Curated Reading Lists
The Billionaire Bookshelf
What the world's richest people actually read. Plus 9 books by a guy from Indiana who isn't a billionaire yet but thinks he might have better taste. You be the judge.
58 books • 27 recommenders • Links are affiliate (details below)
58 books recommended by billionaires
$ Investing
5.0
The Intelligent Investor
by Benjamin Graham
“By far the best book on investing ever written.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.8
Business Adventures
by John Brooks
“Bill Gates and I both agree this is the best business book we've ever read.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.9
Poor Charlie's Almanack
by Charles T. Munger
“Charlie has the best 30-second mind in the world. This book captures his wisdom.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.7
The Outsiders
by William N. Thorndike
“An outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.8
Factfulness
by Hans Rosling
“One of the most important books I've ever read — an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.6
The Better Angels of Our Nature
by Steven Pinker
“The most inspiring book I've ever read. Pinker shows that the world is getting better.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.5
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
by Bill Gates
“I wrote this book because I think we need a plan to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.7
Sapiens
by Yuval Noah Harari
“Both Melinda and I read this book and it sparked many great dinner conversations.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.8
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
“It taught me that the tough thing is figuring out the right questions to ask. Once you do that, the rest is really easy.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.5
Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down
by J.E. Gordon
“It's really good if you want a primer on structural design.”View on Amazon
✍ Biography
4.7
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
“Franklin was an entrepreneur. He was basically an entrepreneur in many ways, starting from nothing.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.9
The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The heroes of the books I read always felt a duty to save the world.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.6
The Remains of the Day
by Kazuo Ishiguro
“If you read The Remains of the Day, which is one of my favorite books, you can't help but come away with a renewed determination to live your life to its fullest.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.5
Built to Last
by Jim Collins
“This book helped shape my thinking about building Amazon as a long-term company.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.7
The Innovator's Dilemma
by Clayton M. Christensen
“A really fantastic book. It's deeply influenced my thinking about business strategy.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.5
Good to Great
by Jim Collins
“I had all my senior executives read it. The concept of the Flywheel is critical.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.6
Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
“This is one of my favorite books. It's a classic.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.3
The End of Power
by Moises Naim
“The book explores how power is shifting from large established entities to smaller nimble ones in every area of life.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.4
The Muqaddimah
by Ibn Khaldun
“It's a history of the world written by an intellectual in the 1300s. Really makes you appreciate how much progress we've made.”View on Amazon
★ Self-Help
4.7
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini
“Charlie Munger says: 'Cialdini has done more to illuminate the dark arts of persuasion than any other psychologist.'”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.6
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
“Charlie Munger recommends this as essential reading for understanding human behavior and evolutionary psychology.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.8
The Lessons of History
by Will & Ariel Durant
“A fantastic, short book. The Durants have distilled the key lessons of 5,000 years of history into 100 pages.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.5
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell
“Campbell's work on the hero's journey helped me understand the archetypal patterns that shape all of our lives.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.7
Principles
by Ray Dalio
“I believe that having principles that work is essential for getting what we want out of life.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.8
Zero to One
by Peter Thiel
“Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.5
The Sovereign Individual
by James Dale Davidson
“This book is remarkably prescient. Written in 1997, it predicted the rise of cryptocurrency and the digital economy.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.9
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
by Edwin Lefevre
“One of the best books ever written about the financial markets. I've read it multiple times.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.5
The Alchemy of Finance
by George Soros
“The theory of reflexivity is the cornerstone of my approach to markets.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.7
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
“In business, as in war, surprise is the key to victory.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.8
The Most Important Thing
by Howard Marks
“Second-level thinking is what separates the great investors from the average ones.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.6
Fooled by Randomness
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“Taleb brilliantly explains how much of what we attribute to skill is actually luck. Essential reading for investors.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.7
Antifragile
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors.”View on Amazon
✍ Biography
4.6
The Innovators
by Walter Isaacson
“Isaacson traces the complete history of the digital revolution. It shows how collaboration drives innovation.”View on Amazon
⊙ Science
4.5
The Rational Optimist
by Matt Ridley
“Ideas have sex. When minds meet, ideas combine and recombine in ways that drive progress. This book captures that beautifully.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.9
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
“I think this is our national novel. It changed how people think about race and justice in America.”View on Amazon
★ Self-Help
4.5
A New Earth
by Eckhart Tolle
“This is one of the most important books I've ever selected for my book club. It can transform your consciousness.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.8
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
“The personal journal of a Roman emperor. It's the book I've gifted more than any other.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.6
Letters from a Stoic
by Seneca
“Seneca was the wealthiest person in Rome. His practical philosophy is still completely relevant today.”View on Amazon
★ Self-Help
4.7
The Obstacle Is the Way
by Ryan Holiday
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.8
$100M Offers
by Alex Hormozi
“Make people an offer so good they would feel stupid saying no.”View on Amazon
★ Self-Help
4.9
Can't Hurt Me
by David Goggins
“You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.8
The Big Short
by Michael Lewis
“Lewis captured the insanity of the subprime mortgage crisis. I lived it — and he got the details right.”View on Amazon
$ Investing
4.7
Security Analysis
by Benjamin Graham & David Dodd
“The bible of value investing. If you want to understand intrinsic value, this is where you start.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.4
The Art of Strategy
by Avinash K. Dixit
“Strategic thinking is about looking beyond the obvious. This book teaches you to think several moves ahead.”View on Amazon
✍ Biography
4.9
Shoe Dog
by Phil Knight
“I wrote this memoir about the early days of Nike because I believe the true story is worth telling. It was messy, risky, and deeply human.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.4
How Google Works
by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg
“The key lesson: attract the best smart creatives, then get out of their way.”View on Amazon
✴ Philosophy
4.5
Erta's Power
by Jin Yong (Louis Cha)
“Jin Yong's wuxia novels taught me everything about leadership, perseverance, and the code of chivalry that I brought to Alibaba.”View on Amazon
✍ Biography
4.6
Napoleon
by Andrew Roberts
“Napoleon was the ultimate disruptor. He rewrote the rules of warfare and governance.”View on Amazon
↑ Business
4.5
The Ride of a Lifetime
by Robert Iger
“Iger's story of transforming Disney through acquisitions and bold bets resonates with building NVIDIA.”View on Amazon
★ Self-HelpGlen's Pick
5.0
Act As If
by Glen Bradford
“I called it a New York Times Bestseller on page one. THIS IS BECAUSE I CAN. I wrote it after losing a million dollars. It's about running your life like a business.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Fanniegate
by Glen Bradford
“Book 1. The first sound they'll hear is their heads hitting the floor. I was 28 and furious.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Net Worth Sweep
by Glen Bradford
“Book 2. Government theft of $100B+ of cash money. I documented everything while it was happening.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Capital Buffer
by Glen Bradford
“Book 3. Any solution will be dependent upon the GSEs being capitalized. I was right.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
$3,542,600
by Glen Bradford
“Book 4. Par value. That's what my position was worth at par. I wrote a whole book about it because I'm that guy.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Adequately Capitalized
by Glen Bradford
“Book 5. My first second million. Lost it all in Chinese frauds, made it back, then went all in on Fannie.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Winners Circle
by Glen Bradford
“Book 6. Fanniegate last call. Spoiler: it wasn't actually the last call. There are two more books after this.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Fanniegate Hero
by Glen Bradford
“Book 7. Heading to the Lamberth trial. I documented the courtroom proceedings in real time. Nobody else did.”View on Amazon
$ InvestingGlen's Pick
5.0
Victory Lap
by Glen Bradford
“Book 8. Fanniegate recap and release. The endgame may finally be here. 10 years of writing about the same trade. Talk about conviction.”View on Amazon
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Disclosure: Links on this page go to Amazon and include an affiliate tag. If you buy something, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Book recommendations are sourced from publicly available interviews, annual letters, and book clubs. Attributions may be paraphrased or reflect secondhand reporting — we do our best but can't guarantee perfect accuracy. These attributions do not imply endorsement of this site by any individual listed. This page was compiled with AI assistance.
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