Stephen Hawking- $20 million

Legend Stephen Hawking was born January 8th 1942 to Oxford graduates, Frank and Isobel Hawking. Throughout his early school career, Hawking was known as “Einstein” though, ironically, he wasn’t – at first – very successful academically. He continued to improve in the science sector, though, and was inspired by well-known mathematician Dikran Tahta. Hawking decided to study mathematics, despite his father’s warnings that he would have limited job opportunities with that kind of degree. Hawking won a scholarship in 1959 and went to Oxford to study chemistry and physics a year early. He graduated with a first-class Honors degree and continued his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
At the age of 21, Hawkins was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. The degenerative has left him almost completely paralyzed, only able to speak through a voice generating device. Happily, though, he was married while completing his Ph.D and received a doctorate in March 1966. In 1979, aged 37, Hawking became Lucasion Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He would keep that position for the next 30 years, until his retirement in 2009.
Stephen Hawking has been responsible for game-changing advancements in the area of science. Collaborating with fellow scientist, Roger Penrose, he has made theories on gravitational singularity theorems, predictions that black holes emit radiation (affectionately called Hawking radiation), as well as being an outspoken supporter of quantum mechanics. The many awards under his belt include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian award in the US, as well as being an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has also garnered mass success through his science books. His book A Brief History of Time broke the record for longest time on the British Sunday Times best sellers list with a whopping 237 weeks (or almost 5 years to be more precise). Although he is retired, mainly due to this book, his net worth is about $20 million.