Before Zuckerberg & Musk...

This man was America's weirdest billionaire:

• Refused to pay his grandson's kidnappers
• Loved his art collection more than his family
• Had 5 wives, 5 divorces, and died alone in his mansion

Here's the crazy but true story of J. Paul Getty: In 1957, Getty was the richest man in America.

His net worth? $60 billion in today's money.

But Getty didn't just 'have' money.

He was weird rich, here's what I mean:

The CEO who took acid and gave away his $3 BILLION company:

• Slept outside & worked in a shed
• Never wanted to be a businessman
• Killed his best-selling product on purpose

Yvon Chouinard broke rules for fun.

It's how he built Patagonia, the biggest climbing brand ever:
Chouinard is 19, dyslexic, and completely uninterested in a career.

While his friends studied for normal jobs, he lived in his car, he climbed rocks, and he learnt blacksmithing in his shed...

Just a teenage dirtbag - who would go on to pioneer a whole movement:

Elon's biggest rival in space isn't Bezos.

It's this college dropout:

• Built rockets in his garage
• Company now worth $20 billion
• Launches faster and cheaper than SpaceX

Here's how Peter Beck is quietly destroying Musk's monopoly:
Peter Beck was the kid your parents warned you about.

At 15, he turbocharged car engines in his garage.

By 17, he'd built water rockets that could break windows.

His career counselor told him his dreams were "too big."

But one teacher saw something different:

This CEO rejected a $25M buyout to save his dying company.

Instead, he hired 40 villagers from a coconut farm in India.

No resumes. No Ivy League. No CS degrees.

Today, his company is worth over $1 Billion.

Here’s his insane recruiting strategy that stunned Silicon Valley:
Sridhar Vembu had a problem.

His bootstrapped software company was competing against VC-funded giants spending $50,000+ per engineering hire.

He couldn't afford Stanford grads. He couldn't poach from Google.

But he noticed something the entire tech industry was missing:

This Italian playboy controlled 4% of his country's entire economy.

He built a $20 billion empire through Ferrari and Fiat.

But today, his dynasty is on the brink of collapse.

Here's the full story of the Agnellis and the most expensive family feud in business history:
In 1899, Giovanni Agnelli invested $400 to start a car company.

124 years later, his family controls Ferrari, Stellantis, and Juventus.

Their dynasty is now worth $5 billion.

But they call them the "Kennedys of Italy" for a darker reason...

Your phone is killing you while others make millions off scrolling.

This psychiatrist just went viral.

• Spent decades treating heroin junkies.
• Discovered your phone is literally cocaine.
• Exposed Big Tech's $1.4T dopamine scam.

Here's the truth behind your addiction:
Dr. Lembke runs Stanford's Dual Diagnosis Addiction Clinic.

For years, she treated patients addicted to cocaine, heroin, and prescription opioids.

Then around 2015, a new type of patient started showing up...

In 2013, Nike made their BIGGEST mistake in sports.

They humiliated Steph Curry so bad he walked away forever.

But instead of signing with Adidas or Puma...

A tiny brand stole him with ONE thing no one else could offer.

Here's the bizarre gamble that made him a billionaire:
Picture this:

You're Stephen Curry and you've just had your breakout season.

Leading Golden State to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years.

You walk into Nike headquarters expecting to feel valued...

But something unbelievable happens:

This AI band just hit 1 million Spotify listeners.

No real members, shows, or past.
Everything about them—music, photos, branding—is AI-generated.

But they are topping Spotify's Viral 50 charts in the UK, Sweden, & Norway. The band? Velvet Sundown.

They sound like a dreamy blend of indie pop and synth rock.

But here’s what’s wild:
Their bio, photos, and music are all AI-generated.

Yet they’re Spotify Verified—like any other “real” band.

It feels legit... until you start digging.

He didn’t start Microsoft.
He didn’t invent Windows.

But he scaled it to $3.5T—and held $130B in stock.

On the Acquired podcast only 2 weeks ago, Steve Ballmer finally revealed how he did it.

And what most founders still miss:🧵 Ballmer joined Microsoft late—and built its core:

- Enterprise muscle
- Windows dominance
- Developer obsession
- Office, NT, Azure roots

His regret? Losing the consumer game.
Great companies need both hands.

Drop one, leave markets open. Keep both? Build empires.

Jony Ive built the iPhone, iMac, iPod, iPad, Apple Watch…
But that is not his legacy.

In a rare chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, he reveals what's really behind his $2B+ net worth:

→ Building with soul
→ Leading with care
→ Designing like it’s a moral act

Here's why it matters to founders of today: 🧵 Ive’s biggest belief?

What we make reflects who we are.
It’s not just form. It’s values.

Your product tells the world:

What you care about
Who you serve
How much you respect them

That’s the real design system.

Google’s CEO just dropped the most important tech interview of 2025.

What’s behind the $2T empire?
AGI? AI replacing Search? Android XR? Robots?

Founders, here are 10 reveals from the Sundar x Lex Podcast you simply cannot ignore: 🧵 @sundarpichai @Google Sundar believes:

“AI is more profound than fire or electricity.”

It’s not ‘recency’ bias. AI is the first tech that can:

- Self-improve
- Build tools
- Conduct research
- Accelerate creation itself

This may be the last invention we’ll ever need to invent.

Tesla. SpaceX. Neuralink. X. xAI. The Boring Company.
And a net worth of $330B+

If you think Elon Musk is just “built different”
You’re right. Just not in the way you think.

His biographer Walter Isaacson shadowed him for a year. What he found is pure savage 🧵
Elon Musk doesn’t multitask.

He’s what Isaacson calls a “serial tasker”

That means: Total focus on one domain. Ruthless mental exclusion of everything else. Then a full switch to the next mission.

This is 'cognitive context isolation' at the highest level.

Zuckerberg is building something INSANE.

A $1.4 TRILLION AI machine that touches every part of your digital life.

No launch event. No press release.

Just Zuck, vibing on a couch, on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, casually outlining Meta’s masterplan 🧵 The most important AI podcast of 2024 wasn’t on Lex, MKBHD or a dev summit.

It was Theo Von asking Zuck dumb questions—and getting genius answers.

In 2 hours, Zuckerberg revealed how Meta is:

• Rebuilding itself around AI
• Going full-stack
• Betting the house on it

Codie Sanchez makes $4.1 million/month talking about Garlic Butter Startups.

But it's not just what she says—It's how she says it.

Her real secret?
Mastering the first 3 seconds.

I broke down her viral hook formula so you can master it too.

🧵 In 2025, we’re drowning in content—and attention spans are shorter than ever.

If you can't hook someone in the first 3 seconds, you’ve already lost.

Codie figured out how to do this with a 3-part formula:
- Context
- Scroll-stopper
- Contrarian twist

Here's how it works...

Apple wasn’t the first computer.
McDonald’s wasn’t the first burger.
Tesla wasn’t the first EV.

But they’re the first in your mind. Why?

Positioning.

If your brand isn’t the top choice, you’re already losing.
Here’s how to fix that: Every day, our brains are bombarded with so many ads.

These are brands screaming for attention—and getting ignored.

The solution? Positioning.

McDonald’s makes more money from real estate than burgers.

The fast-food giant owns some of the most valuable properties in the world.

This strategy, called “The Landlord Model,” generates billions annually.

Here’s how McDonald’s turned locations into its secret weapon:🧵 McDonald's generates $25 billion in annual revenue.

A whopping 40% comes from real estate rent.

While most people think it’s just a burger chain, McDonald’s is actually one of the largest commercial real estate owners in the world.

Rolex doesn’t sell watches—it sells time itself.

No flashy ads. No discount codes. Just quiet dominance.

From Wimbledon to the Oscars, Rolex owns the moments that matter.

Here’s how they turned cultural prestige into a $10B empire: Unlike most brands, Rolex doesn’t rely on flashy ads or catchy jingles.

Instead, they focus on presence, not promotion.

You won’t see Rolex commercials flooding your screen. But you will see their logo at the Olympics, in Formula 1, or on James Bond’s wrist.

Wanna go Viral?

The answer is in the Data.

Netflix gambled $100 million on Data-driven content.

Critics called it a reckless experiment until House of Cards changed everything.

Today they are a $300 billion empire

Here’s how Netflix started out with borrowed content.

Studios owned the rights; Netflix paid to stream.

But as competitors like Hulu entered the market, studios pulled their content to build their own platforms.

Netflix faced a shrinking library with no control over their future.

This is Heinz
They are:

-> No. 1 Ketchup brand in the US with a market share of 60%
-> 5th largest food company globally.
-> Widely popular for their creative campaigns

Here are 3 key marketing lessons we can learn from the Food Giant. 1/ Social Listening

Heinz pays close attention to online buzz and trends.

When they noticed customers mixing mayonnaise and ketchup in 2018, they released a poll and after over 500,000 votes, they launched the Mayochup.

It sold over 1 million bottles in just a month!

What if I told you Red Bull spent $30M on a stunt and earned $6B in media exposure?

That's how they redefined marketing.

Red Bull doesn't sell energy drinks. They sell adventure and the thrill of pushing limits.

And here's why this strategy works - every, single, time.🧵 While everyone else was touting product features, Red Bull was selling the feeling of adrenaline.

They positioned themselves as the drink for the daring, the adventurous, and those who refuse to be average. They sold energy, not just drinks.

This empty chair is the most important employee at Amazon.

At every meeting, one seat stays vacant—reserved for the customer's voice.

But its meaning runs deeper than you think.

Here's how this symbolic chair transformed Amazon into the most customer-obsessed company ever: 1. Making customer empathy real

Jeff Bezos is legendary for his customer obsession.

Amazon's success stems from one simple truth: every decision starts and ends with the customer.

True customer centricity starts with genuinely caring about your customer's experience.