· Pink-Slip Millionaires
Some of today's most successful entrepreneurs were once fired, laid off, or otherwise sent packing by a former employer. Instead of finding a new job, they launched successful businesses of their own. Here are a few of our favorites.
· J.K. Rowling
A former secretary who was once fired for writing short stories at her computer, J.K. Rowling used her severance pay to help finance the first Harry Potter novel. Several bestselling books and blockbuster films later, the self-made billionaire is now ranked as the world's second-wealthiest female entertainer after Oprah Winfrey.
· Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
Laid off from Handy Dan by a corporate raider in the late 1970s, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus lost nearly $1 million the year they launched their first home-improvement store in Atlanta. Today, the Home Depot chain has more than 2,100 stores across North America.
· New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Back in his late 30s, Bloomberg lost his job as a manager at Salomon Brothers after a corporate takeover. Using his corporate stock earnings from the sale, he founded Bloomberg, a financial-information company whose terminals have become a mainstay on Wall Street, along with a wire service and TV and radio networks -- a media empire now valued at as much as $20 billion.
· Courtesy Sixapart
Mena and Ben Trott
In the wake of the dot-com bust and days before 9/11, Mena Trott and her husband Ben were laid off from a small Web-design firm. A month later, they released Movable Type -- software they'd created for Mena's personal blog. Today, it's the dominant platform for blogs all over the Web.
· David Neeleman
Not long after Southwest Airlines bought David Neeleman's first low-budget airline, the company canned him as an executive planner. Following a stint at a touch-screen airline reservation business, he launched JetBlue in 1999 - building a cult following with live TV at each seat. It was also one of the few airlines to remain profitable in the aftermath the 9/11 terrorist attacks. JetBlue remains a customer-service leader in the industry.
Some of today's most successful entrepreneurs were once fired, laid off, or otherwise sent packing by a former employer. Instead of finding a new job, they launched successful businesses of their own. Here are a few of our favorites.
· J.K. Rowling
A former secretary who was once fired for writing short stories at her computer, J.K. Rowling used her severance pay to help finance the first Harry Potter novel. Several bestselling books and blockbuster films later, the self-made billionaire is now ranked as the world's second-wealthiest female entertainer after Oprah Winfrey.
· Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
Laid off from Handy Dan by a corporate raider in the late 1970s, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus lost nearly $1 million the year they launched their first home-improvement store in Atlanta. Today, the Home Depot chain has more than 2,100 stores across North America.
· New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Back in his late 30s, Bloomberg lost his job as a manager at Salomon Brothers after a corporate takeover. Using his corporate stock earnings from the sale, he founded Bloomberg, a financial-information company whose terminals have become a mainstay on Wall Street, along with a wire service and TV and radio networks -- a media empire now valued at as much as $20 billion.
· Courtesy Sixapart
Mena and Ben Trott
In the wake of the dot-com bust and days before 9/11, Mena Trott and her husband Ben were laid off from a small Web-design firm. A month later, they released Movable Type -- software they'd created for Mena's personal blog. Today, it's the dominant platform for blogs all over the Web.
· David Neeleman
Not long after Southwest Airlines bought David Neeleman's first low-budget airline, the company canned him as an executive planner. Following a stint at a touch-screen airline reservation business, he launched JetBlue in 1999 - building a cult following with live TV at each seat. It was also one of the few airlines to remain profitable in the aftermath the 9/11 terrorist attacks. JetBlue remains a customer-service leader in the industry.
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