The Billion Dollar Secret

by Rafael Badziag

  Also for Naveen Jain, “Business is about helping people.”

  Naveen wants to positively impact billions of people by solving the biggest problems of our world. For him the best business is philanthropic in nature, because it works to solve the great problems of humanity.

  Any business that can solve a freshwater problem, energy problem, the food problem, any of these problems is a trillion-dollar problem. That means there is a trillion-dollar opportunity somewhere, and some entrepreneurs will solve it. So for me, business and philanthropy go hand in hand, doing good and doing well.

  Billionaires employ social principles in their businesses and give their model of capitalism different names.

  Business is about helping people.

  — Naveen Jain #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  For Petter Stordalen, the ideal is sustainable capitalism.

  I want the capitalism which is thinking in the long perspective. Because we can’t save the world if we are not thinking long-term. I believe in climate change.

  I want to do something because one day, my kids will ask me, “So Papa, why didn’t you do anything?” Maybe I will say, “I had information. I see today I didn’t do enough, but I tried.” That’s my life. I always try. I will be a part of the change.

  Narayana Murthy calls his model compassionate capitalism.

  We demonstrated by our large stock option plan that it is possible to combine the best ideas of capitalism and socialism and create what I call Compassionate Capitalism.

  For him, “Business is about making this a more comfortable world.” Infosys gives jobs to 200,000 well-paid employees, and Narayana wants to create a million jobs for people all over the world.

  Frank Stronach is proud to have developed the Fair Enterprise system, which allowed him to create over 150,000 jobs in Magna.

  And these are well-paid jobs, and people can participate in wealth creation.

  Business is about making this a more comfortable world.

  — Narayana Murthy #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Kim Beom-Su set up a project called C Program, which he describes as venture philanthropy that invests in child-care education programs.

  We saw how children in the Korean education system lose all their creativity and autonomy and the like because of how the system is structured to test well in the college entrance exams. We realized that this was a big problem and that children need to play.

  Philanthropy should never be about giving money, it should be about solving a problem, says Naveen Jain.

  Social problems are a great playing field for business.

  Kim Beom-Su shared with me his thoughts on this.

  Ultimately, social problems are also problems to solve. When you hear about a problem, you set a hypothesis and then contemplate how to solve it. That’s why I argue that corporations are the most efficient organizations to solve problems. Especially with our company, I think we could help solve problems with technology, and so I want to try solving them with an entrepreneurial spirit.

  Role Models

  There are a number of role models in the field of philanthropy that billionaires follow.

  Bill Gates is probably the one most often named by my interviewees.

  Narayana Murthy explains why:

  We all admire Bill Gates, not just for his business leadership but also for what he did later—giving away so much of his money for fighting malaria, AIDS, and other diseases that afflict the poorer sections of our world. It is truly extraordinary. He is a great role model for all of us.

  There is an array of historic philanthropists that billionaires get inspiration from, among them:

  - Henry Ford, who built hospitals and schools for the workers.

  - John D. Rockefeller Sr., who, although very controversial, was one of the greatest philanthropists in history. He built schools for black people and two universities. His research institute developed many important vaccines.

  - J. P. Morgan, who gave away over 80% of his wealth for philanthropy.

  What is your attitude, dear reader? Are you grateful for what you have? Do you see abundance or scarcity around you? Do you help others or expect to be helped? How do you contribute to the people around you, to your society, to the world? Follow the example of billionaires and do good by paying it forward.

  - Drifters have a receiving attitude toward society.

  - Millionaires have the mindset of scarcity and sometimes give some of their hard-earned money to philanthropic organizations run by others.

  - Billionaires have the mindset of abundance; they are givers aware of the social responsibility business has; they build philanthropic organizations for the causes they care for.

  For more stories on this topic, go to:

  http://TheBillionDollarSecret.com/resources

  CHAPTER 20

  Pay the Price

  The price of success is much lower than the price of failure.

  —Thomas Watson, the early chairman and CEO of IBM

  Great results require great sacrifice.

  Building a billion-dollar company is connected with long years of toil, a huge investment of time and energy, sleepless nights, and sacrifices in your private life. It means working 24/7 for long periods of time at the expense of your leisure, your family, and relationships with your friends. It is a lifelong uphill climb with countless obstacles in ceaseless uncertainty and constant suspense due to the danger of stumbling and slipping down. It also means enduring harsh criticism of less ambitious or less successful people. If you want to be successful on this path, you must be willing to pay that price.

  You need to be able to sacrifice a big chunk of your life to reach that goal while having only a small chance of success.

  Manny Stul, the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, puts it in simple terms:

  I think it’s very, very important, if you want to succeed, you’ve got to have faith in what you’re doing, total commitment, and be aware that if you do succeed, you’ll pay a price. No question. Might be lack of time with your family, might be relationships, but there is a price to be paid to be very successful. I’m not talking about being just successful.

  He often repeats, “You can’t be half-pregnant with it.”

  Be aware that if you do succeed, you’ll pay a price.

  — Manny Stul #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Sacrifice

  A huge investment of time, energy, and effort means sacrifices in your private life. Are you willing to make this sacrifice?

  I asked Tim Draper about the most important qualities for a businessperson.

  A willingness to sacrifice for the good of the company and the customer and the opportunity.

  You can’t be half-pregnant with it.

  — Manny Stul #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  These great sacrifices are the reason why some billionaires discourage followers.

  I asked Mohed Altrad about wealth-building advice to young people.

  Don’t follow my path. It’s difficult, because the price you pay for it is 30 years’ work and maybe 14–15 hours a day. This is the price to pay.

  Also, Lirio Parisotto is cautionary.

  I don’t know if people need to go this way. Of course, the final result is worthwhile. But people need to understand what it takes: Before success, we have to work a lot.

  It is 30 years’ work and maybe 14–15 hours a day. This is the price to pay.

  — Mohed Altrad #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Your permanent absence is at the expense of your private and family life.

  I asked Lirio about his advice to somebody who wants to be as successful as him.

  I don’t give suggestions for anyone to become me because it’s very hard. I don’t know whether certain people are prepared to not have a vacation, to stay at work on the weekend, especially when you start the business. So I don’t know if people have this energy. Sometimes the price is so high. Especially with relationships with your friends, the relationships
with your family. Only very few people are prepared to do that. But with me, I was born in a poor family. I didn’t have another option, so what I wanted was to leave. I needed to find something better. Today, the more developed the country becomes, the more complacent people get.

  Before success, we have to work a lot.

  — Lirio Parisotto #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Especially the first decades in business are tough.

  Cho Tak Wong confessed to me:

  The first 20 years, I worked seven days a week. Every day it’s the same. No time for family. And I wasn’t working just during the day, but also every night until 8–9 p.m.

  On the way to billions, you don’t have time to enjoy life.

  Believe it or not, some billionaires are jealous of ordinary people for having leisure time. Contrary to the media image, they don’t indulge in lavish parties and endless vacations.

  Hüsnü Özyegin surprised me when he said that due to lack of time, he hadn’t experienced many of the great flavors of life that many regular people do.

  I see people around me who are basically traveling more and doing more enjoyable things. Like whoever I call during the New Year, they’re either in Phuket or some nice place or other while I’ll be working. [laughs] I blame myself for that. I’d love to go and see the fjords in Norway. I just got a very nice book from my friend, who was in Alaska traveling for three, four weeks, and he did a great book with pictures of fishing and doing all kinds of things. I’m jealous of them, but I guess I enjoy working too much.

  I asked Cai Dongqing what he would like to change about himself.

  More time for enjoying happiness. I would like to be more happy and joyful. Work time should be less. What I want to change is reaching a balance of life and work. Try my best to enjoy both life and work. I would like to have more time to enjoy life. Travel around.

  Frank Stronach also surprised me when I asked him what he wished he had known when he was 20. His answer was: “That you’re young only once.”

  For many billionaires, business consumes all their time, energy, and thoughts.

  Jack Cowin considers himself unable to have a hobby.

  If my wife was here, she’d say “You are a workaholic.” I have two boats; the reason I have two boats is because my wife said I didn’t have a hobby, so I had to have a hobby.

  Jack then bought two boats to distract him from business. It didn’t help.

  I’ve turned those two boats into little businesses. We charter them out. So I’ve probably got some areas that I can improve on. But I guess one of the areas I probably should pay more heed to than I do is the fact that you are getting older, and you cannot continue to do what you’re doing today forever. There is no immortality in life. Eventually you’re going to run out of life.

  Yes, it is a real danger. On the way to billions, you may run out of time to live your life. And in fact, most people do.

  Responsibility and Stress

  As a billionaire, you carry a huge burden of responsibility and stress. You are responsible for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of employees and their families. You can’t drop the towel or quit your job just because it has become too stressful or it doesn’t fulfill you anymore.

  Sergey Galitskiy points out that big money limits you in your private life and means a lot of stress.

  The more money you make, the more limitations you have to place on yourself, in everything. And many people don’t want to be slaves to such a large number of limitations. You can’t really have a family. You have a family, but you can’t spend as much time with the family as those people that are simply rich. You have to work harder, and you have to also understand that the amount of money you have is in direct proportion to the level of stress. And many people are not prepared to endure this stress starting with a certain level.

  The more money you make, the more limitations you have to place on yourself, in everything.

  — Sergey Galitskiy #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  It may surprise you, but some billionaires would have preferred to be an employee.

  I asked Cho Tak Wong what he would do if he had to start from zero again.

  If I were at the beginning, I may want to go first to get a good education and then to have a good skill so that I can become a professional business management member. And then I would do the job for the company, but I don’t need to do it myself because there is a lot of pressure, a lot of responsibilities. That way, as an employee, life can be much more comfortable. If I started from the beginning, I would not be an entrepreneur. I would like to be a professional, a manager.

  I couldn’t believe it and asked again if he would sacrifice all he has achieved just to have a more comfortable life.

  Yeah, I’d like to be a professional. Not too much risk. Less risk, as other people take risks.

  You can’t really have a family.

  — Sergey Galitskiy #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Some billionaires go even further. They wouldn’t have started their business at all if they had the opportunity to turn back the clock.

  Frank Hasenfratz told me:

  To start now, I probably wouldn’t. [laughs] Because I know what I went through and the mistakes I made. It would probably be a lot harder to start again now.

  The amount of money you have is in direct proportion to the level of stress.

  — Sergey Galitskiy #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Runner’s Solitude

  Hardly anybody understands the problems billionaires experience on their level and can help them with solutions. Billionaires often face disbelief, skepticism, even accusations. They suffer from “long-distance runner’s solitude.”

  Michał Sołowow described to me this peculiar solitude he suffers from:

  A majority of men like me suffer from “long-distance runner’s solitude.” You are in fact lonely, lonely in your life experiences. You are not able to share them with anyone. In other words, you suffer from a social misunderstanding and even a lack of acceptance for what you create. The surrounding environment always strongly oversimplifies your image and frowns upon you and looks from a perspective of “This is impossible, it must be about cheating because I could do it but didn’t achieve it.” That is the simplest viewpoint. And those attitudes that try to understand something do not have access to the knowledge.

  I have a very limited number of people with whom I am able to talk about my work. Generally those are people from the inside of the organization rather than outside. This is the kind of loneliness of a long-distance runner, isn’t it?

  Please imagine yourself in such a situation. You run in an ultra marathon, of course in order to win, at least trying to win, because that is the sense of competition at the highest level.… You are at the 110th kilometer on a desert and a journalist approaches you and asks: “How is your running going and what is your strategy for the later part of the run?,” while of course stopping you in that run. You are leading the race at that point. So what is your first thought? That is “What is this question about?” The second thought is that: “That chap knows nothing about ultra running, if he asks me about it in such a moment.…” He carries out his work, right? But in fact, he simply doesn’t have a clue on the matter, and you are not able to tell him what happened to your pulse, how many crises you had in the meantime which you had to overcome, how much it had cost you, what happens with your water management. And you feel all that. You have thousands of sensations, which you feel and you know. And you talk with a guy who happens to have 10 seconds of time just now to ask you and didn’t even bother to figure out what the score is, didn’t read anything wise about the processes taking place in the body during a run because he assumes that he will learn everything from you. He didn’t even carry out that minimum effort. And after such next, next, next event you run farther, you don’t stop … because there is nothing to talk about.

  For billionaires, there is nobody to call for help.

  Ron Sim sees himself as a
lone eagle.

  I’ve got no one to call. It’s the toughest thing in my life. I don’t even want to talk to my wife about my problems, because I only talk to my wife when I feel certain things are clear, easy for her to choose. My problems, I never tell her. Because you give her more problems, you give her more worry. I have enough worries. I don’t need another person to worry. So it’s true that it’s lonely at the top.

  It’s lonely at the top, but as you see for other reasons than most people think.

  As an employee, life can be much more comfortable.

  — Cho Tak Wong #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  If you want to be that successful in business, you need to be prepared and accept the “solitude of power.”

  Lirio Parisotto explained this concept to me.

  One of the things that is common for billionaires is the solitude of power. It’s difficult for normal people to understand.

  It’s difficult to discuss with people when you sometimes have investments of half a billion dollars, $1 billion, $100 million. No one advises you about that. You are alone. So, if you win, it’s OK. But if you lose, you can complain to yourself. Most of the things are impossible to talk about with others. Not because others are not competent or something, but it’s difficult for them to understand because they are not in this situation.

  And the other reason is everybody has his goal, his objective. So people want a house, want a car, and some money in the bank, or “I’d like to have $1 million,” another $10 million. And then they realize that I want more. So a lot of people ask me, “Why don’t you stop work? Why? You have enough.” I tell these guys, if I stop work I may die, because then I don’t have a passion anymore. I need a passion. I need to do something I like. Passion, involvement, and feeling you are useful for society.

  You also have some risks because if you do something wrong in a petrochemical company and you have an environment problem, you go to jail. But the passion is stronger than these kinds of problems.