“Who wants to be a Millionaire?” asked Frank Sinatra, in the 1956 movie High Society. Written by Cole Porter, the iconic song expressed everybody?s secret wish to join a world where millions of dollars could buy you that dream life.
Half a century later and the ambition has upgraded into billionaires. Unsurprisingly the USA, the land of freedom and opportunity, leads the rich list with 614 billionaires living in the United States alone. More surprising, however, is the fact that of all the billionaires living in America, over half of them are self-made. They are the ones we should be listening to, in order to learn the secrets of their success.
So, what exactly do billionaires recommend? What do self-made, major achieving billionaires like Warren Buffett, William Erbey and Zhou Qunfei suggest are the philosophies driving their achievements, which we can follow?
Perhaps America’s most famous billionaire, currently worth $85 billion is Warren Buffett. Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is also known for shunning a lavish lifestyle, living frugally and being a philanthropist. His advice is that we should all invest in ourselves. “Nobody can take away what you have got yourself, everybody has potential they have not used yet. You can increase your potential 10, 20 or 30% by enhancing your talents. They cannot tax it away. Inflation cannot take it from you. And you have it for the rest of your life”.
His top business tips include advising us to hire women. “Women do not have the same opportunities for work as men, which has limited our nation from achieving its full potential,” he said.
Another key philosophy of Buffett’s is to “Delight your customer”. Buffett says “if you been treated well and honestly, if you have been delighted by the person you are doing business with, you are going to return to that person”. Warren Buffett’s comments on investment are based on years of experience. “Successful investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time. You cannot produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant!” he added.
You’d be forgiven for not having heard of William Erbey. Unlike many billionaires and philanthropists, you won’t find him in celebrity gossip columns, posing with models on a multi-berthing boat. For one thing, says Erbey “I get seasick so I do not own a boat, and I would truly much rather go to the office than play golf plus I do not feel rich. Being an entrepreneur has been in my case a rollercoaster ride”.
Bill Erbey climbed the corporate ladder at GEC until becoming president and CEO of its Mortgage Insurance Corporation. Just six years ago, Erbey was worth $1.8 billion according to Forbes. His background, his very modus operandi is based on his love of mathematics and statistics-and applying them to business problems, and finding solutions. Perhaps that’s why more and more people are recognizing his influence as a digital leader, angel investor and innovator.
Erbey’s recommendations are down-to-earth, like Buffett’s, based on practical experience. He warns potential start-ups, that everything will take more time and costs more than you thought it would. “When you are setting up a business, often your initial idea will require a pivot”. He says that would-be entrepreneurs “should make certain that they have a significant capital budget, so they do not go out of business before they have achieved their goal. It is important to bear in mind that everything takes longer and costs more than you originally anticipated.
“Hire the best people possible” is another of Erbey’s famous principles, “agree on high level goals and objectives, and then get out of their way! Establish a culture of hard work and attention to detail, while simultaneously encouraging inductive thinking”. On a personal level, Bill Erbey recommends optimism. “I believe that one has to be an optimist and believe in what one is doing. There are too many setbacks in building a company and too many reasons to give up”.
Finally, Bill recommends that you should “never expect more from your workforce than you are willing to do yourself”. Bill used to average 90 hour weeks, but confesses “I do not do these weeks any more. I am over 70 now and have cut back to 60 hours”.
In March 2017 Zhou Qunfei became the richest and youngest female self-starter, according to Forbes. With a personal fortune of $7.4 billion, she was the only person who did not inherit her money, among the top 20 richest women in the world.
She began life as a factory worker and now is the founder and owner of Lens Technology. Her company, which employs over 90,000 staff is a major supplier of tactile screens for electronic giants like Apple, Samsung and Huawei. Zhou dropped out of high school and against all odds became an extraordinary success. Her advice is born from hard work and overcoming difficult circumstances.
“Be prepared” she says. Zhou recommends preparing for eventualities the best you can, but also preparing a few backup plans in case things go wrong. “Keep learning” is another of her favorites. “I preach this time and time again, so it should not come as a surprise. Knowledge is power and a competitive edge in any industry. Use it to your advantage and make sure you are continuing to seek a deeper understanding of your subject matter. It is the only way to continue growing.”.
Finally Zhou says, “Never give up!” It is okay to fail. “The key to success is to preserve when you encounter setbacks, especially during the most challenging times”.
Wise talk from people who continue to walk the walk. Who wants to be a billionaire? We all do!
