8 Successful People Who Are Laughing At Their Childhood Bullies

1. Elon Musk: Musk is closer to being a real life Iron Man than Robert Downey Jr. But as a child, he was severely bullied, and was once hospitalized when a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs, and then beat him until he blacked out. Now, Musk has a net worth of $13.3 billion and plans to colonize Mars by 2040.

2. The Duchess of Cambridge: If you bullied someone who later married into royalty, you probably need to reassess your own life. As a 13-year-old, the Duchess only lasted two terms at Downe House boarding school because fellow students tormented her for suffering from eczema and being "skinny and meek." She now supports anti-bullying charities with her husband, Prince William.

3. Michael Phelps: Phelps is now the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals. But as a child, he was bullied about his lisp and his big ears. Swimming helped Michael release energy and unleash frustrations. He told Yahoo Sports; "I kind of laugh at it now. I think it made me stronger going through that."

4. Tony Hawk: When Tony Hawk was in high school, being into skateboarding was the equivalent of being into ultimate Frisbee today. In an interview with The Talks, Hawk said; "[The bullying] gave me the fire to push it even further. I liked that it set me apart and I didn’t care what they thought."

5. Kate Winslet: Weighing 180 pounds when she was 15 years old, Kate Winslet had a miserable adolescence. Nicknamed 'Blubber' at school, she claims classmates went as far as to lock her in cupboards; "I suffered from 'No one will ever fancy me!' syndrome, well into my teens" she told the Daily Mail. Four years later, she was painted nude by Leonardo DiCaprio.

6. Elvis Presley: After his family moved, Elvis was transferred to Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee. George Klein, one of Elvis' only friends at school remembers how he was bullied for playing Old Shep to his class, which was later one of his best-loved hits. His iconic style "stuck out like a sore thumb" in a sea of jeans.

7. Jackie Chan: Jackie endured years of torment as a child at his Peking Opera School. The bullying inspired him to work harder at his martial arts, which in turn allowed him to stand up for others. "I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied. By standing up for him, I learned to stand up for myself” he told 3 Newz.

8. Eminem: Eminem is the bestselling hip-hop artist in the US. As an elementary school student in metropolitan Detroit, he was the target of bullying so severe that his mother sued the school board for failing to sufficiently protect her child. As a nine-year-old, he suffered a cerebral concussion, post-traumatic headaches, intermittent loss of vision and hearing.