When one imagines becoming a Musk, Bezos, or Zuckerberg, the first thing that comes to mind is endless days filled with meetings, work, and travel. This image has fueled the belief that those at the top seldom stop to rest. However, the billionaires themselves vehemently deny this idea. From Jeff Bezos to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, the world's richest individuals have quite different approaches to sleep, productivity, and daily performance.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is multi-talented, with his day including meetings for Tesla and SpaceX while also frequently posting on X. The new trillionaire has said that he typically sleeps about six hours each night. In an interview with Joe Rogan in 2021, he explained that he had experimented with sleeping less but found that the approach backfired. The reduction in sleep negatively affected his overall output and performance. He shared that he generally goes to bed by 3 am and sleeps for approximately six hours, thus waking up at around 9 am.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos is one of the world's richest men, and most would believe he has to schedule sleep into his day. However, Bezos has long argued that enough rest is vital to making smart decisions. The Amazon founder said that he aims for eight hours of sleep daily. During a September 2018 conversation with Carlyle Group co-founder and Economic Club of Washington president David Rubenstein, Bezos explained why he values sleep so highly. He acknowledged that reducing his sleep from eight hours to four might technically create more waking hours in the day and would theoretically allow him to make around 133 decisions daily instead of 100. However, he added that he did not view the trade-off as worthwhile. For Bezos, the goal is to ensure that the hours he is awake are productive and effective.
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not only involved in company decisions but also in court hearings. As reported by Forbes, he still ensures that he does not stay up extremely late. Describing his mornings, he explained that he often wakes up to numerous emails requiring his attention. After responding to emails, he often incorporates exercise into his routine. The Meta chief has spoken about regularly practicing activities such as jiujitsu and mixed martial arts. He admitted that he tries to work out six or seven days a week. That commitment to physical fitness is matched by a strong focus on sleep. He specified that he gets around eight hours of sleep every night, calling the approach "very instrumented" and also measuring his sleep quality. To do that, he uses an Oura ring, a wearable device that monitors various health metrics. According to Zuckerberg, the device provides information about deep sleep and heart rate during the night, helping him better understand how well he is recovering.
Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang was recently named in the 'Forbes 250: America’s Most Successful Immigrants' list. The Nvidia CEO is known for his work ethic. However, he said that there's a difference between hard work and insane hard work. He shared that he goes to sleep by 9:30 pm and wakes up by 5 am. "I like my sleep and sleep is really important to me," he said. He added that work itself is relaxing for him. Along with it, he relaxes by hanging out with his family and friends. However, he added that he works seven days a week. “If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn’t be easy,” he said.
