These are the 25 books that Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates think you should read to get smarter about business and leadership

Sarah JacksonJan 17, 2022, 19:07 IST

Susan Walsh/AP; Joshua Roberts/Reuters; Axel Schmidt/Getty Images

Many business leaders credit books for giving them the knowledge that helped make them successful.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates have recommended many books over the years, from biographies to leadership guides to sci-fi novels.

You learn by doing, but you also learn a lot by reading.

Many influential business figures, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. say they learned some of their most important lessons from books.

The trio has recommended countless books over the years that they credit with strengthening their business acumen and teaching them about leadership.

Here are 25 books recommended by Bezos, Musk, and Gates to add to your reading list for 2022:

Some of Jeff Bezos' favorite books were instrumental to the creation of products and services like the Kindle and Amazon Web Services.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

"The Remains of the Day"

Vintage International/Amazon

"Sam Walton: Made in America"

Bantam Books/Amazon

"Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies"

HarperCollins Publishers/Amazon

"Creation: Life and How to Make It"

Amazon

"The Innovator's Dilemma"

Harvard Business Review Press

"The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement"

Amazon

"Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation"

Simon & Schuster/Amazon

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Random House

Elon Musk's must-reads include a number of sci-fi novels and books on artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEOPatrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

"Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future"

Amazon

"The Lord of the Rings"

Amazon

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Amazon

"Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"

Amazon

"Einstein: His Life and Universe"

Amazon

"Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies"

Amazon

"Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era"

Amazon

Bill Gates is known to make book recommendations quite often.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

"Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012"

Penguin

"A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety"

Amazon

"Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think"

Amazon

"Origin Story: A Big History of Everything"

Little, Brown and Company

"Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World"

Amazon

"The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History"

Amazon

"Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street"

Amazon

"The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age"

Amazon

"Making the Modern World: Materials & Dematerialization"

Amazon

"What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions"

Amazon

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These are the 25 books that Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates think you should read to get smarter about business and leadership

Some of Jeff Bezos' favorite books were instrumental to the creation of products and services like the Kindle and Amazon Web Services.

"The Remains of the Day"

"Sam Walton: Made in America"

"Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies"

"Creation: Life and How to Make It"

"The Innovator's Dilemma"

"The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement"

"Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation"

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Elon Musk's must-reads include a number of sci-fi novels and books on artificial intelligence.

"Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future"

"The Lord of the Rings"

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

"Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"

"Einstein: His Life and Universe"

"Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies"

"Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era"

Bill Gates is known to make book recommendations quite often.

"Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012"

"A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety"

"Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think"

"Origin Story: A Big History of Everything"

"Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World"

"The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History"

"Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street"

"The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age"

"Making the Modern World: Materials & Dematerialization"

"What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions"