The 30 most successful Stanford alumni of all time

Lucas Jackson/ReutersThis year, Stanford University topped our lists as the the best and most selective college in the US. As such, it attracts an extremely talented and intelligent study body.

The northern California university has educated household names including Yahoo's Marissa Mayer, golf legend Tiger Woods, and US President Herbert Hoover.

Surprisingly, many of Stanford's most successful students never actually finished their degrees: 11 of the 30 people to make our list never crossed the podium to receive their diploma, but instead left the university to pursue already promising careers.