Age: 44
Occupation: Anticollege capitalist
Despite holding two separate degrees from Stanford University, Thiel questions the value of higher education. Last April, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist predicted higher education would be the next bubble. The following month, he put his money where his mouth was, awarding 24 college-age students $100,000 each to not attend college for two years. Instead of hitting the books, the young entrepreneurs were instructed to spend their time developing business ideas in areas such as biotechnology, education and energy.