- Billionaire CEOs like Tim Cook dinner and Satya Nadella are a part of a rising listing of ultra-rich leaders who didn’t create an organization or a product—however earned their wealth by means of their management. These “hired-hand billionaires” rose by some 60% within the final yr, in accordance with Forbes.
Lots of the world’s richest folks—together with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg—are recognized for the businesses they based and lead. For these billionaires, good enterprise concepts, fueled by market buzz, had been rewarded with a 10-figure payday.
Nevertheless, paving a path towards a excessive web value might have extra to do with who you already know—and the high-paying function they provide. Immediately, there are a report 48 billionaires who amassed their wealth largely by simply being very well-paid staff: a gaggle that Forbes coined as “hired-hand billionaires.” This quantity is up from simply 29 final yr, representing a 60% enhance—thanks partly to rising inventory costs and record-setting govt pay packages.
Among the many listing of non-founder billionaires are names now synonymous with the profitable firms they lead, together with Apple’s Tim Cook dinner, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. Although they weren’t start-up innovators, they present that enjoying your playing cards proper in enterprise can result in large profession and wage wins.
Rising CEO packages are growing the variety of billionaires
Regardless of some executives’ fears about being changed by AI, firms usually are not pulling again the compensation packages for his or her prime leaders. The median CEO compensation was $25.6 million in 2024—a 9.5% enhance from the earlier yr’s $23.7 million common, in accordance with govt intelligence firm Equilar.
Non-founders like Cook dinner and Nadella obtain substantial pay packages, with their annual compensation reaching over $70 million, and Cook dinner himself just lately receiving an 18% increase. Even lesser recognized CEOs—like Coherent’s James Robert Anderson and Starbucks’s Brian Niccol—each obtain record-breaking govt compensation packages of about $100 million.
The rising challenges of being chief govt—alongside rising share costs—are solely prone to increase govt pay packages, increasing the variety of non-founder billionaires.
Wish to turn out to be a billionaire? Begin constructing these connections
The trail to a high-paying job within the C-suite can’t be achieved in a single day—for the overwhelming majority of billionaires, it took years of onerous work earlier than they grew to become near being a part of the 1%. Nevertheless, the rise of non-founder billionaires could possibly be excellent news for these aspiring for wealth, however aren’t as offered on start-up tradition.
With the CEO function not essentially being a job you possibly can merely apply for on LinkedIn, it’s extra necessary than ever to construct significant connections within the enterprise world. In case your sights are set on an eight-figure compensation package deal, choosing the right folks could be among the best secrets and techniques in enterprise, in accordance with billionaire Warren Buffett.
“Figure out what your strengths are and then pick the right people and don’t be afraid of making mistakes,” he instructed CBS Information.
Buffett, who is understood for his relationship with the late Charlie Munger, is now set to go the baton to Greg Abel, who’s doubtless to quickly discover a spot on the listing of non-founder billionaires.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
