Ben Cohen dropped out of college in the mid-1970s, hoping to ultimately pursue a career as a potter. Around the same time, Jerry Greenfield, his friend from their junior high school days on Long Island, graduated from Oberlin College, intending to go on to medical school. Neither of those plans worked out, so Cohen and Greenfield decided to learn how to make ice cream instead by enrolling in a correspondence course offered by Pennsylvania State University. For $5 USD -- they split the cost evenly -- they learned enough to open up a homemade ice cream shop in an abandoned gas station in Burlington, Vermont. And, if you've ever had a scoop of Chunky Monkey or Phish Food, you'll know that the rest is Ben & Jerry's history.
A $326 million cherry on top: