Why should OP be qualified to answer the title question? Because my Mentor is a billionaire.

1. Mindset: As always, the mindset is the most important part. Most people will think/say: They will never answer my emails or return my calls. You are sabotaging yourself. I contacted 14 extremely succesful self-made Entrepreneurs worth 250Millions-3Billion. ALL OF THEM REPLIED (in most instances the secretary, but you'll get a reply!) (For example Marc Cuban. You can contact him via his app Cyberdust directly...) SELLING IS A GAME OF NUMBERS. Maybe your first request is granted, maybe you need to ask 14 guys (like me), maybe 25. But be assured: You'll get a meeting/phonecall if you ask enough different people.

2. Their Perception Being extremely successful surely has its upsides. But it also comes with some downsides. Namely: PEOPLE WANT YOUR MONEY! You asking for their expertise/time as a young entrepreneur is probably quite different from 99% of the other request they get since you don't ask for money but expertise.

3. Why should he agree???? I'm a nobody/just starting out/don't have a trackrecord You'll never know why they agree (unless you meet and ask them). It could be that the media said nasty things about him/her and he wants to feel good about himself. Maybe he want to get in touch with the younger generation and be on the pulse of time. Maybe he wants misses a little bit of the passion from the 'good old days' and subconsciously hopes to be re-ignited. Who cares as long as they agree to meet you...

4. How to approach them? I approached them via E-mail as I'm good in writing and in Person but for some reason phonecalls feel awkward to me. If you're more of a phone guy - by all means - call them. Quite a lot of times though, you'll only find email-adresses (and not phone numbers). In order to find contact details, use google (easier than you might think).

5. The Template My (translated) Template. ()=Notes for you guys

Dear Mr XYZ

I'm a young entrepreneur from (Cityname) and contact you because I'm looking for a successful, passionate and experienced entrepreneur who'd like to share his knowledge.

In the interview/documentary in (Newspaper/TV) I noticed (1-2 qualities you like about person - not too many, no brownnosing - in my case he had a 1bn exit by the Age of 36 I think and still kept on working/building businesses, which I admire. And in some cases he failed and was in the media. Takes balls to make that much money and still be willing to fail after such a huge success).

Would you consider training/mentoring a young, passionate entrepreneur?

I understand that you are extremely busy (remember, they are usually investors, on many board of directors, CEO's, etc of one or even multiple companies - so you are asking for the thing that is most valuable to them: Time.). To make it as effortless for you as possible, could meet you whenever and wherever in (Country/Region name - You show them that you understand their situation & you want it really bad and make sacrifices to meet them where and when they want). Whether a Skype-Call, Meeting or Dinner, I'm flexible and will do whatever works best for you.

Thank you and Kind Regards,

(Name)

PS: It is also important to notice that I'm NOT looking for an invenstor/financier in any way, shape or form (as noted above, this will seperate you from almost all the other requests).

6. After you contacted them If you don't get an answer, follow up on your inquiry. Be persistent without being pushy. If they turn you down (a lot will since they are extremely busy), just write sometime along the line of: Thank you so much (secretarys name) for bringing my request to Mr XYZ's attention. I fully understand the situation! If in the future there will be chance to meet Mr XYZ, please don't hesitate to contact me again. Kind Regards

7. The Meeting Maybe they agree to call you/dinner/meeting, whatever. Dress appropriately. But most importantly: COME PREPARED. Write down your questions beforehand. AND DON'T BROWN-NOSE THEM. They will probably be quite straightforward and frank. If they say something and you disagree, tell them. Or if you don't understand what they said, ask them to explain/repeat it. This shows that you are confident and makes them respect you. Make the time enjoyable for them, show your passion (but don't be a clown).

Hope it helps, share your questions & successstories below. IF YOU ASK ENOUGH OF THEM YOU WILL GET IT, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME

BTW: This approach should also work if you want a mentor in a different field. If you want to be a great engineer, ask the best engineer. If you want to be a world-class surgeon, ask the best surgeon. You get the idea

Edit 1 My country's population is roughly 8,3 Million people and 132 of them are billionaires. Also, the farthes point away in my country is only a 3.5 hour drive.