It's a pattern that most go through in order to have a comfortable life: get good grades in high school, get accepted into college, make exceptional marks and go on to have a long and prosperous life via a high position in a company, etc. etc. But lately, an extraordinary few have been bucking the trend and making a name for themselves even after dropping out of high school.

Here are five of best examples as to why the system certainly does not work for everyone.

Richard Branson: Who hasn't heard of the eccentric billionaire? At 16, this media mogul started a mail order record retail business which we now know as the Virgin record music stores and music label. Now having an estimated value of $6.8 million, Branson owns about 200 companies in 30 countries spanning from airlines to music festivals to mobile phones. Not too bad for someone who didn't even make it through high school.

Carl Lindner Jr.: What started out as a supplementary job of delivering milk from his family's dairy farm is now known as one of the biggest food distributors on the international stage. In 1984, Lindner bought what was formerly the United Fruit Company and United Brands Company and merged them into one-the Chiquita Brands International. Lindner ran the company until 2001 and has an estimated net worth of about $1.7 billion.

Francois Pinault: France's third-richest man may have an $8.7 billion fortune and holdings to some of the most prestigious brands in the world (Puma, Gucci, Samsonite, Christie's auctioneers) but one would never have guessed that it all started when Pinault quit high school to work on his father's lumber mill.

Kirk Kerkorian: When the megaresort tycoon dropped out of eighth grade to pursue amateur boxing, nobody certainly expected him to eventually be worth $3.1 billion. Now that's a knockout.

Armancio Ortega: Running errands for mom and pop stores at age 14 certainly has paid well for the richest man in Spain. The founder of Inditex, the fashion empire that owns brands like Zara, is now worth $31 billion.