The real people, lives and work habits of the world’s richest people are always the most curious things to the public.

The lives and work habits of billionaires fascinate those who aspire to understand their success. Most books, podcasts and countless articles emphasize the eccentricities and “different” life rules of these wealthy CEOs. But what is the truth? Business Insider interviewed subordinates who worked with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Sara Blakely to give the public a new perspective on the real people of these billionaires.

Bill Gates easily knows when someone is lying

During 8 years of working directly with the founder of Microsoft, former vice president of human resources Chris Williams shared that he learned many things from Bill Gates, especially how to ask questions to expose who is boasting. . Gates always tries to use a series of questions to “pull the other person into a corner” until that person admits he or she lied or stays silent.​

Microsoft Corporation founder Bill Gates. Photo: BI

According to Chris Williams, the longer the conversation, the better Bill Gates’ ability to recognize lies. Then the other person will receive a look of disappointment and know that they should withdraw from the conversation with one of the richest men in the world. Williams also began to learn how to see people after working with Gates.

According to Williams’ description, the 67-year-old billionaire is always curious and wants to learn everything in extreme detail. The former Microsoft deputy director was also impressed with Gates’ ability to absorb “thousands of data and dozens of opinions to find the right solution” in a meeting. After that, this billionaire immediately determined what was important to do.

Sara Blakely is a “creative genius”

Sara Blakely is an American billionaire businesswoman and founder of the lingerie company Spanx. She was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.

Female billionaire Sara Blakely. Photo: Forbes

Blakely’s former assistants Lisa Magazine and Kenya Graham had “kind words” for this female billionaire. They worked with Blakely when the company had just over 10 employees, in the basement of a hotel, the office didn’t even have windows. Their task is to plan the businesswoman’s day, encourage her and help her be as presentable as possible every time she enters a meeting or during a speech.

Although they have a boss-employee relationship, Magazine describes Blakely as friendly and approachable like a “girl next door” and also “one of the most creative geniuses I’ve ever met.”

Elon Musk may be funny but fires employees very quickly

During his early days on the job, former Tesla regional manager Carl Medlock attended a meeting in which employees disagreed with Musk’s opinions. Medlock never saw the employee again after that. “Musk is not someone who lets others go against his views. He will send you away very quickly,” Medlock shared.​

Elon Musk currently owns many large companies such as SpaceX, Tesla Motors, Twitter. Photo: Getty Images

“When Elon stands up at the end of the meeting and finalizes ‘the direction we are going,’ you better stand up and agree with that direction too,” said the former Tesla regional director.

According to Carl Medlock, Elon Musk is funny if you’re on his side and “for people who aren’t in the car industry.” However, Medlock has never seen his boss socialize or joke with employees. “He will talk if there is something to talk about but Musk never gossips with people. Even in meetings he doesn’t waste a moment and gets straight to the point,” Medlock added.

Jeff Bezos often holds meetings up to 4 hours long

Jeff Bezos, founder of multinational technology company Amazon. Photo: Getty Images

Colin Bryar, former Vice President of Amazon and Chief Human Resources Officer of Bezos, worked for 12 years with Jeff Bezos and learned many valuable experiences from this billionaire. These include being aware of the importance of understanding trends, having many effective initiatives to minimize risks and accepting that it is difficult to work harmoniously in a team.

Bezos often holds a weekly 4-hour meeting with subordinates who work directly with him instead of meeting individually with each person. All subordinates will participate regardless of whether the meeting content is directly related to their responsibilities or not. According to Bryar, the 59-year-old billionaire wants employees to understand each other’s duties to help them unite if the inevitable crisis occurs.​