11 biographies to read if you want to get rich

Ron Chernow's detailed 800-page account takes you through the impressive life of the American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller.

Rockefeller, who came from rustic origins and started as an accountant, ended up as one of the richest men the world by creating America's most powerful monopoly in 1870, Standard Oil.

One of billionaire Charlie Munger's top book picks, "Titan" reveals the detail-oriented, ruthlessly competitive, and famously generous nature of Rockefeller, and how he built a massive company from an emerging industry.

Alice Schroeder's biography of the third richest man in the world and greatest investor of all time recounts fun anecdotes from Buffett's childhood — such as how he was picking out stocks at 11 years old, and had amassed the equivalent of $53,000 by the time he was 16 — and details his humble journey to the top.

"The Snowball" grants access into Buffett's notably private, and refreshingly modest, life, and shows how the nice guy can indeed finish first.

In "The First Tycoon," TJ Stiles details the improbable success of self-made millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt, who is credited more than any other individual for creating modern capitalism.

The American tycoon was born into humble circumstances on Staten Island, and started out working as a ship captain for a wealthy businessman before dominating the steamship and railroad industries.

He died in 1877 with a net worth of over $100 million, and at one time was worth one out of every twenty dollars in circulation.

Michelle Mone grew up in an impoverished part of Glasgow, Scotland, left school at 15 with no qualifications, and got pregnant at 18.

She is now the poster child for entrepreneurship and inspirational women in business after launching the highly successful British lingerie brand Ultimo in 1996.

In "My Fight to the Top," she charts her story from jobless teen to creating one of the most iconic lingerie brands in the world, which has earned her a net worth of £20 million ($29.8 million).

Read an exclusive Business Insider interview with Mone.

Andrew Carnegie started with nothing when he arrived in the US from Scotland in 1848. A half-century later, he had turned a few nickels and dimes into a fortune and became the richest man in the country after helping build the American steel industry.

He then he set out to give almost all his money away — and was nearly successful in that endeavor.

Historian David Nasaw brings the successful businessman and philanthropist's rags-to-riches journey to life in "Andrew Carnegie," explaining how he earned his early fortune and what prompted him to give it all away.

Richard Branson launched his first company as a 15-year-old high school dropout. He stuck with the entrepreneurial path, and today — nearly 50 years later — he is the billionaire chair of the Virgin Group and has overseen roughly 500 companies.

The business genius dives into his unconventional journey in his autobiography, "Losing My Virginity," which is filled with colorful anecdotes and encompasses his life philosophy: "Screw it, let's do it."

Steve Watts illuminates the fascinating story of Henry Ford: a Michigan farm boy turned to one of the richest men in America.

"The People's Tycoon" unveils that you don't necessarily have to be first to be successful. Ford didn't invent the automobile, nor did he create the assembly line; he just did both better than anyone else.

Watt's detailed account of one of America's favorite celebrities will inspire innovative and creative thinking.

This New York Times bestseller is one of the most accurate books about Steve Jobs that's ever been written, according to Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook.

"Becoming Steve Jobs" is full of interesting nuggets about the late co-founder and CEO of Apple, and shows a side of Jobs that has rarely been seen by the media.

You'll learn about one of his first jobs in an apple orchard after dropping out of college, in addition to many more anecdotes leading up to his great success and fortune.

One of America's greatest and most inspirational entrepreneurs, billionaire Mary Kay Ash, launched her dream company — Mary Kay, Inc., a global independent sales force that sells cosmetics — in 1963.

The Texas titan shares her unconventional business philosophy and how she learned to navigate, and succeed in, a male-dominated business world in her autobiography, "The Mary Kay Way."

Before Oprah Winfrey became the queen of daytime TV and a billionaire, she grew up in poverty and suffered a tumultuous childhood.

Today, Forbes estimates Winfrey's net worth at $3 billion, and she is the only black woman on the publication's list of the 400 richest people in America.

Kitty Kelley tells the inspirational story of the media mogul and philanthropist, who went from potato-sack overalls to donning Prada and Jimmy Choo, in her biography "Oprah."

If you're looking to get rich, you can't go wrong by starting with the biography of the world's richest man, Bill Gates.

In "Bill Gates: A Biography," you'll learn about the fascinating and fearless legend, who dropped out of college, co-founded Microsoft at the ripe age of 20, and today has dedicated his life to philanthropy, having given away more than $30 billion so far.