In 2007, Oprah Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Serving grades 8 through 12, the boarding school has an acceptance rate of just 1% and has graduated over 525 students.
Oprah frequently attends the school’s graduations 22 ceremonies to date and positions the academy as one of her proudest philanthropic achievements.
Her net worth: $3.1 billion.
7. LeBron James: Helping At-Risk Kids in Akron
NBA superstar LeBron James launched the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, in 2018 in partnership with the local public school district. It is aimed at students falling behind academically and provides wraparound support including longer school days and family services.
The school is publicly funded but supplemented by the LeBron James Family Foundation. It currently serves students from first through eighth grade and has become a model for community-based educational intervention.
James’s net worth: $1.2 billion.
The Bigger Picture
These initiatives show the varied ways billionaires are reshaping education:
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Musk and Ackman favor tech-heavy, experimental models.
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Zuckerberg and Bezos have built institutional schools with mixed results.
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Powell Jobs emphasizes systemic change through funding.
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Oprah and LeBron highlight leadership and community-based approaches.
While their impact is uneven and sometimes controversial their influence signals a profound shift: the future of education is increasingly being shaped not only by policymakers, but by billionaires with the money and vision to reimagine schools.
