He's a billionaire who never went to college. Here's how Don Vultaggio made his fortune.

Sat, Sep 13, 2025, 3:22 PM 6 min read

• Cofounder of the company behind AriZona iced tea, Don Vultaggio, is worth nearly $6 billion.

• Unlike other billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Vultaggio never went to college.

• He attributes his success to giving customers service and value and treating employees like family.

In an era when American billionaires are minted in Silicon Valley and fortunes are built on algorithms and artificial intelligence, Don Vultaggio stands out.

With a net worth of nearly $6 billion, the 73-year-old cofounder of Arizona Beverage USA made his billions largely by selling $0.99 cans of iced tea that have become as iconic as they are affordable.

Unlike ultrawealthy university alums, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett, Vultaggio never went to college. In fact, he said he probably wouldn't have finished high school if his mother hadn't stepped in.

"I wasn't a good student, but it wasn't the school's fault. It was my fault, and it worked out for me, but sometimes it doesn't work out," Vultaggio told Business Insider's Emily Christian during a recent interview at AriZonaLand in Keasbey, New Jersey.

Vultaggio said that mentorship, not formal education, laid the foundation for his career.

When he was a teenager, still in school, Vultaggio said he began working for his first boss at a Brooklyn grocery store, earning $1 per hour. "That guy gave me the experience of being a business person," he said. The job taught Vultaggio the value of $1 and how long an hour can last.

When that boss died a few years ago, the family sent his ashes to Vultaggio. "He's buried in my backyard, and a plaque there that says 'World's greatest boss.'"

After graduating from high school, Vultaggio was still working in grocery stores, just like his father, who'd been in the business his entire career. "He said, I don't want my son in the supermarket business," Vultaggio recalled. "So he got me a job at a local brewery."

A couple of years later, the brewery closed, teaching Vultaggio an important lesson in business: "I always say that when businesses fail, they forgot what the customer wanted," he said, "It was a brand of beer that was popular at a point but then lost its popularity."

For about the next 20 years, Vultaggio ran his own multibrand beer-distributing business that he grew from the ground up. "I went to tough neighborhoods in New York and brought beer to bodegas in the city."