What makes billionaires tick

What makes billionaires tick



By Jonathan Holburt

In the movie The Clearing, Robert Redford plays a one- percenter entrepreneur who is kidnapped and then killed for his money by a 99 percenter played by Willem Dafoe.

As the contented lives of Redford's character and his family are contrasted with the 'disappointed lives' of Dafoe, we see the divisions not just in wealth but in satisfaction between those who have and those who have not.

But Redford's character defends himself well: He worked hard for his success and didn't deserve the tragic end he was about to get.

The 2004 movie was ahead of its time - and is a lesson for these times. It was a harbinger of the 'Age of Resentment' that is now upon us.

However, billionaires - the top one percenters - didn't just get that way. They worked hard and followed certain principles to achieve success. In a world on the precipice of another economic downturn, it would be worth looking at what makes them tick.

Forbes magazine states that there are 1,210 billionaires, a quarter of them from the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations, worth an estimated US$4.5 trillion (S$5.8 trillion). The following are some principles they follow to build their character first and the wealth that followed.

The first is: Do what you love. While many non-billionaires follow this tip and don't become wealthy, it's clear that passion is key to becoming one. Mr Peter Buffett, 53, the billionaire son of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, 81, is a musician, not an investor like his father.

In China, his book, Life Is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path To Fulfilment, is a bestseller. During a recent tour there, he said: 'My father and I do, in fact, do the same thing for a living. We both do what we love.'

Which leads to the next principle: Age isn't a barrier. We know about the young wunderkinds who became billionaires and even transformed industries: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, to name a few.

But where this principle gets interesting is what the octogenarian and nonagenarian billionaires do. Car, gaming and movie industry investor Kirk Kerkorian, still working at 94, said: 'When you're a self-made man, you start very early in life. In my case, it was at nine years old when I started bringing income into the family. You get a drive that's a little different, maybe a little stronger, than somebody who inherited.'

Mr Rupert Murdoch, age 80, though weakened by the phone hacking scandal, still uses his News Corporation media empire for political power.

This leads to the next principle: The more you risk, the more you live. Mr Sheldon Adelson, 78, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, continues to roll the dice on big projects such as Marina Bay Sands. As he said: 'Why do I need succession planning? I'm very alert, I'm very vibrant. I have no intention to retire.'

Mr Richard Branson is trying to be first in space tourism, with Virgin Galactic. These men could retire on their laurels but refuse to do so. Life without risk isn't the kind of life they want to live.

And a life steeped in risk leads to the next principle: Failure is a stepping stone to success. Ms Meg Whitman, founder of e-Bay, may have failed in last year's California governor election, but she is now the head of the world's largest IT company, HP.

Mr Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom and Paramount, summed it up well: 'Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes it's built on catastrophe.' Getting it wrong now can lead to getting it right later. As long as you learn and evolve.

Which leads to the final life principle: Be unconventional. Fresh solutions don't necessarily emerge from conventional lives. Mr Denis O'Brien, Irish telecom billionaire, made 20 trips to Haiti after the earthquake to give US$35 million to charities there, determining personally how his money would be spent.

Nearly two-thirds of the staff at Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holdings are women who don't even wear the abaya at work. That's unconventional for Saudi Arabia. Perhaps money gives you the power to be you. Or maybe it's you being you which provides the character foundation for being a one percenter.

The five principles are by no means comprehensive. Mr Warren Buffett said: 'You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.'

Following that wisdom could give many 99 percenters not only the financial security they crave, but also a life rich in all ways. Learning what makes one percenters tick might also provide a greater appreciation for their contribution to society. In that way, the tragedy