The CIO at my firm ($600 billion+ AUM) left school at 16. Is that really possible today?

I work at a fairly large asset management firm. 

I found out that the CIO at my firm left school at 15/16. He's 60 years old and he joined the industry after 1983. 

We're a household name (there's almost nobody on this forum who wouldn't have heard the firm I work for) but I'm realizing now that there are just no paths in finance today for kids without a degree. 

What happened and do you think stories like that are possible today? 

It's insanely impressive but even my firm requires a degree for most jobs these days. 

 

In the old days, this was possible in many industries and countries. Attending college just wasn't as common as it is today and you could "work yourself up" if you were a hard worker and knew how to pull the right strings.

Arguably, in some company cultures, they got rid of the requirement of having to present a degree. Peter Thiel is one of the most prolific proponents for ditching the degree. But I would argue that in the grand scheme of things, we are all competing with candidates who do have a degree.

 
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