The perseverance demonstrated by Sisyphus serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience that lies within Capricorn,
even in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles.
Success for most Capricorn men isn’t about money or status, it’s about recognition for their hard work. These 15 Capricorn men who made a mark on the world are aspirational, industrious, tough, driven, ambitious, and stronger than any obstacle that stood in the way of their success. Most of their lives have been marked by trying childhoods. Still, this only served to make them stronger and more determined to succeed in life.
Note: Please follow the links to see their birth charts.
John Denver: Legendary Singer and Composer
John Denver was born on December 31, 1943, at 1o:50 in Roswell, New Mexico. His Capricorn Sun and Mercury Rx in Capricorn. The Sun squares Neptune in Libra and sextiles his 10th house Pisces Moon. He has Gemini Rising with Mars Rx, Uranus Rx, and Saturn Rx in Gemini.
Born into a military family, Denver lived in many places growing up. He was an introvert who had a lonely childhood and never felt like he belonged. He began his musical career in the late 60s, singing with folk music groups, and recorded about 300 songs, most of which he composed. Many generations have grown up listening to John Denver’s songs. He sang about his joy in nature, love of music, and relationship trials.
Denver was an avid pilot, and at age 53 he died alone when his experimental plane crashed on October 12, 1997. When the governor of Colorado received news of Denver’s death, he ordered all state flags to be lowered to half-mast in his honor.
In 2007, John Denver’s classic, “Rocky Mountain High,” became one of Colorado’s two official state songs. In 2014, West Virginia did the same for “Take Me Home, Country Roads.“
John Denver Capricorn Quote
“Things go up and down. If you can survive the down, it will come back.”
Muhammad Ali: Legendary and Poetic Boxer
Mohammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, at 6:35 p.m. in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali’s Sun in Capricorn shines its light on a powerhouse birth chart.
Ali started boxing at twelve and won the Olympic Boxing Gold Medal at eighteen. He turned professional when he signed with the Louisville Sponsoring Group.
Much has been written about his social activism, poetry (Moon, Mercury, and Venus Aquarius stellium trine Jupter in Gemini), and personal integrity (Capricorn Sun trine its ruler, Saturn, in the 10th house; Capricorn Sun trine Neptune in Virgo.) He won many awards, including the Presidential Citizens Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Mohammad Ali Capricorn Quote
“I hated every minute of training, but I said don’t quit! Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a Champion.”
Jeff Bezos: Uber-Wealthy Entrepreneur
Capricorn Entrepreneur, founder of Amazon and the second wealthiest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, was born on January 12, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico (no birth time available).
Bezos has all the makings of a born capitalist (Capricorn Sun, Mercury, Mars and South Node) With a Sagittarius Moon, he’s also a natural-born optimist, gambler, and visionary.
Bezos’ parents divorced a year after he was born and he has never had contact with his biological father. As fate would have it, Jeff’s mother married a Cuban immigrant, Michael Bezos, who assumed the role of Jeff’s father.
Michael was clearly a positive role model for Jeff, who says his father “had an enormous amount of grit and determination, and he had incredibly kind, supportive people who guided him all along the way. His grit, determination, and optimism are inspiring.”
Jeff Bezos Capricorn Quote
“Work Hard, have fun, make history.”
Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo. Mississippi on January 8, 1935 at 4:35 AM. Elvis was born in a two-room house and had a stillborn twin brother. It’s said he turned to music to overcome his poor and lonely childhood.
Elvis has his Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Capricorn, opposing Pluto in Cancer. These oppositions gave Elvis a powerful and artistic presence and his gentle and ethereal Pisces Moon let him transmute his emotional energies into his music.
Elvis Presley Capricorn Quote
“Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine…”
LeBron James: Basketball Legend
LeBron James was born in Akron, Ohio on December 30, 1984 at 4:04 PM. Lebron has the Sun, Neptune and Jupiter in Capricorn. His Moon is in Aries and his Mars is conjunct his MC.
As ambitious as any Capricorn, James was also a dreamer (Neptune) and blessed with good luck (Jupiter). His early life was a struggle. When he was 9 years old, his single mother moved him in with a youth football coach, who introduced him to basketball, and the rest is history.
LeBron continuously strives for greatness. He was the overall first pick of the 2003 NBA draft, went on that same season to become Rookie of the Year, and is now considered one of the best players in the history of the NBA.
LeBron James Capricorn Quote
“Maybe pain was my motivation.”
Stephen Hawking: Legendary Theoretical Physicist
Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, United Kingdom at 10:08. His Capricorn Sun is part of a grand earth trine, which gave Hawking more faith, hope, optimism, inner strength, and security than a typical Capricorn.
Hawking, who was wheelchair-bound and couldn’t speak, became the most recognizable scientist of the modern age. His advanced understanding of space and time helped shape the course of physics. Hawking achieved extraordinary successes while coping with the severest physical disabilities.
Stephen Hawking Capricorn Quote
“Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.”
J. R. R. Tolkien: Father of Modern Literature
R. R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa at 11 PM (Rodden Rating C). Tolkien’s Capricorn Sun sextiles both Jupiter in Pisces and Mars in Scorpio, ruled by a 9th house Pluto in Gemini. His Mercury in Capricorn squares the Sun’s ruler, Saturn in Libra.
Tolkien’s father died when he was three. His mother died when he was 12, after which he became the ward of a Catholic priest. Tolkien overcame his difficult childhood to become an internationally acclaimed award-winning novelist, most famous for his epic “Lord of the Rings” series, which he wrote in bits and pieces for his children. Tolkien’s dark fantasy stories made him one of the most eminent and beloved writers ever.
J.R.R. Tolkien Capricorn Quote
“You have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”
Edgar Allan Poe: Poetic Author of Mystery and Macabre
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Mass. on January 19, 1809 at 1:oo AM LMT. He’s famous for his dark, mysterious poems and stories. Poe has a Capricorn sun and a Pisces stellium (Moon, Venus, Pluto, and Jupiter).
Poe became an orphan before he was three years old and had a lonely childhood. He suffered from alcoholism but still created a constant flow of highly lyrical poems. The finest example is “The Raven.”
Edgar Allan Poe Capricorn Quote
“It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”
Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta Georgia at 12:00 PM on January 15, 1929. He has a Capricorn Sun with the Moon and Venus in Pisces and Leo Rising.
Raised in the segregated south, Dr. King was an ambitious Capricorn whose strength and will to overcome racial inequities was imbued with a compassionate, peace-loving, non-violent, empathetic, and “I have a Dream” Pisces nature.
Martin Luther King Jr Capricorn Quote
“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”
Isaac Asimov: Prolific Sci-fi Writer
Born in Petrovichi, Russia at 3:35 PM (MSK) on January 2, 1920, Isaac Asimov was a biochemist, science columnist, anthropologist, and prolific and renowned sci-fi writer. His Birth chart shows a Capricorn Sun is opposite Pluto in Cancer, square Mars in Libra and trine Saturn in Virgo. The Sun/Pluto opposition speaks of a somewhat compulsive and obsessive personality.
With Mercury in Sagittarius trine Jupiter in Leo, Isaac Asimov produced a massive amount of literature in his lifetime. He published over 400 books and sold over 15 million hardcover or paperback books in the U.S. alone.
Asimov, an active member of Mensa, had an IQ so high that no test could measure it. His futuristic “Foundation” and “Galactic Empire” series are considered some of the best modern works in sci-fi literature.
Isaac Asimov Capricorn Quote
“The only thing about myself that I consider to be severe enough to warrant psychoanalytic treatment is my compulsion to write … That means that my idea of a pleasant time is to go up to my attic, sit at my electric typewriter (as I am doing right now), and bang away, watching the words take shape like magic before my eyes.”
LL Cool J: Ladies Love Cool James
LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) was born on January 14, 1968, in Bayshore New York at 8:46 PM. His Capricorn Sun is trine Pluto/Uranus in Virgo and his Capricorn Mercury is trine Jupiter in Virgo. His Mars in Pisces is opposite Jupiter in Virgo.
LL Cool J is a rapper hailed as hip hop’s first major superstar. Like most Capricorns, he had a difficult childhood. As a child, he saw his father shoot his mother and grandfather. Then, at 16, LL Cool J burst into the music scene in his baggy jeans, gold chains, and Kangol hat, a style he picked up from street hustlers.
As an actor, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, success after success followed. LL Cool J shed his street hustler image by appearing at benefits such as Farm Aid, recording with the Peace Choir, and launching his Cool School Video Program. LL Cool J is a two-time Grammy winner, and in 2014, he became Harvard University Artist of the Year.
LL Cool J Capricorn Quote
“You have to always continue to strive no matter how hard things get, no matter how troubled you feel. No matter how tough things get, no matter how many times you lose, you keep trying to win.”
Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father of the United States
Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 at 10:30 AM in Boston, Massachusetts. He has the Sun and Venus in Capricorn with Mercury in Aquarius.
Capricorns are often considered stoic but with Venus in Capricorn sextile his Pisces Moon and a 9th house Sagittarius Mars, Franklin had a cheerfulness, friendliness, and sense of adventure not traditionally expected from Capricorns. Additionally, with Mercury in Aquarius, he was a polymath with an open and inventive mind.
Franklin led a colorful life and left a scientific, political, and literary legacy. “Poor Richard’s Almanack” was his earliest successful literary endeavor. He printed and published it for over 25 years. Franklin’s almanac had advice about the influences of planetary aspects, leading many to believe he was also an astrologer.
Benjamin Franklin Capricorn Quote
“Lost Time is never found again.”
Johannes Kepler: Astronomer, Mathematician, and Astrologer
Born December 27, 1571, Johannes Kepler has the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Uranus in Capricorn. This Capricorn stellium indicates Kepler was a forward-thinking Capricorn who valued his thoughts and ideas.
Kepler was physically weak as a child and faced great emotional upheavals in his lifetime. He is best known for formulating the laws vital for moving the center of the universe from geocentric (Earth-centered) to heliocentric (Sun-centered). Other astronomers viewed Kepler’s laws with skepticism. However, several tested his theories after his death and agreed with his findings.
Johannes Kepler Capricorn Quote
“Geometry is the archetype of the beauty of the world.”
Rudyard Kipling: Pioneering Children’s Short Story Writer
Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, writer, poet, and short story novelist. He was born in Bombay, India on December 30, 1865, at 10:00 PM LMT. His Sun is conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn, and he has Mercury, Venus, and Mars in Sagittarius. Kipling was a Capricorn with a broad, unique perspective of the world that contributed to his success.
He was raised in India, which inspired much of his work. However, at age six, he was sent to England to be educated in the British system. Kipling found it challenging to adjust, and he suffered cruelty and neglect from his foster mother. Kipling overcame his trying youth to become the first English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
With three Sagittarian planets, he was also a vagabond and wayfarer who traveled the world. In 1889, he used his first royalties to travel through Burma, the Straits, Japan, the Pacific, and across America, past landmarks of his boyhood reading.
Rudyard Kipling Capricorn Quote
“If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!'”
Tiger Woods: Persevering Golf Phenom
Tiger Woods is probably the world’s most famous professional golfer. Tiger was born in Cypress California on December 30, 1975 at 10:50 PM. His Capricorn Sun is square Pluto in Libra and Jupiter in Aries (forming a Cardinal T-Square). His Cardinal T-square made him a highly ambitious and energetic man with the desire to take action and make things happen as fast as possible. Mercury is also in Capricorn, but his “saving grace” is likely his optimistic Sagittarius Moon ruled by Jupiter in Aries.
Tiger began his golfing career at age 3, under his father’s tough and relentless tutelage. He went on to win the PGA Championship 4 times. His wins are a testament to his Capricorn determination and mental fortitude.
In November 2009 Tiger had a tragic fall from grace. Still, he used his Capricorn grit to climb back to the top. Then in February 2021 his epic career seemed to have ended by a car crash when doctors reported he had a 50/50 chance of losing his leg. Obviously, golf enthusiasts were excited and amazed when Woods posted a video of swinging a golf club just 271 days after his wreck.
Note: Transiting Pluto entered Capricorn in late November of 2008 and stayed until March of 2023, when the Pluto first dipped into Aquarius. These were traumatic and transformative years for Tiger that would change his life forever, (T Pluto conjunct 4th house Sun, and square 1st house N Pluto in Libra and 7th house Jupiter in Aries)
Tiger Woods Capricorn Quote
“People don’t understand that when I grew up, I was never the most talented. I was never the biggest. I was never the fastest. I certainly was never the strongest. The only thing I had was my work ethic, and that’s been what has gotten me this far.”
Capricorn Men
Yes, success is the name of the game for strong and determined Capricorns. Sometimes, against all odds, the Capricorn men listed above have overcome obstacles to have success after success, becoming recognized geniuses in their chosen fields.