TOPLINE Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed he has Asperger’s syndrome during his opening monologue while hosting Saturday Night Live, but is far from the first billionaire businessman to divulge he is neurodivergent.
KEY FACTS
Fellow billionaire and investment management firm founder Bill Gross revealed in 2019 he too had been diagnosed with Asperger’s, telling Bloomberg he believes the condition makes him a better investor: “It allows you to focus on longer-term things without getting mixed up in the details,” Gross said.
Gross, estimated by Forbes to be worth about $1.5 billion, also said the diagnosis likely explains his trouble maintaining eye contact and his almost obsessive interest in collecting stamps.
Richard Branson, estimated by Forbes to have a $4.2 billion fortune, opened up about being dyslexic in a 2018 blog post, writing that as a child he was labeled “lazy and dumb” for struggling in school: “Dyslexia is just a different, creative way of thinking,” Branson said, adding he thinks the condition makes him more imaginative.
Charles Schwab, who founded the nation’s largest brokerage firm and has an estimated $11.4 billion fortune, has also had lifelong troubles reading and writing because of dyslexia.
Late Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, estimated by Forbes to be worth as much as $28 billion between 2005 and 2010, was dyslexic and even decided to give Ikea products their distinct Swedish names because his diagnosis made working with typical inventory numbers difficult for him.
By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff