9 of the most successful people share their reading habits | Business Insider​​​​​​​ (2024)

FAQs

What is Mark Cuban's reading habit? ›

Cuban said he reads for hours every day, and he attributes that habit to helping him succeed. All it takes is one little idea from something he reads to guide him toward his next opportunity, so Cuban views reading as time — and money — very well spent.

Bill Gates

The former Microsoft CEO has attested to reading 50 books a year, or roughly one book a week. Most of the books are non-fiction dealing with public health, disease, engineering, business, and science. Every now and then he'll breeze through a novel (and sometimes in one sitting late into the night).

A lifelong pursuit of knowledge clearly matters. But so does building the right relationships. Warren Buffett says the secret to his success is simple: "I just sit in my office and read all day."

He then went on to read the entire 14th edition, spending on average three hours per night. Biographer Ashlee Vance claims Elon Musk read the Encyclopædia Britannica twice.

Mark Cuban is a billionaire and the owner of Dallas Mavericks. He spends about 3 hours reading every day and he attributed his early career success in life to reading. He will read just about anything that has to do with the industry he is in. He wants to learn more about the industry and become great in it.

In an interview nine years ago, Cuban said, "To me, the definition of success is waking up in the morning with a smile on your face, knowing it's going to be a great day. I was happy and felt like I was successful when I was poor, living with six guys in a three-bedroom apartment, sleeping on the floor."

“You don't start getting old until you stop learning. Every book teaches me something new or helps me see things differently. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged me to read. Reading fuels a sense of curiosity about the world, which I think helped drive me forward in my career and in the work that I do now.”

Buffett spends 80% of his day reading

Supposedly, in the early days of Buffett's investment career, he would read 600-1000 pages in a single day. Nowadays, he still dedicates 80% of his day to reading. “Read 500 pages… every day.

Indeed, the Oracle of Omaha has said that he spends "five or six hours a day" reading books and newspapers. And while it may be difficult to set aside nearly a full work day's worth of hours to read, it recently got a little bit easier to consume information like Warren Buffett.

You know him as the founder of Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg is also an avid reader.

How many hours does Bill Gates read? ›

Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Jack Ma, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey – they are all successful in their respective careers, and they have one thing in common – all of them follow the 5-hour rule. This means allotting one hour per weekday for reading and learning (e.g. online courses).

Elon Musk used to read two books a day, according to his brother. He probably reads much less now since SpaceX and other projects take up most of his time.

"I get up probably at 7 or 6:30 a.m., just depending on the day," Cuban said. "I try to do everything by email — so then I'm in bed for an hour chilling, doing my emails, responding to anything that's urgent." "Then get up, get something to eat, go workout, and then come back and rinse and repeat," he continued.

Cuban received a BS in management from Indiana University in 1981. He resides in Dallas.

Read more: 5 habits of highly effective automotive sales managers. Cuban ends his day around 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM unless he has something to attend such as a Mavericks game or an event with his kids. He then watches TV shows of his choice, checks his email one more time, and goes to sleep around midnight.

According to Pew Research, the typical American reads about four books a year. Compare that to the reading habits of American billionaire Bill Gates. He doesn't simply outpace an average reader, he's on an entirely different level; he powers through an astounding 50 books each year. That's about one book per week.