It is this personality trait of the world’s richest tech billionaires that helps them achieve success at a very young age.
We know Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as three of the most influential individuals in the field of modern technology. They are the founders and owners of the technology giants: Apple, Tesla and Meta with huge assets of billions of dollars. The success of these three men even came very early when they were all millionaires by the age of 30 and then became the richest and most influential billionaires.
Steve Jobs was estimated to have a fortune of up to 250 million USD when he was only 25 years old after his initial success with Apple. At 30, Elon Musk sold Paypal and left with 180 million USD to start his space exploration company SpaceX and the famous electric car company Tesla. And Mark Zuckerberg was even more successful when at 23 he was the youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
They are brilliant minds, creative pioneers with unique contributions to the world, but Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg all have one thing in common: they possess harsh and even difficult personalities.
Common traits of billionaires: Harsh personality and always demanding at work
Steve Jobs, the co-founder and soul of Apple, is often described as a strong and sometimes domineering personality. He was never satisfied with products that were “just good,” but always pursued excellence. Jobs believed that Apple products should not only be technically perfect, but also provide a superior user experience.
He was known for checking every detail, from the design to the edges of a product and even the feel of it, to make sure everything was “right.” Jobs’s demanding and sometimes impossible demands became part of the legend of Apple’s intense but highly productive work ethic.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is known for his vision and for setting seemingly impossible goals. This is also the reason why he can succeed in fields that require innovation and breakthroughs such as technology and space.
He is never satisfied with the status quo and is always pushing the limits of himself and those he works with. His relentless drive to succeed has made Musk one of the most demanding leaders. He demands hard work, often, and is not afraid to make changes even when projects are going well, making the work environment at Tesla or SpaceX super stressful just to achieve better results.
As for Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook (now Meta), few people pay attention to this personality. Mark Zuckerberg is not known for being as harsh at work as Steve Jobs or Elon Musk.
Despite his calm exterior, Zuckerberg is known for his laser-like focus and relentless desire to improve and expand his products. He is always looking to take Facebook to new heights by pushing innovation and pushing the boundaries of the company. Zuckerberg may not be a fierce presence in person, but the pressure and competition he creates within the company speaks for itself.
Mark Zuckerberg is also known for his fast-paced, intense work culture. Meta’s CEO often sets high expectations for the company and is known for challenging his employees. However, he is also focused on building a company that has a big impact and drives innovation.
Is being picky the key to success?
The success of these three men cannot be separated from their harsh personalities. Jobs, Musk and Zuckerberg not only created products that changed the industry, but also changed management style and corporate culture. Besides, it must be affirmed that they are only strict to the extreme in their work, to create “top-notch” products.
In other matters such as relationships with friends and colleagues, they still maintain a fairly balanced level. Steve Jobs is a typical example when he was extremely strict but was loved and admired by everyone, including employees, partners and friends.
Another thing Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have in common is their personal leadership style.
However, their harsh management and high expectations are also the source of many stories of workplace stress and even employee burnout.
While many admire them for their great achievements, there are also many who believe that their working and management styles have created an unhealthy environment where pressure and fierce competition prevail on all fronts. However, no one can deny that these three tech billionaires have reshaped the modern world in their own way, and their harsh, demanding personalities have been the launching pad for those achievements.
