Billionaires think differently in 15 ways, from backing one thing relentlessly and owning a smaller slice of a bigger pie to using other people’s money and refusing to quit. Luck, location and timing play an enormous part in the outcome. Yet after deconstructing billionaires for over a decade, the video says the overlap in how their brains work is striking: they are simply wired differently.
These are the 15 beliefs, grouped in seven parts and presented as the video’s own view of how they think, with a bonus question at the end.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The 15 beliefs at a glance
- 1-3. Superiority, the adults’ table and getting it right once (0:24)
- 4-5. Taking doubt personally and borrowing expertise (3:12)
- 6-7. The value of the pie and playing the orchestra (5:44)
- 8-9. Other people’s money and luck surface area (8:46)
- 10-11. Clear thinking and solving it forever (12:10)
- 12-13. Never quit and think in multiples (15:15)
- 14-15. Milestones that move and a life’s work (17:52)
1-3. Superiority, the adults’ table and getting it right once
Belief one is I deserve it because I know I am better than everyone else at this. The video says that across thousands of self-made billionaires and centa-millionaires there is a quiet superiority complex. They felt destined for it and saw it as a matter of time until reality caught up with their potential. Early on, people see them as delusional, then watch in awe as they bend reality. Most start by simply wanting to be rich and make a name, and as things progress they realise they have a shot at making it big. That delusional belief becomes fuel and, with each obstacle overcome, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Belief two is I want to sit at the adults’ table. All of them are hyper-competitive and want to be taken seriously. When you are poor, the adults’ table is where people have money. Later it is where businesses are valued at over 100 million dollars, then where billionaires with mega-yachts sit. There is always another table, which keeps them motivated. The mental breakthrough is to see the table and the people at it, and to realise they are not much smarter, only playing at a larger scale. So you level up.
Belief three is I will try again and again because I only need to get it right once. The video says not one person became a billionaire through diversification. They all focused on one thing exclusively until it was worth over a billion dollars, which is the opposite of not putting your eggs in one basket. If six businesses failed but the seventh creates generational wealth, it was enough.
They bet on one thing, and they only need to be right once.
4-5. Taking doubt personally and borrowing expertise
Belief four is they are still doubting me, so I will take it personally. The sit-at-the-table drive turns into an ongoing war. Anyone who questions their greatness is labelled an enemy: high school classmates, teachers, ex-partners, a father, other entrepreneurs, journalists and CEOs who once scoffed. The hosts call this petty but useful, because it keeps them engaged. Without a clear enemy they will invent one to feel cornered, and operate with a sense of urgency and danger. It is why the house needs more bathrooms than the other guy’s, or the yacht five feet longer.
Belief five is somebody has the answer and I just need to get them to help me. Every problem has a solution, and you can pay someone who has handled it before to fix it or advise. The hosts call this the main difference between millionaires and billionaires: you can reach a million alone, but multiple billions require crowdsourcing expertise, especially if you want to get there fast. Big CEOs surround themselves with advisers and business coaches, and they pay a great deal for them. A trainer can get you into movie shape in under six months and a tennis coach can lift your game almost at once. Billionaires have professional brains working on their problems.
Millionaires solve alone. Billionaires buy the best brains on the problem.
6-7. The value of the pie and playing the orchestra
Belief six is that priority number one is the value of the pie. Billionaires do not earn a billion dollars. They own something worth over a billion, and most become billionaires when they sell it or a portion of it, through an exit or an IPO. Millionaires focus on owning a big percentage of a small pie, which is why founders sometimes hold 100 percent. Billionaires accept a smaller share of a much larger pie and trade stock for resources that help them skyrocket.
The video’s example: as of 2024, Jeff Bezos owns only 9.03 percent of Amazon, which was worth 1.81 trillion dollars. That share translates to roughly 160 billion dollars, with other holdings outside Amazon not counted. The remaining 91 percent belongs to other people and companies, so he created about 1.65 trillion dollars of value for others.
Belief seven is my job is to play the orchestra, not the instruments. Done right, the complete work is worth more than the sum of its parts. The hosts say Steve Jobs was not a programmer, a hardware engineer or a designer, yet the experience people have with the product is his brainchild. The thinking is that you do not need to be the best executor, you need to hire the best one. Hard skills still help, because they let you speak the builder’s language and describe what you need. In the hosts’ view, Elon Musk is not the smartest engineer at SpaceX and Mark Zuckerberg is not the best programmer at Facebook, and that the materialised vision is what changes the world.
A smaller share of something huge beats all of something small.
8-9. Other people’s money and luck surface area
Belief eight is I will use other people’s money to make myself and them rich. Spend time around the very rich and it is about OPM. They raise money, borrow funds, sell stock and partner up. It is hard to grasp when you are broke that the trust and expertise to pull a deal together is worth more than money. Everyone has ideas, but without trust and expertise nobody invests. Hedge fund managers are among the richest people in the world and invest other people’s money for a fee out of the profits.
At the small end, a millionaire puts down a deposit, borrows the rest from a bank and lets renters pay the mortgage. At the high end, the video says Elon Musk used little of his own money to take over Twitter for 44 billion dollars, using Tesla stock as collateral, outside investors and company debt, with the bulk of the debt on Twitter’s balance sheet.
Belief nine is how can I stack the deck in my favour and increase my luck surface area. The video names four types of luck. Blind luck is where you were born or a lottery win, with no control. Luck from motion comes from working on something so much that you attract it, saying yes to every opportunity. Awareness luck is spotting what others miss, like a $5 flea-market watch a collector would pay $100,000 for. Luck from uniqueness comes when you are the only one who can deliver the outcome, as with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Terminator. Billionaires act to increase their surface area, as Google does when it attracts the best young minds and so raises the odds of a moonshot idea.
You cannot control blind luck, but you can build the other three.
10-11. Clear thinking and solving it forever
Belief ten is my success boils down to my ability to think clearly. Decision making is the most valuable tool you have. Millionaires are good at using resources, while billionaires are masters at deciding about those resources. One decision can alter your life, whether it is the school you attend and so your friends, habits and spouse. Good decisions stack and compound. They come from clear thinking, which comes from understanding the effects of your actions.
Every point above 50 percent in being right translates to extreme wealth over long time horizons, while the average person cannot decide what to eat today. The better you are at making the right calls, the fewer calls you need to make. In the hosts’ view, Warren Buffett makes 4 to 5 decisions per decade, and they are so good he can play bridge the rest of the time. Focus your thinking, and when you know you are right, go all in.
Belief eleven is how can I solve this now so I never have to deal with it again. The aim is to solve every problem for good, because the world generates problems endlessly and it is easy to get caught in the whirlwind without progress. Think of the people who complain about the same thing for five years and never act. The video’s wardrobe example: buy 100 grey t-shirts and 10 pairs of jeans, or have someone organise your outfits a month ahead. Billionaires use calendars to avoid freestyling the day, which leaves mental capacity for the future.
The fewer calls you need to make, the better each one has to be.
12-13. Never quit and think in multiples
Belief twelve is I only lose if I give up or become incapacitated. They believe success is a matter of time, so the only way to lose is to quit. A common Silicon Valley saying is that businesses fail, but founders succeed. Everything you go through builds you up, and each attempt has a higher chance of being a critical hit. If there is one secret to take from this list, the video says it is this one: keep going, adjust your approach in small ways and you will eventually get there.
Belief thirteen is what would 100x look like and how can I do it in six months. What sets them apart is getting exponentially more done in the same window. If something would take ten years, ask what would have to happen to do it in six months. Think-tanks run this sort of exercise. To 100x a business you do not necessarily need 100 times the customers. Ask how many customers it could handle and what would need to change so that it could.
Billionaires talk in multiples. Halving production time is a 2x gain, doubling order value per customer is another 2x, and halving acquisition cost while doubling ad spend is another 4x. That makes 16x, and with six more locations you reach 100x. This is the point where investors ask how much money you would need to get there in 6 to 12 months. Multiples stack, which is why thinking in them lets a business scale.
Ask what 100x would take, even if the answer feels unrealistic.
14-15. Milestones that move and a life’s work
Belief fourteen is if I can only get to this point, then I am done. Billionaires think in milestones. Everyone says they would be done at some number, but the number does not bind. The thrill of the game and the fear of everything going away do. People start by trying not to be poor, then try to be rich, then richer, then aim for another far-fetched objective. When you can hit everything you aim for, the idea of being done fades, because the universe giving you everything raises the question of what to ask for next. When the family asks, you recite the plan of being done.
Belief fifteen is actually, never mind, I will dedicate the rest of my life to this, so I might as well make it an incredible journey. According to the video, three things are inescapable: pain, uncertainty and constant work. It takes time for them to sink in, and then you work out how to manage their impact. If constant work is part of life anyway, you might as well work on something you care about, so you change how you work, why you work and who you work with. Some want to take humanity to Mars with reusable rockets, others want to cure death or build a technological god with AI. Once you find your thing, everything else falls into place.
If work is unavoidable, pick the work you care about.
Bonus: does your present lead to your desired future?
The bonus is a direct question. At your current pace, and assuming you do not get lucky because luck is not a strategy, will you reach the life you want? Is there a door, a tool or a part of your life with real potential to lead there? And if so, how much of your time, income and brain power goes into it?
According to the video, the main reason other people get there is that they make it their mission to put everything they have into it, with no day passing without moving a little closer. Its advice is to read the 15 beliefs again and begin to make them your own. The more you act, think and move like them, the faster you get to where they are.
FAQ
How do billionaires think differently from everyone else?
According to the video, they back one thing relentlessly, borrow expertise and other people’s money, aim to own a smaller share of a much bigger pie and think in multiples. They also treat quitting as the only way to lose.
Did any billionaire get rich through diversification?
The video says not one person became a billionaire through diversification. They all focused on one thing exclusively until it was worth over a billion dollars.
What is OPM in business?
OPM means other people’s money. The video says billionaires raise money, borrow funds, sell stock and partner up, and that the trust and expertise to pull a deal together is more valuable than money.
What are the four types of luck?
The video names blind luck, luck from motion, awareness luck and luck from uniqueness. Only blind luck is outside your control, and billionaires try to increase their luck surface area.
What does thinking in multiples mean?
It means stacking improvements that multiply, such as halving production time (2x), doubling order value (2x) and halving acquisition cost while doubling ad spend (4x). Together that is 16x, which is a step toward 100x.
Keep reading
- 15 Limiting Beliefs & How to Succeed beyond Them
- These 15 Self-Made Billionaires were Once Poor
- How Billionaires Foolproof Their Wealth
