Bill Gates to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg — A look at the hobbies tech billionaires enjoy

Tech billionaires such as Sundar Pichai, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk are often portrayed as stoic captains of industry, running multi-billion dollar empires and known for their colossal fortunes. But what do they do in their downtime after the boardroom lights dim and the stock market tickers fade into the background? 

From Bill Gates' love for reading to Elon Musk's indulgence in video games, like Elden Ring and Diablo VI, here's a peek at what these tech titans do to unwind.

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Hobbies of billionaires- Let's find out

• Microsoft's Bill Gates: The Microsoft founder is known for his love of reading a range of books and for travel. He is a collector of rare books and cars. He has bought a Leonardo da Vinci manuscript for $30.8 million and has a 20-car garage in Washington featuring luxury purchases such as a Porsche 911 supercar. As per reports, he is also an avid bridge player – a game taught to him by Warren Buffett. He has often also listed spending time with his family and children as a way to rewind and relax. Gates is also known for playing tennis. In 2017, he participated in a fund-raising match with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer as his doubles partner.
• Tesla's Elon Musk: The Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter chief is a known gamer. He most recently spoke at length about playing Elden Ring and Diablo VI. In a podcast with Lex Fridman, Musk shared that engaging in video games calms his mind, stating, “Killing the demons in a video game calms the demons in my mind.” Further, Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk reveals that the tech mogul enjoyed performing magic tricks and hypnosis as a child. Musk is also known for collecting memorabilia, such as the Lotus Esprit car from the James Bond film ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.

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• Google's Sunder Pichai: In 2017, Google CEO Sundar Pichai met the football team FC Barcelona, expressing his avid support for the club. He also met Lionel Messi and had a custom Barcelona jersey made for himself. He also loves cricket and was his high school cricket team's captain. In fact, a March 2023 report on him revealed that he wanted to play cricket professionally.
• Amazon's Jeff Bezos: Bezos counts aviation among his hobbies. He holds a commercial pilot’s license, which he often uses to fly his private jet. Other hobbies include horseback riding — a report says he once undertook a 50-mile ride with his father and brother. In 2013, Bezos, along with his family, spent nearly a month at sea recovering pieces of the engine of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.  In interviews, he also revealed a love for cave exploring, and he took a space visit aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft in 2021.
• Meta's Mark Zuckerberg: Mark Zuckerberg is known for following and participating in mixed martial arts (MMA) and for enjoying extreme sports. In fact, after Meta launched Twitter rival Threads, Zuckerberg invited Musk for a friendly MMA charity cage fight, which, unfortunately for watchers, did not go beyond online banter. Besides this, the Meta CEO also counts recreational aviation and guitar playing as hobbies. 

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• Apple's Tim Cook: Cook's hobbies mostly seem to be in the exercise corner, with reports listing rock climbing, cycling and hiking as his spare time activities. In a report, the Apple CEO said he likes visiting National Parks, “National parks are like this palate cleanser for the mind. For a moment, you feel so small. Your place in the world seems so small. It sets a great perspective.” Cook also told South China Morning Post he is an avid reader. 
• OpenAI's Sam Altman: According to a report, the ChatGPT maker's founder has a passion for racing cars and flying planes. Sam Altman once mentioned to two YC founders that he owns five cars, including two McLarens, and has a fondness for racing.