IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP, YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE - JACK MA

When it comes to taking a hint, few can match the stubbornness of Jack Ma; after graduating in 1988 (a process that he was initially rejected four times for), the Hangzhou native struggled to find work, getting turned down by over 30 companies (including, infamously, KFC), before seeing all 10 of his postgraduate applications to Harvard Business School unceremoniously refused.

However, on a 1995 trip to visit friends in the US, Ma’s luck finally changed; after being introduced to the internet, he managed to raise $20,000 to build an online directory for Chinese businesses, taking on additional various web development projects for Chinese companies and government organisations. 

Utilizing these experiences, he returned to China in 1999 and created the online marketplace Alibaba, subsequently raising $25bn at its IPO stock exchange offering in 2014 – the highest amount of any floated company, ever.

Ma is now one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated personal net worth of nearly $43bn, while the Alibaba group is responsible for nine major subsidiaries (among them the hugely popular Aliexpress).