Jeff Bezos is worth $135 billion, making him the richest person on the planet — but even the world's richest founder has role models.
At a recent Forum on Leadership panel, the Amazon founder says that he looked up to many people growing up, such as his elementary school teachers, his parents and his grandfather, who was a "gigantic influence" in Bezos' life.
In the business world, there are three CEOs the Amazon founder most admires:
1. Warren Buffett
Like many other highly successful business people, Bezos' first pick was none other than billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett.
"In the business realm, I have been a Warren Buffett fan since my early twenties," says Bezos. "I read the things he writes."
Buffett has long been viewed as a font of wisdom, with people of all ages reaching out to seek his counsel, and he's been more than willing to share his knowledge. At a 2004 shareholder meeting, a then 14-year-old Justin Fong asked the investor if he could share some of his financial and life advice.
Buffett and his longtime partner Charlie Munger offered these three pearls: form good habits while you're young, don't get into debt and surround yourself with good people.
2. Jamie Dimon
Bezos' second CEO role model is Jamie Dimon, chairman of JPMorgan Chase.
"If I were a big shareholder in JPMorgan Chase, I would just show up every Monday morning with like pastries and coffee for Jamie," says the Amazon founder. "I think he's a terrific executive in a very complicated company."
Dimon cemented his reputation as a source of wisdom when he foresaw a housing bust in his March 2007 shareholder letter. His prediction came to fruition during the September 2008 financial crisis.
While Dimon's shareholder meetings aren't as much of an extravaganza as Buffett's, top business leaders tune in every year to hear his economic forecast, and even Buffett turns to the CEO for business knowledge and guidance.
3. Bob Iger
A quick glance at the Disney CEO's accomplishments can shed light on why he's Bezos' third pick: Bob Iger secured a $7.6 billion deal to buy Pixar in 2006, an idea that he pitched to Disney's board just two days into his tenure as CEO. He also spearheaded movie acquisitions like Lucasfilm and Marvel, with the latter recently releasing back-to-back box office hits.
Like Bezos, Iger uses technology and innovation to give his company a competitive advantage and he encourages risk-taking among his employees to foster creativity.
Iger's core business strategies clearly resonate with Bezos, who tells the Forum on Leadership panel, "I think he's a superb executive. I'd probably bring him pastries."
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