Ted Leonsis is a billionaire. If you are unfamiliar with this individual, he was recently profiled by Paul C. Brunson in the July 20th edition of USA Today. What I found fascinating about Brunson’s article was how practical Leonsis’ approach to success and networking was. After reading, I knew these insights would make the readers of this site better leaders.
While this is not an exhaustive list of how riches are gained (ex, inheritance, investments, speculation, real estate, etc…), the following are 10 Things Billionaires Do To Gain Their Wealth I gleaned from the article:
- Struggle Is Necessary For Strength – Only a handful on billionaires were born with a “silver spoon in their mouth”. Most came from average or even humble beginnings and worked very, very hard to gain their wealth. Leonsis came from a working class family.
- Billionaires Are Smart (Obviously) – Not only was Leonsis the first in his family to attend college, he graduated at the top of his Georgetown class.
- Billionaires Are Great Leaders – Glassdoor, a popular recruiting site, ranks Leonsis as one of our country’s top CEOs.
- Billionaires Are Diversified – Leonsis owns dozens of companies across industries like film, media, finance and athletics. Through his company Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), he owns the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, and Washington Mystics. In fact, MSE owns the Capital One Arena in which they play.
- Billionaires Are Early Adopters With Great Timing – Leonsis was a former executive at America Online and is considered one of the founding fathers of the internet.
- Billionaires Build Mutually Beneficial Relationships – Many of the following points will be sub-points of this one. Nothing has been as important to Leonsis’ corporate rise than building and leveraging important relationships.
- Billionaires Add Value To Others Before Extracting Value From Others – Leonsis warns against becoming a “living vampire.” Asking people for something before adding value to them is a major mistake.
- Billionaires Connect Where Their Passions Are – Leonsis makes it a practice to participate in projects he is passionate about and then connect with those who have similar interests. For instance…
- Billionaires Have Interests Outside Of Work – Leonsis’ love for music and charity led to a relationship with Jon Bon Jovi.
- Billionaires Follow Up Well – Leonsis makes it a practice to block out time and send large numbers of thank-you notes. This separates him from many in an entitled culture.
What is one thing you learned from Ted Leonsis which will make you a better leader?
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