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The best 5 colleges to attend if you want to be a billionaire

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The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
Kelvin Ma | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Graduating from college is by no means a prerequisite for becoming a billionaire — in fact, 30% of today's billionaires don't have a bachelor's degree.

That being said, there are certain universities that have produced a striking number of today's record high 2,473 billionaires.

"Harvard University emerges as the most popular educational destination [for billionaires] by far, awarding twice as many degrees as runner-up Stanford," reports research firm Wealth-X in its 2015-2016 Billionaire Census.

Wealth-X provided CNBC with the top five universities that yield billionaires, along with the number of current billionaires who received degrees (bachelor's, master's, MBA, JD, MD or PhD) from each.

To give you an idea of how the average graduate from these universities fare, we also included the median earnings of grads 10 years after enrolling, based on data from the U.S. Department of Education.

While we can't promise billionaire status if you attend one of these schools, it can't hurt your odds.

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yiming Chen | Getty Images

Degrees awarded to today's billionaires: 31

Median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrolling: $91,600

Notable billionaire graduates include Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, and his brother , executive vice president of Koch Industries.

4. Columbia University

People walk on the Columbia University campus in New York City.
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Degrees awarded to today's billionaires: 43

Median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrolling: $72,900

Notable billionaire graduates include S. Robson Walton, chairman of Wal-Mart, and Warren Buffett, legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

3. University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania
Ann Hermes | The Christian Science Monitor | Getty Images

Degrees awarded to today's billionaires: 54

Median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrolling: $78,200

Notable billionaire graduates include Steve Cohen, founder of Point72 Asset Management and SAC Capital Advisors, and business magnate Donald Trump.

2. Stanford University

Stanford University campus
David Madison | Getty Images

Degrees awarded to today's billionaires: 67

Median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrolling: $80,900

Notable billionaire graduates include chairman and founder of Charles Schwab Charles R. Schwab, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

1. Harvard University

The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
Kelvin Ma | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Degrees awarded to today's billionaires: 134

Median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrolling: $87,200

Notable billionaire graduates include Michael Bloomberg, CEO of Bloomberg and former New York mayor, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.