-
(#10) Silvio Berlusconi
- 82
A billionaire media mogul and current member of the European Parliament, Silvio Berlusconi served three separate terms (1994-95, 2001-06, and 2008-11) as the prime minister of Italy. He has been a polarizing figure for most of his political life, as evidenced by Italians' reaction to his 2011 resignation: They celebrated in the streets.
Prior to becoming a media mogul and politician, Berlusconi sang in bars and on cruise ships in the Mediterranean. This was during the 1950s and early '60s as Berlusconi was studying to become a lawyer. One of the places where he performed was Bar Kontiki on the island of Elba.
Over the course of his career, Berlusconi has been tried in Italian courts for a multitude of allegations, from bribery to tax fraud to abuse of office, and more. He was convicted on the tax fraud charges in 2013, but avoided jail time due to his advanced age. The conviction originally carried with it a ban prohibiting Berlusconi from running for office, though the ban was overturned on appeal.
Despite all the scandals that have surrounded him, Berlusconi the performer still had some fans. When he announced in 2011 that he would be stepping down as prime minister, the owner of Bar Kontiki offered to give him his old job as a singer back.
-
(#8) Comedian And Actor - Volodymyr Zelensky, President Of Ukraine
- 41
Zelensky is the world leader whose July 2019 phone call with Donald Trump is at the center of the current impeachment inquiry against the US president. Like Trump, Zelensky also went from television star to leader of a country.
The comic-turned-politician had worked in the entertainment industry since the ripe age of 17. Although he has a real law degree, Zelensky was best known to Ukrainians for his role as the fictional president of Ukraine on Servant of the People, a satirical sitcom. The sitcom ran from 2015 until shortly prior to Zelensky's May 2019 inauguration, when he turned his fictional role into his real one.
-
(#9) George Weah
- 52
Once regarded as one of the greatest players on the pitch, George Weah was elected president of Liberia in 2017.
As a professional footballer, Weah was known for his acceleration, speed, dribbling, and ability to finish. During his distinguished 18-year career, Weah was nicknamed "King George" by his fans, and became the first non-European to win the Ballon d'Or - the award for the FIFA Player of the Year - while playing for AC Milan. He remains the only African player to win that honor. Weah was named the African Player of the Century in 1996, and also won European and World Footballer of the Year titles between 1995 and 2000. In 2004, Pelé included him on his list of the greatest soccer players in history.
Weah moved into politics following his 2003 retirement from the game. He first ran for president in 2005, but lost in a run-off election to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He eventually was elected to the Liberian Senate in 2014, then won the 2017 presidential election by receiving more than 60% of the vote.
-
(#6) Composer - Ivo Josipović, Former President Of Croatia
- 62
Ivo Josipović served as president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015, and became the first president of that country to not be elected to a second term. He is currently the leader of the non-parliamentary Forward Croatia Party, and has discussed the possibility of merging that party with the country's Social Democratic Party. He has denied any intention of running for president again.
Josipović originally studied to become a musician, not a politician, and graduated from the Zagreb Music Academy in 1983. He has served as the music director of the international classical music festival Music Biennale Zagreb since 1991, and occasionally lectures at the Zagreb Music Academy.
The composer of at least 45 chamber music pieces, Josipović's work has been performed by musicians both in Croatia and in other countries. He has won awards for his music, including one from the European Broadcasting Union (1985) and the Porin Award (1999) for his composition "Samba da Camera." He won another Porin Award in 2000 for his composition "Tisuću lotosa" ("A Thousand Lotuses").
When he was elected president in 2010, Josipović vowed not to give up his musical career. He announced that he would spend his spare time composing an opera on John Lennon’s passing, but later admitted his duties were too time-consuming to allow him to work on it.
-
(#4) Comedian - Jimmy Morales, President Of Guatemala
- 50
When Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina became embroiled in multiple corruption scandals prior to the 2015 presidential election, he inadvertently launched the career of an unlikely candidate from the tiny, underfunded National Convergence Front Party. Touting an anti-establishment platform, Jimmy Morales ran on the slogan, "neither corrupt, nor a thief," and voters responded. Morales, who had never held public office before, became president that October.
At the time of his election, Morales held a degree in business administration, a master's in media management, and was pursuing a PhD in security and defense studies. However, he was best known to the public as a comedian. For 15 years, he had starred with his brother Sammy in the comedy series Moralejas ("Morals"). The television show, which was heavy on slapstick, showed Morales and his brother in various roles, including bumbling cowboys Nito and Neto. In one eerily prophetic episode, Neto (played by Jimmy Morales) accidentally runs for president of Guatemala and wins.
After being elected - in large part because of his anti-corruption campaign - Morales, himself, and several family members faced accusations of fraud, money laundering, and other corruption charges. In 2017, his older brother Sammy and his eldest son José Manuel were charged with fraud by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Both men were acquitted by a Guatemalan court in August 2019. The CICIG also tried to have Morales impeached for alleged campaign finance irregularities, but the president survived a vote in Congress to strip him of immunity.
In February 2019, another member of Morales's family was involved in a scandal when his wife was accused of cashing several illicit checks given to the couple during the 2015 presidential campaign.
-
(#15) Harry S. Truman
- Dec. at 88 (1884-1972)
While serving in WWI, Truman met Edward "Eddie" Jacobson. The two men had such good success running the canteen at Camp Doniphan in Oklahoma that they decided to go into business together after the conflict ended. Their haberdashery, Truman & Jacobson, opened its doors on November 28, 1919, in Kansas City, Missouri.
The store sold mainly gentlemen's accessories (shirts, belts, neckties, etc.) but also some suits. Jacobson acted as buyer while Truman, who had sold his holdings in the family farm in order to provide most of the startup money for the haberdashery, was the accountant. Truman wrote one fellow veteran, "We are not handling any booze or candy or apples” but “our shirt line and the rest of it are as good as money can buy.”
Truman later claimed that the business made a profit of around $70,000 in 1920, and filed the articles of incorporation that would have made him the president of the store on February 23, 1921. However, the United States was in the midst of a post-WWI recession, and the fortunes of the store soon changed. Truman & Jacobson had amassed an inventory worth about $30,000, and was forced to stage the equivalent of a fire sale before closing its doors in September 1922. Jacobson went into bankruptcy; Truman, though heavily in debt, managed to avoid the same fate.
Despite the failure of their business, the two men remained friends. In 1923, Truman was elected as a judge in Jackson County, Missouri, which kickstarted his political career. Jacobson remained in the clothing business as a traveling salesman, and eventually opened another store in Kansas City. It was Jacobson who, in 1948, persuaded Truman to meet with Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the leader of the Zionist movement. The meeting helped lead to the US becoming the first country to grant diplomatic recognition to the new nation of Israel.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
People often think that the lives of world-famous national leaders are always full of flowers and applause. However, in many cases, the road to the success of the most influential people in history is not easy. They made great achievements through hard work. Not all world leaders were born in rich and powerful families, some of them had ordinary jobs like everyone else, some of which are unbelievable.
Do you believe that Harry Truman once sold ties and belts as a retail worker? The random tool lists 15 world leaders in history who had the most surprising jobs that no one would expect, you can never learn these stories from history books.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.