How Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Three Other Incredibly Rich People Spend Their Free Time?
Ever wondered?
We mistakenly assume CEOs of famous companies are already rich, and that they don’t need to cudgel their brains for anything. Yes, in the blink of an eye, their worth increases by thousands of dollars.
But in reality, they work relentlessly to preserve their status and their company’s status in the Top lists. Contrary to the popular belief, a CEO’s life isn’t full of private jets, royal dining, and costly suits. Their job is full of responsibility and accountability.
Being a CEO is at least twice as hard as the next hardest position in a company.
– Auren Hoffman: CEO of SafeGraph
Yet, they’re still humans. Let’s remind the point again. Just like us, they too seek time to escape their work-related exhaustion, which their money can never buy.
Here I’ll tell you what the famous CEOs/Chairmen choose to do in their free times. Let’s see if we could get inspired.
Disclaimer: Only the rich can afford some of them. Do not try at home! Huh.
#1. Jeff Bezos
Position: CEO, Amazon 📦
Net worth: $190BJeff Bezos, the richest man on the planet, is so busy he assigns his job of breathing to Alexa.
Joke. Lame? No? Whatever.
However, when he finds free time, he watches his favourite show Star Trek. He’s proud to also have appeared in an alien role in one of the series. Did you know that?
And here comes the most expensive hobby you’ve ever seen.
Collecting NASA garbage!
Jeff Bezos is so fond of space and space-related things, he always dreamt of traveling to space since he was five years old. The dream paved way to his favourite hobby of collecting NASA debris from oceans.
Jeff Bezos recently announced his voluntary step back from his position as CEO on July 5 this year. And later he’s going on a space tour along with his brother, Mark.
“To see the Earth from space, it changes you. It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. It’s one Earth.”
– Jeff Bezos on Instagram.
#2. Elon Musk
Position: CEO, Tesla and SpaceX 🚀
Net worth: $151BElon Musk is one of the busiest men on the planet. How much busy?
He works 80-100 hours every week, in which he only attends important calls and mails at his companies. He skips breakfast and wolfs down lunch in five minutes in the midst of meetings.
How productive! Wait, I’m not sarcastic.
These all make Elon Musk a rare piece on this planet, except for his hobby. He plays video games at his free time. He says he only plays ‘Halo’ these days, though he’d been a savvy gamer before.
Did you know?
Elon Musk coded his own video game when he was 12. He sold it to a company for $500.
Elon Musk is so fond of reading biographies. He spares time everyday for that. If he’s more free, he throws parties to his friends and spends all night with them. He also bakes food for his children.
Can someone be more down to Mars? Certainly not!
#3. Mukesh Ambani
Position: Chairman & MD, Reliance ⛽
Net worth: $85BMukesh Ambani is the richest man in India. He had once been the 4th richest man in the world. The name ‘Ambani’ is so general in India that it’s used to refer to any rich man.
It’s a fact Indians go crazy over movies and their favourite superstars. And Ambani is no exception here. Though he’s busy attracting investments and buying start-ups, whenever he finds free time, he rushes into his home theatre and feasts his eyes on Hindi movies, or listens to old Hindi songs.
He may be in the richest, but he’s a pukka Indian.
He values relationships. He always makes plans to spend time with friends and family. He loves swimming, which he says would reduce his work stress. Or if he’s too free, he walks distances.
If he’s bored of all his regular hobbies, he goes on for a jungle safari.
Besides, he loves collecting cars. He owns a total of 168 cars that are parked inside his house ‘Antilia’ in Mumbai. Out of all these, 8 cars are highly luxurious. His 27-storeyed house has 6 storeys only dedicated to cars.
#4. Anand Mahindra
Position: Chairman, Mahindra Group 🚗
Net worth: $1.9BHowever busy he may be, Anand Mahindra enjoys and frequently posts funny memes on Twitter with his own descriptions.
Anand Mahindra helped many people in India who lost their money or family in the pandemic. And that gained much respect for him.
He’s an avid reader. At leisure, he would spend hours just absorbed in books.
As I see most billionaires read books in their free time, maybe it’s time I start reading books too!
He loves sailing and playing tennis. He developed a strong passion for photography and films. He studied a course on filmmaking while he was studying in the Harvard.
Whenever he spots an eye-candy scenery, he immediately takes his device out and captures it.
He’s kind of addicted to Blues music, and the interest motivated him to conduct the festival ‘Mahindra Blues’ in Mumbai in 2011, where renowned Blues musicians from all over the world participate.
Now it’s being conducted annually.
#5. Satya Nadella
Position: CEO, Microsoft 💻
Net worth: ~$420MHere’s the only salaried man in our list.
Let me tell you a hypothetical fact: Even if he loses all his money overnight, he’d still be a millionaire in a week!
He earns $42M every year.
Oh yeah! I feel proud to say he’s from my state Telangana in India. So in case I get a chance to meet him, I can speak with him in my mother tongue!
Satya Nadella laid his unique footprint in the corporate industry. He always encourages his employees and keeps their spirits high. The reviews by employees say he’s the best CEO in the US, perhaps in the world too.
Nadella loves poetry, Indian and American. At spare time, he Bings for poetry and savours it.
He’s a big fan of cricket, like most Indians. He says he’d forget the world while watching cricket, and that was since his childhood when he was a team member in his school cricket team.
“I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career.”
— Satya Nadella
The takeaway:
An article from HBR found that CEOs spend an average of 2.1 hours a day relaxing and pursuing their hobbies.
That means successful people don’t fill their life with hard work. Instead, they try to rejuvenate themselves which helps them work efficiently afterwards. So, lets try copying this from their lives.
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