Reading has consistently been identified as a common habit among many of the world’s most successful and wealthy individuals. Beyond mere entertainment or casual learning, certain books have transformed how these people think about business, investing, and life. The right book at the right time can spark innovations, reshape decision-making frameworks, and ultimately alter the trajectory of one’s career and fortune.
The following ten books have profoundly impacted specific wealthy individuals, giving us a glimpse into the mindsets that helped create extraordinary success. These transformative works might contain the insights you need for your journey to success.
1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Warren Buffett, often called the “Oracle of Omaha” and one of the most successful investors of all time credits this 1949 book as the cornerstone of his investment philosophy. The Intelligent Investor focuses on value investing – buying undervalued stocks of strong companies and holding them long-term. Buffett discovered this life-changing book by chance in a bookstore in Lincoln, Nebraska, and has since described it as “the best book about investing ever written.
Graham’s principles of methodical analysis, emotional control, and the concept of “margin of safety” became foundational to Buffett’s approach at Berkshire Hathaway. The book teaches investors to make decisions based on thorough research rather than market speculation or emotion – a principle that helped Buffett build his fortune of over $162 billion. Its enduring wisdom about controlling the psychological aspects of investing remains as relevant in today’s volatile markets as when it was first published.
2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Surprisingly, one of Jeff Bezos’s most influential books isn’t about business but a novel about regret and reflection. This Booker Prize-winning novel tells the story of an English butler who regrets his life choices. Bezos has repeatedly cited this book as profoundly impacting his thinking and decision-making process.
“You can’t help but come away and think, I just spent 10 hours living an alternate life, and I learned something about life and regret,” Bezos said about the novel. The book directly influenced his “regret minimization framework” when deciding whether to leave his stable, high-paying job to start Amazon.
Bezos imagined himself looking back on his life at age 80, knowing he would regret not taking a chance on the early internet boom more than he would regret trying and failing. Inspired by the novel’s themes, this mental model gave him the courage to launch what would become one of the world’s most valuable companies.
3. The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
Oprah Winfrey discovered this spiritual book early in her career in 1989 and called it the foundation of her business philosophy. Before reading it, Winfrey described herself as “the kind of woman who wanted to do everything people wanted me to do.” The book’s central concept about intention—that every action, thought, and feeling is motivated by a purpose that exists as one with its effect—transformed her approach to business and life.
The impact was so profound that Winfrey gathered her producers for a meeting and declared they would become “an intentional television show” focused on showing people the best in themselves.
This philosophy guided her show’s direction for decades, helping Winfrey build a television program and a media empire founded on values and positive impact. Her application of Zukav’s principles demonstrates how spiritual concepts can translate into effective business practices and extraordinary success.
4. Business Adventures by John Brooks
When Warren Buffett recommended this collection of Wall Street stories to Bill Gates, it became the Microsoft founder’s favorite business book. Though published in 1969, Gates has called it “the best business book I’ve ever read” and praised its timeless insights into corporate leadership and human nature in business.
Gates particularly values the book’s emphasis on the essential human factor in every business endeavor – that even with perfect products and plans, success ultimately depends on the right people implementing those plans.
The book’s detailed case studies of failures and successes at major companies like Xerox, Ford, and General Electric showed Gates that the fundamentals of business leadership haven’t changed despite technological advancements. This historical perspective has informed Gates’ approach to leadership at Microsoft and later in his philanthropic work at the Gates Foundation.
5. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Steve Jobs first read this spiritual autobiography as a teenager and continued to reread it annually throughout his life. The book impacted Jobs so much that he arranged for every attendee at his funeral to receive a copy as his final gift – a testament to its significance in his life philosophy.
Yogananda’s emphasis on intuition, Eastern philosophy, and spiritual consciousness resonated deeply with Jobs and influenced Apple’s aesthetic and operational philosophy. The connection between Jobs’ famous design principles – simplicity, focus, and beauty – can be traced to the spiritual concepts in this book.
Jobs’ ability to marry technological innovation with humanities and intuitive design thinking, which he credited partly to his spiritual studies, created the unique approach that made Apple revolutionary. The book shows how spiritual teachings can inform business innovation and creative leadership.
6. The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Published in 2007, this revolutionary book changed how an entire generation thinks about work, lifestyle design, and entrepreneurship. I know many millionaires who have said this book inspired them in many ways, from where they live to where they work.
The book details how Ferriss built an online business that allowed him to travel the world while working minimal hours through automation, outsourcing, and strategic focus. Countless entrepreneurs cite this book as inspiration for starting online businesses and embracing remote work long before it became mainstream.
The core principles – eliminating busy work, focusing on the vital few tasks that drive results, and designing a lifestyle around freedom rather than traditional work constraints – have inspired many wealthy individuals to rethink their approach to business and success.
Ferriss challenged conventional definitions of wealth, suggesting that freedom and time are more valuable than mere wealth accumulation – a philosophy that has resonated with many successful business founders.
7. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Mark Cuban, billionaire investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, claims this 1937 classic changed his life when he read it at age 15. Shark Tank investor Daymond John said, “I read it every two or three years to keep my drive going.”
Based on supposed interviews with successful people like Andrew Carnegie, the book outlines the psychological principles of success and wealth creation that have influenced generations of entrepreneurs.
The book’s emphasis on desire, faith, specialized knowledge, and persistence as keys to achievement directly shaped Cuban’s approach to business. Hill’s philosophy that thoughts become things and that one must maintain an unwavering belief in one’s goals has inspired countless successful people to persist through failures on their path to wealth.
Although written nearly a century ago, its psychological principles remain relevant to modern entrepreneurs and influence wealth creation strategies today.
8. Good to Great by Jim Collins
Jeff Bezos was so impressed by the concepts in this book that he hired Jim Collins to consult for Amazon in its early growth phase. The book’s research-based insights into what transforms merely good companies into exceptional ones provided Bezos with a framework for scaling Amazon beyond an online bookstore.
The “Flywheel” concept that Collins developed became central to Amazon’s growth strategy – the idea that many minor improvements and advantages compound to create unstoppable momentum. Bezos and his executives implemented this and other principles from the book to drive Amazon’s expansion into new markets and services.
The data-driven approach to leadership and organizational excellence influences how many successful entrepreneurs build and scale their companies.
9. Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Bill Gates has called this book one of the most important he’s ever read, praising how it changed his understanding of global progress and development. The book uses data visualization and statistics to challenge common misconceptions about the state of the world, showing how humanity has made remarkable progress that often goes unrecognized.
For Gates, the book provided “a new framework for how to think about the world,” particularly in understanding global inequality not as a simple divide between rich and poor countries but as a spectrum with multiple levels of development. This perspective shift directly influenced Gates’ approach to philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, helping to target resources more effectively based on data rather than outdated assumptions.
The book demonstrates how accurate information and perspective can dramatically improve decision-making in business and philanthropy.
10. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
This personal finance classic contrasts the mindsets about money that the author learned from his biological father (the “poor dad”) and his friend’s father (the “rich dad”). Its straightforward explanations of how wealthy people think differently about assets, liabilities, and cash flow have influenced countless entrepreneurs and investors. This was one of the pivotal books that got me on the path to becoming a millionaire and kept me on it until I achieved a seven-figure net worth.
The book’s key lessons – like “the rich don’t work for money” and “your home is not an asset” – challenge conventional financial wisdom and provide a fundamental shift in wealth-building perspective.
By focusing on acquiring income-producing assets rather than working for a salary, readers learn the mindset that separates the financially independent from those trapped in the “rat race.” This paradigm shift about the nature of assets and liabilities has been a gateway to financial education for many wealthy investors and business owners.
Conclusion
The common thread running through these influential books is their ability to fundamentally shift how their readers think about business, investing, and life. Whether through practical frameworks like Buffett’s value investing approach, philosophical constructs like Bezos’ regret minimization, or spiritual principles like Winfrey’s intentional living, these books provided the mental models that helped shape extraordinary success.
What’s particularly striking is how diverse these transformative works are – from novels and spiritual texts to data-driven research and investment guides. This suggests that wealth creation isn’t just about financial tactics but about developing a holistic worldview that enables better decision-making across all areas of life.
The right book at the right time can indeed change your financial trajectory. While reading these books alone won’t create wealth, applying their principles consistently might transform how you approach your career and financial decisions. Consider which of these books speaks to your current challenges or interests – it might just contain the insight you need for your next breakthrough.