Their first billion dollars...

How long did it take them to make their first billion?

• Henry Ford, 23 years
• Sam Walton, 20 years
• Bill Gates, 12 years
• Jeff Bezos, 3 years

Source: Future Living, by Frank Feather

It's interesting to note that they all used a system* to build their fortune (assembly line system, logistics system, computer operating system, e-commerce system).

It's also interesting to note that what they were selling got smaller and smaller -- from cars to consumer products to software CDs to pure bits and electrons (Amazon doesn't sell anything, it's just a Web interface for conducting e-commerce).

* Robert Allen coined the acronym S.Y.S.T.E.M., meaning Save Your Self Time, Energy & Money.