What habits help billionaires build successful businesses?
Short answer: Richard points to curiosity, reading, and outworking and outlearning others. Gates said to build one successful product like Microsoft Office, then hire managing directors to build others. Jobs said to care about quality and every detail.
At a Family Office Club event opening, Richard C. Wilson shares lessons from studying billionaire business builders.
Richard on books by billionaires
Richard C. Wilson compares learning basketball from Michael Jordan with learning business from billionaire authors. He wants their mental models, even when the writing is rough. (at 10:40)
Richard on Warren Buffett's reading
Richard C. Wilson says the billionaires he has studied are curious learners and avid readers. He points to Warren Buffett reading four to seven hours a day. (at 13:54)
Richard on Bill Gates and Steve Jobs
Richard C. Wilson says Eben Pagan interviewed Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Gates said to get one successful product, such as Microsoft Office, then hire managing directors to build others. Jobs focused on quality and detail. Both acknowledged mistakes and reinvested in winners. (at 13:54)
Mark Cuban on outworking and outlearning
Richard C. Wilson paraphrases Mark Cuban's point as success coming from outworking and outlearning others. He says studying everything possible in your field can give you an edge. (at 15:14)
"he basically says it's not about the connections it's not about how much money you have it's all about your ability to outwork and out learn everybody else"
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Michael Lee-Chin: Find the person who is responsible. When a problem comes up, he asks who the agent was. He wants a specific person to call, not a department.
- Anu Aga: Check before you give. Study the work of an NGO, ask more questions, and visit it if you can. This leads to an informed decision.
- Tony Robbins: Think like an owner. His biggest turning point was moving from operator to owner. An operator tries to supervise everything and cannot scale.
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Frequently asked questions
What habits help billionaires build successful businesses?
Richard points to curiosity, reading, and outworking and outlearning others. Gates said to build one successful product like Microsoft Office, then hire managing directors to build others. Jobs said to care about quality and every detail.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.