Ever wondered, why not everybody who wants to become a billionaire actually becomes one, on the contrary, only a few people cross that bridge. Majorly, it is because of their common rich habits and so far, only 2095 individuals have made it and become billionaires.
We at Wealth Drift, after a lot of research, bring you the top 50 common habits of these billionaires. Forming these habits in their life likewise, you can also think to become one someday.
As rightly quoted by Napoleon Hill (Author of the book Think and Grow Rich), “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Here are those top 50 habits of billionaires, so, read and inculcate them in your life –
1. They are voracious readers.
Knowledge has always been power, therefore almost every billionaire of the world read and actually read a lot. No wealthy person (billionaires) has ever avoided reading from their common habits list. This habit is essential in the billionaire’s morning routine.
Elon Musk (Man Behind SpaceX, Tesla & SolarCity) – “I read books” answered Elon Musk when he was once asked how he learned to build rockets.
Warren Buffet (Greatest Investor – Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway) – Spends 80% of his time on reading and spends almost 5 to 6 hours on reading at least 5 newspapers every single day.
Bill Gates (Microsoft Founder) – He said that he reads 50 books a year or about a book a week and also Bill Gate’s dad once said in a Forbes interview that his son is a bookworm.
2. They are not affected by “No”.
Successful people know rejections are part of life, there are more “No’s” than “Yes’s” and just because they don’t take rejections personally.
Billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma was rejected from every job he applied to after college, also even at KFC, 23 out of 24 applicants were hired except him.
3. Frugal rather extravagant.
There is a famous quote by Warren Buffett “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving”.
They know the science of making money and choose to lead a simple life. They know that wealthy buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle-class tend to buy luxuries first.
You can also read our article on investing tips by Investment king Warren Buffett. Click here to read
4. They practice discipline.
Discipline is what differentiates success from failures and when it comes to billionaire disciplining their life; In short, they are actually the most disciplined ones.
Andrew Mason (Founder of Groupon and Descript) says – “I often meet people who seem smarter than me yet are less capable because they don’t have the self-discipline and/or self-confidence to introspect on their ability to do what they think they’re going to do and find ways to iteratively improve. Amazingly, it’s as simple as that. It’s kind of a sore spot for me because I can’t understand why people don’t take it more seriously.”
5. They believe in “Karma of Give & Take”
Wealthy have long-realized the importance of giving if they want to receive.
As of the year 2020, there are more than 210 billionaires and billionaire couples have signed the Giving Pledge to donate a majority of their fortunes to charity. (All widely known billionaires such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, etc. have already given the Giving Pledge).
6. They meditate.
Meditation can lower stress levels and reduce anxiety and certainly even improve the immune system. This is that one of the habits, without which the billionaire’s morning routine is incomplete.
Ray Dalio (Founder of Hedge Fund – Bridgewater Associates) twitted “Transcendental Meditation has probably been the single most important reason for whatever success I’ve had,”
7. They unplug themselves from the outer world.
We all need time to unplug from our usual work routine emails, calls, social media & text messages to refill our batteries. Because it is just highly unhealthy and even not advisable to be plugged into the outer world 24*7.
That’s why successful individuals like Arianna Huffington (Founder of Huffington Post) adopted a brilliant strategy to help employees take stress-free vacations.
Arianna Huffington told Business Insider “At HuffPost we’ve always made it very clear that no one is expected to check work email and respond after hours, over the weekend, or while they’re on vacation,” Huffington told Business Insider.
8. They are big-time dream chasers.
Dreams are the fuel for the success we aspire to get in life. Have a look at this year’s Forbes 400 list, for example, Seven out of the 10 richest billionaires in the world, including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Bloomberg, are all Dreamers who got rich by starting their own company.
“This is the city of dreamers and time and again it’s the place where the greatest dream of all, the American dream, has been tested and has triumphed,” said Michael Bloomberg (Owner of Bloomberg LP).
9. They work hard.
We all very well know, that there is no shortcut to success. Hence, one has to go through various failures and rejections to taste the fruit of success.
Mark Cuban (Owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks) wrote in his blog that he went seven years without a vacation. He also wrote, “Do your homework and know your business better than anyone. Otherwise, someone who knows more and works harder will kick your ass.”
10. They keep themselves mentally & physically fit.
Billionaires to keep their brain functioning well and to be more productive at work do exercise daily. Exercising daily is part of every billionaire’s morning routine.
Richard Branson (owner of Virgin Group), said his physical activities, which include swimming, Bikram Yoga, rock climbing, running, and weight lifting, give him at least four additional hours of productivity each day.
11. Doing things differently is present in their genes.
One cannot achieve the desired results by repeating the same activity over and over again, therefore successful people just do things differently, from setting their goals to striving for consistency.
Not exactly a billionaire by worth but a billionaire mentality, Famous Scientist Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”
12. They sleep well.
Sleeping well is just another life hack to stay focused and happy. Sleep is a key to handling stress and problem-solving.
According to Dalai Lama (Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism), Sleep is the best meditation.
Billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma said at the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos. “If I don’t sleep well, the problem will still be there, and If I sleep, I have a better chance to fight it.”
13. They are Proactive.
“Be proactive”, Stephen R Covey starts his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” with this habit.
Stephen R Covey wrote, “Highly effective people tend to be proactive. They decide to find a better job or to have better health, rather than of responding to whatever curves life throws at them.”
14. Positive Thinker.
Positivity is contagious like a smile. An optimistic person is most likely to be successful in their life than a pessimistic person.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had to fire a “superstar” employee just because he was negative. An employee’s attitude and the culture they bring are much more important than their skills, Twitter and Square founder and CEO Jack Dorsey says.
15. They actually make huge mistakes.
No child can learn to walk before falling straight down to the floor. Likewise in life, one cannot become better at something before making mistakes.
Both poor & rich people make mistakes but only rich people learn from them.
“Sometimes when you innovate you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations,” Apple founder Steve Jobs said.
16. Open Minded.
Our mind is a parachute it only works when it is open. Opportunities are closer than you think, perceive them through open-mindedness.
Ray Dalio (Founder of Hedge Fund – Bridgewater Associates) says “Open-minded people seek to learn by asking questions; they realize how little they know in relation to what there is to know and recognize that they might be wrong; they are thrilled to be around people who know more than they do because it represents an opportunity to learn.”
17. Limited Friend Circle.
Successful people keep their friend circle limited because they know very well that they are an average of five people around them.
“Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” George Washington (US President – Year 1789-1797)
18. They don’t waste time.
Successful people know the true value of time and they know that they can’t afford to lose it. That’s why they don’t waste their precious time on trivial things such as watching TV etc.
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple)
19. They think & reflect.
In this running world, we are rarely giving thoughts to ourselves. Consequently, the majority of people are losing their thinking power of the brain, and are being led by another influential person.
Almost every billionaire has a habit of taking alone time to contemplate, whether it’s through meditation or during sports activities.
Arianna Huffington (Founder of Huffington Post) is a big promoter of taking time to yourself for reflection.
20. They create routines as well traditions.
It is said that do something for regular 21 days and it will come into your habitual routine. Wealthy uses this life hack to bring prosperity to their life.
Rafael Badziag, author of the book “The Billion Dollar Secret: 20 Principles of Billionaire Wealth and Success,” says “Almost all of the billionaires I interviewed have a morning routine they follow religiously,”
Richard Branson (Founder of Virgin Group) says that he wakes up at around 5 A.M. daily for exercise, reading & spending time with family.
21. Mental appearance over physical appearance.
It is said in physiognomy that the appearance is decided by inner thoughts, and the surrounding environment changes according to the mind in fact.
“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, and the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these,” says Millionaire Jac Vanek – Fashion Designer.
22. Don’t listen to the world.
Every person has something to say to you about what you do and the majority of times, it is a negative statement like “You can’t do”, “It’s very difficult”, “No one has ever done this”, “This happens only in the dream” etc. Habits like this are very difficult to imbibe however if implemented can work wonders for you.
That’s why Billionaire media executive and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey says “As long as other people’s opinions matter more than your own, you’re owned by them. You’re not even free.”
23. Rarely spends time on a social media platform for fun.
Social media is a big time waster if it is not productively used. According to a study, millionaires & billionaires typically read, exercise, and work rather than spending hours on social media.
Self-made multi-millionaire Grand Cardone says “Social media has helped me expand my business but it takes effort. Most people wonder how best to use it to gain ‘followers,’ ‘subscribers’ and ‘likes’.”
24. They listen first rather than speak.
While communicating, we usually read, write & respond, but often we forgot the listening part of communication.
Billionaire Stephen R. Covey, author of the book “7 habits of highly effective people” quotes “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
25. They are very inquisitive.
Successful people ask lots of questions, in fact, they actually ask better questions that’s why they get better answers.
Virgin Group Founder, Sir Richard Branson said, “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”
26. Start with the end in mind.
Just imagine your funeral right now and think about what would people say about you at that time “What kind of person he was?” and “What he has done in life and what values he added to society/world?” If your answer is not satisfying then change to something big.
Author of ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ Stephen R Covey says, “If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?”
27. Passive Income Builder.
By definition, passive income is an income that requires almost no effort to earn and maintain. We are so busy making Active Income that we rarely gave thoughts to Passive Income building. And, that’s what differentiates rich from poor.
Author of the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki says, “A wealthy person is simply someone who has learned how to make money when they’re not working.”
This is one of the top 50 common habits of billionaires, wealth drift team personally works on and recommends it.
28. They apply the “Law of Attraction”.
By using the “Law of Attraction”, we can attract into our lives anything we focus on. It uses the power of thoughts & emotions to attract similar energy into our life in reality.
“I believe you can speak things into existence,” says Billionaire American rapper Jay Z.
29. Utilize their free time.
Billionaires, unlike the majority, like spending time on productive things rather than wasting on trivial things. They read, exercise, and network for effective utilization of their free time.
Benjamin Franklin, Founding Fathers of the United States, said, “If you love life, don’t waste time, because time is what life is made of.”
30. Persistent in activity, 1% better from past.
Persistence is what requires you to do something 1% better daily from the past to achieve the life you desire.
Billionaire 45th U.S. President Donald Trump says “Sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure.”
31. Good Work-life balance.
Most billionaires spend a good amount of time with family to maintain a good work-life balance.
“Running a business (or many of them!) can be a stressful endeavor,” says Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire chairman of the Virgin Group. “Looking back over my 50 years as an entrepreneur one of the major keys to my success has been my ability to maintain a healthy balance between work and play.”
32. Win-Win Thinking.
Thinking where selfishness ends, also known as ‘No deal thinking’. Possessing a win-win attitude shows how courageous & empathic you are in the actual world. And when it comes to multi-billionaire they just carry this attitude with them always.
“Win-win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a higher way.” said American Educator Stephen R. Covey, author of ‘7 habits of highly effective people’.
33. Innovation looker.
At WealthDrift, we believe, every problem that exists in this world can be solved through innovation.
Co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs said, “Innovation disguises between a leader and a follower.”
34. Prefer work over a party.
Party like billionaires otherwise don’t do it and just work hard.
Founder of Inditex, the owner of Zara, Billionaire Amancio Ortega says, “I’ll keep working until the end.”
35. Wake up early.
Waking up early will not only give you much time for your daily activities but it will also give you an internal satisfaction of achieving something at starting of day. they wake up early and follow the billionaire morning routine.
Mukesh Ambani, Indian billionaire business magnate, and the chairman, managing director, and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) starts his day early by waking up early at 5 in his house Antilia with a sea view in Mumbai.
36. Enjoy outdoors.
Going outdoors, enjoying nature to release stress, and improving your focus are some of those habits you must have. In fact, Vitamin D is free out there, just travel.
Billionaire Daymond John, Founder of The Shark Group, spends his weekends in his upstate New York cabin where spends much of his time outside with activities like fishing.
37. To-do list and work as per priority.
If you want motivation and want to increase your work efficiency. A simple solution can be making a to-do list daily and prioritizing the task in it.
Man Behind Virgin Group, Richard Branson said, “Remember the to-do list but don’t forget the to-be list.”
38. Practice patience.
Patience is just another skill, practice it and it will reward you in return. Inculcating habits like this can help you in your day-to-day lives also.
“I think in business, you have to learn to be patient. Maybe I’m not very patient myself. But I think that I’ve learned the most is be able to wait for something and get it when it’s the right time.” – said Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
39. Goal-Oriented.
Being Goal Oriented is the first step to be in Flow State. “Flow state is a state where a person feels satisfaction & happiness to himself.”
Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company once said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
40. Believes in the power of synergy.
In simple meaning, synergy means “working together for achieving combined result”. Hence inculcate synergizing habits to get results quickly.
Billionaire author of ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ Stephen R Covey says “Synergy: The combined effect of individuals in collaboration that exceeds the sum of their individual effects.”
41. Risk Taker.
Risk takers are actual fortune makers. One should always be ready to take the risk in his/her life. Risk only troubles you when your knowledge is less.
Co-founder of Google, Larry Page said, “If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things.”
42. They think big.
You got the brain to think massive then why waste its power on small thinking.
45th U.S. President Donald Trump said, “I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.”
43. Plant seeds today for a better future.
Baby takes 9 months to come out just as a mango tree takes about 8 years to fully grow.
So, if you want results, just start by today as tomorrow never comes. Delay in taking action today will only cause a delay in your final success.
Billion Hearts Winner and a Freedom Fighter, Mahatma Gandhi said, “The future depends on what you do today.”
44. No excuses & No blaming.
Excuses & blaming will not take you anywhere in your life. In fact, you are the only accountable person for whatever happens to your life.
Use complaints for your own good and solve them at your end. Inspire others to do the same.
Founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma said, “Opportunities lie in the place where the complaints are.”
45. They Practice Gratitude.
Isn’t it good to focus only good things ignore the rest? Be thankful for your happenings and create abundance in life. This is one of those common habits of billionaires which you should imbibe irrespective of your financial goals.
American Host, Oprah Winfrey said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
46. They are fearless.
Fear can hunt you down fiercely in life, if not conquered. It is very small though but has a very large shadow to haunt you down. Therefore, be fearless to live the life you want.
Author of the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki said, “The primary difference between rich people and poor people is how they handle fear.”
You can also read the summary of Rich Dad Poor Dad to know good financial habits.
47. Idea implementer.
Thinking of an idea is easy, but the real task is its implementation. Most ideas die in the head of the thinker itself. Therefore, if you’ve got an idea which can solve problems of the world, just get on with it until it is done.
“When something has to be done, do it. In France, we are full of good ideas, but we rarely put them into practice.” Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
48. They are chameleons.
Time does not stay constant and so things are in life. To cope up with the fast-changing world, one has to become versatile to taste the fruit of success.
E-commerce giant Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos said, “If you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away.”
49. They surround themselves with successful people.
It is said that you are average of 5 people whom you daily sit with. The rich are always on the lookout for optimistic and goal-oriented individuals to stay in a positive-working zone.
At Wealth Drift, we say that your company of people defines your true worth.
Microsoft Co-Founder, Bill Gates says, “Surround yourself with people who challenge you, teach you, and push you to be your best self.”
50. Great Salesmen.
Selling skills have become more relevant today because the market is now full of competition. Truly you need to work on improving this skill to get along with this fast world.
Not exactly a billionaire but world best sales trainer, Grant Cardone says, “Everything in life is a sale and everything you want is a commission.”
Bonus habits of billionaires
51. Solution provider
The world will pay you only if you add value to it or provide solutions to existing problems.
The man behind SpaceX and Tesla Motors, Elon Musk says, “You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve.”
52. Investor
Every wealthy person is an investor. A rich person follows this simple rule which says money must be grown on itself even if you are asleep.
Charlie Munger, Vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett, says, “The big money is not in the buying or selling, but in the waiting.”
Warren Buffett says, “Never depend on single income, Make investment to create a second source.”
53. Leverage
Why waste your time & energy on something when it can be done by others. Wealthy uses leveraging always. They hire the best talent to do their work.
John D. Rockefeller (Oil industry business magnate) said, “I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.”
54. Finance Literate
Don’t rise when your money is about to end. Start early and become financially literate before, like billionaires.
Author of the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki said, “Academic qualifications are important and so is financial education.”
You can also read our article on “What is Financial Literacy and why is it important.”
55. Move Forward
Firstly, they simply do not quit chasing their big goals even after various setbacks. Secondly, they just learn from those setbacks and move forward.
Nike Co-founder, Phil Knight said, “Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”
We, at Wealth Drift, are always eager to listen from you, please do share your thoughts and learnings from this article on the top 50 habits of billionaires in the comment box below –
