Tech CEO Austin McChord barely finished college—then donated $50 million to his alma mater

The list of the biggest philanthropists of 2017 is dominated by some of the most famous and powerful people in the world. Last year, moguls like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Dell gave away millions of dollars to charity.

Also on the list is Austin McChord. In 2017, the 32-year-old CEO of unicorn start-up Datto joined the list with a $50 million dollar gift to a college he barely graduated from.

They say that A students grow up to work for C students, but when McChord was a C student at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), he was not so confident it would work out that way.

In 2007, McChord had a 2.2 GPA and was still a few credits short of his bachelor's degree. "I basically never did any homework," he tells CNBC Make It. "As I was wrapping up my degree, I was very concerned that I would not be able to get a job because of my low GPA."

Instead of relying on his paltry list of academic achievements, McChord decided to test his entrepreneurial skills.