Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, tech magnate Elon Musk or Microsoft founder Bill Gates: Many people have the image of the pale male computer nerd in mind when they think of ‘Big Tech’ billionaires. A study from the US shows that this idea is not true. Based on the resumes and character traits of more than 2,000 founders of billion-dollar startups, it details what drives them, where they come from, what they want – and what unites many of them.
Of course, there is no ONE founder of Silicon Valley: the many technological wonders invented by innovative start-ups are driven by a wide variety of characters: sometimes choleric, as Tesla boss Elon Musk would be, sometimes perfectionist. But when you zoom out further, to the statistical level, patterns emerge. For example, a striking number of founders of billion-dollar startups were “underdogs” before they became so wealthy. Or that half of them only attended ten different universities. Krone+ outlines the DNA of Silicon Valley billionaires.
Source: Krone

I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.