Billionaires are often regarded as eccentric, highly-driven and tough to be with – especially if you are married to one.
Justine Musk, ex-wife of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has recently shed light on the personality of the super achievers. In her opinion, those who achieve great things are mostly “freaks and misfits”.
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Her response to a question posed to her on Quora, on how to be as successful as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or Sir Richard Branson? Her short answer was: one simply cannot.
Her long answer, however, was more insightful. Success, according to her, comes in two ways: normal success — this involves hard work, talent etc. — and extreme success — as in case of her ex-husband.
The normal variant of success is possible for all, but the extreme version of success is only accessible to those who are born with it. “They are dyslexic, they are autistic, they have ADD, they are square pegs in round holes, they piss people off, get into arguments, rock the boat.” They have an inherent need to set high aims and go after them, she explains. This is their way of coping with their eccentricity.
Justine Musk puts the popular notions perpetuated by the self-help industry on their head. If her assumption is right; extreme success is only reserved for those who are born with it.
Justine Musk paints a grim picture of being married to a super achiever. She draws heavily from her own experience with her ex Elon Musk.
But what about other big names — Len Blavatnik, Richest business man in Britain, Michael Moritz, wealthiest in Wals, Ernest Rady Founded American Assets, Irwin Jacobs co-founder of Qualcomm and more. All of them found their soul mates and stuck with them.
A closer look at the Forbes billionaires list would reveal a pattern. Contrary to popular belief, extremely successful people are also successful in wedlock.
There’s no telling what accounts for this surprising trend. One could only guess that if these extremely eccentric personalities come across someone who really suits them, they work hard to stick with him or her. Perhaps they are so consumed in their work, they hardly feel the inkling to start an affair. Or not spending time at all with one’s spouse, greatly reduced the chances of getting on each other’s nerves.
