Nine famous people you never knew had an MBA degree

Ipsita Sarkar Gupta | Shiksha.com

Everyone knows a management degree from a top Business school (B-school) leads to you to a high-flying career.

Now take a good look at the nine MBA graduates listed below. Four of these MBA passouts landed up in Bollywood, two became full-time writers, one a cricket commentator and the last two are now Union ministers.

Who knows where the next MBA aspirant may end up after the course? No, we are not talking about the cut-throat corporate world. The point is, all these people whom we now consider to be rich and famous, did their MBAs from top ranking B-schools.

Yet, ultimately, none of them chose to pursue a career in management.

 

1.      John Abraham

Alma Mater: NMIMS Mumbai

Look what he did after slogging hard to get into NMIMS Mumbai and studying marketing management, organisational behaviour and accounting for two years. He became a model, did some music videos and is now a Bollywood sex symbol. But he did keep his business sense alive, producing hits such as Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe.

2.      Siddharta

Alma Mater: SPJIMER

The symbol of youth angst from Rang De Basanti actually has a MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. Hard to believe once you see him act in Chashmebadoor. He is a Southern superstar though. I guess MBA helps.

 

3.      Mallika Sarabhai

Alma Mater: IIM Ahmedabad

Believe it or not, but this renowned activist, Indian classical dancer and theatre artist has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. Her father, Vikram Sarabhai, was the founder of IIM-Ahmedabad. So, I am guessing, the daughter too went there. But that was it. Instead of a career in business, she chose dance and theatre.

4.     Sachin Pilot

Alma Mater: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Meet the current Minister of Corporate Affairs. After pursuing his MBA, he worked with British Broadcasting Corporation and General Motors for two years. Though he opted for a political career, looks like his learning from the MBA degree has played an important.

 

5.     Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia

Alma Mater: Stanford University

After studying Economics in Harvard, he pursued a business degree Stanford. One of the richest politicians in the current Union Government, he has worked with top financial firms like Merril Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Like a true MBA graduate, he is known for making the government system work more efficiently.

6.      Chetan Bhagat

Alma Mater: IIM Ahmedabad

His IIM-Ahmedabad story is well known to those who have read 2 States. But unlike others, Bhagat utilised his MBA by marketing his first book well. And now he is a youth icon.

 

7.      Harsha Bhogle

Alma Mater: IIM Ahmedabad

An IIM director once said that an MBA from IIM does not mean a career in business – it means excellence in whatever you do. May be you need an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad to be cricket commentator as good as Bhogle.

 

8.      Amish Tripathy

Alma Mater: IIM Calcutta

Tripathy’s Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian book publishing. And yet, when we first tried to publish The Immortals of Meluha, rejection stared at him everywhere. His agent finally published it himself.

Ummm... I am thinking his MBA from IIM Calcutta is definitely a part of making the book a raging success.

9.      Fardeen Khan

Alma Mater: University of Massachusetts Amherst

Yeah, that’s right. Fardeen Khan has an MBA degree. His career may not have seen blasting success, but the man has a business degree.