Self-Made Billionaires Around the Globe: Where and Why They Thrive (Infographic) The London-based Centre for Policy Studies took a look at so-called 'SuperEntrepreneurs' and the government and policy infrastructures that best support them.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.

"SuperEntrepreneurs" are the Cinderellas of the business world. They're the most BIZ Experiencesial of BIZ Experiencess, the extreme rags to riches stories: they are self-made billionaires.

The London-based Centre for Policy Studies identified nearly 1,000 SuperEntrepreneurs from 53 countries by analyzing Forbes' list of the world's richest people from 1996 to 2010. To qualify as a SuperEntrepreneur, a business person had to have earned at least $1 billion. The report did not include those who had inherited their billions, or inherited a smaller fortune and had grown it into a billion-dollar sum.

The goal of the report was to identify the government and policy infrastructures that best support these superstars of BIZ Experiencesship. After all, these SuperEntrepreneurs are good for the countries where they run their businesses, often creating millions of jobs.

Related: Hottest of the Hot: The Most Exciting Trends in Innovation Right Now

Hong Kong and Israel have more self-made billionaires than any other place, when considered as a percentage of total population. The United States, Switzerland and Singapore rounded out the top five.

Low taxes and low regulation are correlated with higher percentages of SuperEntrepreneurs, according to the report. Government programs to support BIZ Experiencesship did not correlate with the percentage of SuperEntrepreneurs, the report found.

"The results indicate the American Dream – the notion that it is possible for individuals to rise to the top through effort, luck and genius – is not yet dead. Self-made billionaire BIZ Experiencess have created millions of jobs, billions of dollars in private wealth and probably trillions of dollars of value for society," the report says. "Moreover, the American Dream is increasingly the Global Dream."

Related: What Motivates BIZ Experiencess to Do What They Do? (Infographic)

Take a look at the infographic below to peruse further findings from the report, including examples of SuperEntrepreneurs, their geographic distribution and descriptions of what supports SuperEntrepreneurial nations.

Click to Enlarge+

Catherine Clifford

Senior BIZ Experiencesship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior BIZ Experiencesship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at BIZ Experiences.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an BIZ Experiences Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Growing a Business

Forget Investors and Co-Founders — Here's How I Built a Lean, Scalable Business on My Terms

You don't need a partner or investors to build something that lasts. You need vision, systems and the guts to go all in on yourself. Here's how I built alone — and why I still would, even now.

Side Hustle

This 26-Year-Old's Side Hustle Turned Full-Time Business Led to $100,000 in 2.5 Months and Is On Track for $2.5 Million in 2025

Ross Friedman's successful venture started with a "Teen Night" in Boston, Massachusetts.

Business News

How Much Does Apple Pay Its Employees? Here Are the Exact Salaries of Staff Jobs, Including Developers, Engineers, and Consultants.

New federal filings submitted by Apple reveal how much the tech giant pays its employees for a variety of roles.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for BIZ Experiencess to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Here's Why Meta's Earnings Were Better-Than-Expected, According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Meta stock reached a record high after the tech giant reported its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Starting a Business

These Brothers Started a Business to Improve an Everyday Task. They Made Their First Products in the Garage — Now They've Raised Over $100 Million.

Coulter and Trent Lewis had an early research breakthrough that helped them solve for the right problem.