Today on Forbes, Forbes 250, the greatest historic self-made Americans.

Abraham Lincoln once wrote to a young man who asked him for advice to, quote,

always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

That sentiment is at the heart of an American principle

that Honest Abe himself embodied,

that unlike in the old world,

in the United States, anyone can rise to the top.

So in honor of the nation's 250th anniversary,

Forbes presents to you the 250 greatest historic self-made Americans,

men and women who rose from slavery, poverty, abuse, to achieve fame, fortune, and impact.

This past week, we also released our ranking of the 250 greatest living self-made Americans,

so be sure to check for that, too.

To identify the hustlers and strivers on our historic ranking, we dug into Forbes's century-plus old archives,

looking for classic tales of entrepreneurial capitalists.

Then we queried Gemini and ChatGPT for ideas.

We also polled the historical societies of all 50 states, because although we emphasized

notable businessmen and industrialists, we also included influential scientists, artists, and athletes.

Next, we ran those names past the experts.

Lewis Hyman, a professor of political economy and history at Johns Hopkins University,

and Abilin Sellers, professor of public policy at Pepperdine University.

Forbes editors determine the final ranking.

Here are the top five on our list.

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