Forbes(@Forbes):Johnny Cash was a child laborer picking cotton on a government resettlement colony in Arkansas before he became the "Man in Black." He leveraged his military service in Germany to master the guitar, eventually returning home to become the top recording artist in the country. Here's how he became one of the #Forbes250 greatest, historic self-made Americans: https://t.co/7zD0FBHCst Photo: Michael Ochs Archive via Getty Images

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Forbes@Forbes

2026.05.03 22:00

Johnny Cash was a child laborer picking cotton on a government resettlement colony in Arkansas before he became the "Man in Black." He leveraged his military service in Germany to master the guitar, eventually returning home to become the top recording artist in the country. Here's how he became one of the #Forbes250# greatest, historic self-made Americans: Photo: Michael Ochs Archive via Getty Images