Bill Gates Recommended Books

Warren Buffett's favorite book about business.

Patrick Collison labeled this book "substantially above average."

"Tells the stories of 12 notable companies and how they navigated the trials and tribulations of corporate life in America back in the day."- Michael Dell

"An engrossing read, a fresh perspective on the power of an education, and it’s also a testament to the way grit and resilience can shape our lives." - Michelle Obama

"A remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho." - Barack Obama

Most Recommended Books reached out to Kathryn Minshew directly.

"Phenomenal." - Melinda Gates

Shauna Niequist recommended this book on Twitter.

"My personal favorite book of 2018." - Marty Cagan

"Success metric for my work [at Twitter]: these books disappear from my desk. (you should read it too)" - Jack Dorsey

"A great book." - Tim Ferriss

"[The author] took an extraordinary risk to his own reputation domestically in America in the medical profession by [releasing this book]." - Malcolm Gladwell

"A great book." - Charles Poliquin

Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.

"A great book." - Ramit Sethi

"Not only did I become convinced that getting high-quality sleep is the best protector and enhancer of health and cognition, but it is also the most underappreciated." - Bryan Johnson

Keith Rabois mentioned this book on Twitter.

"One of the best and most important books I've read [in 2019]." - Alexis Ohanian

"Best book on the subject [of sleep]." - Vinod Khosla

"[One of] my favorite science books in 2018." - Michael Mauboussin

"Highly recommended." - Jason Fried

Sam Harris picked this as the first book in his Book Club.

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

"It is the most optimistic book I’ve read in a long time." - Yuval Noah Harari

"We should be thrilled to be alive now." - A.J. Jacobs

"There are a few philosophical errors and poor arguments in [this] otherwise excellent book." - David Deutsch

"[One of the] books that helped me think better in 2018." - Michael Mauboussin

Keith Rabois mentioned this book on Twitter.

"Written for an audience of people who have historically been intimidated by math [...] and introduces things in a very simple way, and then works up to more complex concepts." - Nick Ganju

Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.

"It has changed my life and made me embarrass myself much less when meeting someone twice." - Chelsea Handler

Sahil Lavingia recommended this book on Notion.

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

"A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Barack Obama

"Unmasks a lot of misperceptions that people have about the state of the world." - Howard Marks

Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.

"Terrific book." - Michael Batnick

"Explores important topics around how energy works, how our production and use might evolve, and how this affects climate change." - Mark Zuckerberg

"It really puts in perspective how bizarre human beings are. It’s an awesome overview of our species." - Joe Rogan

"Best book I've read in [2015]." - Naval Ravikant

"Basically one of the things we've created here is we've imagined ideas that we all share." - Lex Fridman

"A big history narrative of human civilization." - Mark Zuckerberg

One of Peter Attia's answers to "any books you feel would make your reading list?"

"The brainy book I seem to be sharing or talking about the most lately." - Ashton Kutcher

"Encouraged the better side of ourselves." - Lex Fridman

"About how and why violence has steadily decreased throughout our history, and how we can continue this trend." - Mark Zuckerberg

"One of my favorite recent books." - Jack Kornfield

Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.

"When you finish [this book], which takes a long time, you conclude that the world is in a much, much better place than it has been in the past." - Eric Schmidt

"Traces the history of violence and how we are in the safest time ever." - A.J. Jacobs

"Discusses how to keep your brain healthy." - James Altucher

Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.

"[One of the] best books I read in 2017." - Anthony Pompliano

"The memoir of a successful neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with lung cancer." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy

"Best book on re-examining life and values." - Tim Cook

"One of the best books I've read in years." - Peter King

Shauna Niequist recommended this book on Twitter.

Patrick Collison labeled this book "substantially above average."

"Answers why US chocolate tastes like ground-up newspaper to me." - John Collison

"A great book." - Joe Rogan

"[The] last chapter is around meditation." - Jack Dorsey

"Wide-ranging, speculative look at the world today and where it is going -- fascinating big think." - Fareed Zakaria

"An important examination into today’s most pressing political, technological, social, and existential issues as we move into the unchartered territory of the future." - Vinod Khosla

"I think this is one of the best books I've ever read." - Warren Buffett

"Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she’s met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention." - Barack Obama

"An urgent call to courage. It changed how I think about myself, my family, my work, and what’s possible in the world." - Brené Brown

"Such a valuable contribution to a topic that couldn't be more important to society today." - Satya Nadella

Mentioned on "The Knowledge Project" podcast.

"Whatever change we’ve been able to achieve is because the cultural meme we picked was inspired by [this book]." - Satya Nadella

Tony Robbins mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

Josh Waitzkin recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.

"One of those ideas that is obvious only once you know it." - Ev Williams

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.

"I always recommend [this book] as my top business book." - Naval Ravikant

"Tremendous." - Marc Andreessen

"The ever-popular book about my partner." - Warren Buffett

Patrick Collison labeled this book "particularly great."

Tim Ferriss mentioned this book on Twitter.

"A great book." - Drew Houston

Part of "Jeff's Reading List."

"I really like [this book]." - Edward Norton

"Great; it’s fine." - Nick Kokonas

James Altucher mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

"Marvelous." - Art De Vany

On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.

"The most brilliant and enlightening book I've read in years." - Naval Ravikant

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

"Argues [that] economic progress is the greater force [that] is pushing society forward." - Mark Zuckerberg

"Sparkling explanation of how the economy evolves, producing the glorious cornucopia of goods and services available all around us. How to feel good about the future even in dark times." - Marc Andreessen

"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's. This is my favorite one.]" - Nick Szabo

"It argues compellingly that everything is not only going to be OK in the future, it is surely going to be Fucking Great. That much, I agree with." - MMM

"Explores the reasons why some people question vaccines, and then logically explains why the doubts are unfounded and vaccines are in fact effective and safe." - Mark Zuckerberg

Ryan Shea recommended this book on his website.

"An insightful book on how to scale at a very fast pace​ and more importantly WHEN." - Vinod Khosla

"Shares some of the key secrets for building mission-oriented, global businesses at speed." - Brian Chesky

"Have been waiting for it to come out so that I can recommend it to everyone." - Sam Altman

"Paints the picture, with key case studies, of what it really takes to build a market-leading company." - Eric Schmidt

"No brainer pick up for every entrepreneur and investor." - Anthony Pompliano

"Has been very helpful to Binance as we chart our growth as an organization." - Changpeng Zhao

"A really good book." - Patrick Collison

"I HIGHLY recommend [this book]." - Noah Smith

"A fun bathroom book to read. The writing is really great." - Ben Shapiro

"A cute little tiny book that tells you all the things who people who want to fool you into thinking something that’s true, that’s not, and how they manipulate statistics in order to accomplish this." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

"An amazing book." - Joe Rogan

Charlie Munger recommended this book in the "Poor Charlie's Almanack" book.

"Offers us a new and remarkably simple way of looking at our world." - Simon Sinek

"A brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning book about how the modern world was formed, analyzing how societies developed differently on different continents." - Daniel Ek

"Helped rid me of the nagging incompleteness in my understood connection between the successes and failings of ancient and modern civilizations." - Jesse Williams

"The main [book by this author]." - Stewart Brand

"An incredible story.... If you need some billionaires to despise--look no further than these charlatans." - Alexis Ohanian

"Worth checking out if this story interests you." - Anthony Pompliano

"Amazing [book] about human nature." - Michael Mauboussin

"Amazing read." - Raoul Pal

"Details how a pudgy Malaysian 20-something was able to con the highest levels of the financial, media, and political elite into making himself a billionaire." - Saagar Enjeti

"Has some interesting stuff to propose." - Stewart Brand

"Actually enjoyable to read." - Matthew Yglesias

Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles."

One of the books on Scott Adams' "Persuasion Reading List."

"Fine book but it didn’t need to be an entire book. A blog post would have gotten the point across." - Naval Ravikant

"I love surprising scientific findings, as well as information about how our brains work. [This book] is a treasure trove of both." - Ev Williams

"Captivating dive into human decision making, marred by inclusion of several/many? psychology studies that fail to replicate. Will stand as a cautionary tale?" - Marc Andreessen

Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.

"I begrudgingly respect his genius." - Saagar Enjeti

"So interesting and well written." - John Legend

"A great book." - Bryan Johnson

Reid Hoffman told McKinsey he was reading this book.

"A brilliant new analysis of the origin of life, by the man who has himself done more than anybody to crack the problem." - Matt Ridley

"Incredible." - Chamath Palihapitiya

"A really good read." - David Friedberg

"A fantastic journey of learning from the lives of some of the greatest leaders and thinkers of our time." - Howard Schultz

"This book is amazing." - Tai Lopez

"I wish I had had this book nineteen years ago, when we founded Google. Or even before that, when I was only managing myself!" - Larry Page

"The most important venture capitalist of our era reveals a key to business innovation and success." - Walter Isaacson

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.

"Whether you're a seasoned CEO or a first-time entrepreneur, you'll find valuable lessons, tools, and inspiration in the pages of [this book]. I'm glad [the author] invested the time to share these ideas with the world." - Reid Hoffman

"Deserves to be fully embraced by every person responsible for performance, in any walk of life. [The author] makes Andy Grove a mentor to us all." - Jim Collins

"Shows how any organization or team can aim high, move fast, and excel." - Sheryl Sandberg

"The kids are obsessed with this. They can quote it from memory. They’ve learned probably more science from [this book] than they have from their science class in the last two years." - Astro Teller

"A better book [than 'Snow Crash']." - Adam Savage

Barack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List."

"I found I actually enjoyed [this book] a lot, but mostly because it was competence porn." - Chris Young

"A really interesting premise." - Jon Stewart

"[This book's] insight is true and deeply important. . . . The metaphor of a flat world, used by [the author] to describe the next phase of globalization, is ingenious." - Fareed Zakaria

On Jamie Dimon's list of favorite books.

"Outlines ethical ways of healing the deep new rifts that are tearing apart the fabric of the United States and other Western societies." - Vinod Khosla

Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter.

Barack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List."

"The story of [the banks] that had to be bailed out." - Jon Stewart

One of Max Levchin's answers to "what's your favourite business book you'd advise to young entrepreneurs?"

"I really liked [this book]." - John Collison

One of the books in a "list of favorite books" Jason Silva tweeted about.

One of 4 books Tony Hsieh recommended in Inc.com

Sam Hinkie mentioned this book in a letter to the equity partners of Philadelphia 76ers.

"In this deeply-researched book, you'll find the most honest portrait of the real Steve Jobs." - Marc Andreessen

"Square would not exist without the work and persistence of Steve Jobs. I am forever grateful. Amazing read." - Jack Dorsey

"[One of the] biographies of people who have 'built skyscrapers' (my term)." - Peter Attia

Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.

"A biography of the famous Apple CEO. I read the Walter Isaacson biography last year, but found this one slightly better." - Brian Armstrong

"After working with Steve for over 25 years, I feel this book captures with great insight the growth and complexity of a truly extraordinary person." - Ed Catmull

"[The author] is as wise as his son is brilliant. I’ve learned a lot from both of them and believe everyone can benefit from the insights [the author] shares in this book." - Warren Buffett

"Explores the different kinds of social institutions and incentives that nations have applied to encourage prosperity, economic development and elimination of poverty." - Mark Zuckerberg

"Coming from an industry driven by disruption, it’s refreshing to read [the author]’s call for the tech sector to assume more responsibility." - Reed Hastings

"This is a colorful and insightful insiders’ view of how technology is both empowering and threatening us. From privacy to cyberattacks, this timely book is a useful guide for how to navigate the digital future." - Walter Isaacson

"An important book on some of the biggest tech issues of our time and their impact on all of our lives." - Satya Nadella

"[The author] doesn’t write a ton, but she writes is extraordinary." - Nick Thompson

Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.

"The book that I have been going back to so much." - Melinda Gates

Barack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recommended this book on Twitter.

"I lived in it the way that you do with truly great books; putting it down with glazed eyes and feeling disconcerted to find yourself in the 21st century." - J.K. Rowling

Scott Belsky mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

"Among the best historical books I've ever read (take that, Herodotus)." - Stewart Butterfield

On Jamie Dimon's list of favorite books.

"A terrific book!" - Sunny Hostin

"I'm so drawn to [the author]'s view of society back then, and to his sarcasm." - Jennifer Lawrence

"Was not written to be a young adult book. It’s an adult book. But it sort of drifted there because the protagonist is a teenager." - Gretchen Rubin

On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.

"I love [this book]. I read it at four different times in my life. Teenager and later." - Larry King

"My [mother] recommended [this book]." - Tim Draper

"It was the first 'anti-hero' I had ever encountered and I thoroughly fell for Holden Caulfield." - Kathie Lee Gifford

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

One of Peter Attia's answers to "any books you feel would make your reading list?"

"For friends who have faced or are facing cancer, I often give them [this book]." - Laura R Walker

"Fantastic book...a must read!" - Cathie Wood

"I am reading this great book [...]. He is my favorite author." - Mukesh Ambani

"What genius is really made up of, and how to recreate some semblance of it." - Austen Allred

"Taylor Swift's 'Delicate' video is full of parallels to [this book]." - Korey Lane

"I can’t do that. I’m sorry. I’ll never be a novelist." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

"I’ve read [this book] at different points in my life." - Daniel Pink

On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.

"I'm a sucker for efficiency. This book gets so much out of what is, ultimately, a rather slim story. I adore it." - Ta-Nehisi Coates

"[The author] found he'd taken on all the great American themes, from the original 'dream' itself to the corresponding loss of innocence." - Christopher Hitchens

Barack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.

"Just so good. Such a wonderful read." - Brian Koppelman

Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.

"Magnificent." - Sarah Jessica Parker

On the "books read" section of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile.

"Such a fantastic book." - Tim Ferriss

"I really enjoyed [this book], it was so amazing to hear his story and his struggle of not enjoying the sport and then finally finding his love for it." - Shaun White

"Phenomenal." - Dave Elitch

On the "books read" section of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile.

"I’ve read all the Einstein biographies, and this is by far the best." - Charlie Munger

"I read [this book and "Benjamin Franklin"] and probed [Walter Isaacson] about them to try to glean what characteristics they had in common." - Ray Dalio

"Anybody who can write a book on Einstein and that an idiot like me can understand the physics [was] a miracle." - George Raveling

This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.

Ed Zschau mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

"[The author] has weaved his magic in reinventing Microsoft and refusing to let it turn into a legacy organisation. In [this book] he shares fascinating insights and examples of how he did it." - Kishore Biyani

"Absolutely fascinating book." - Jon Stewart

"An investigation into our ability to predict future events." - Kevin Systrom

Max Levchin recommended this book on LinkedIn.

"Brilliant." - Roman Mars

"It's a joy to read and it highlights ways to make our society better." - Eric Schmidt

"Excited to get [this book] as I am trying to go deeper into the notion of fractal (multiscale) localism & see what's wrong w/my thesis" - Nassim Taleb

"The latest Giant Warren Buffett book. Rather than a story of his life, this one is more a collection of Fortune magazine stories about him and things he has written." - MMM

One of Elon Musk's favorite books about space.

"Made me want to work on AI, which led to Lisp." - Paul Graham

John Carmack mentioned this book on Twitter.

"I’m a big fan of [the author]." - Christopher Sommer

Ryan Shea recommended this book on his website.

"This book is about one super-important concept. You must learn about Strategic Inflection Points, because sooner or later you are going to live through one." - Steve Jobs

"One of my favorite topics. And so that is also a very good book [I] recommend." - Marc Andreessen

Charlie Munger recommended this book in the "Poor Charlie's Almanack" book.

"A great book on strategy." - Ben Horowitz

"One of favorite books on entrepreneurship." - Vinod Khosla

"We've all read Grove." - Balaji Srinivasan

"Soooo good." - Andrew Wilkinson

"An incredible book that should be read by each and every player in the startup/Silicon Valley ecosystem." - Bill Gurley

"Amazing [book] about human nature." - Michael Mauboussin

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recommended this book on Twitter.

"Very good, very well thought out... And I agree that there are storm clouds ahead." - Carl Icahn

"Accurately describes inequality in the past and present of countries like the United States." - Peter Thiel

"Didn't finish it. Good book but not as seminal as Sapiens." - Naval Ravikant

"Not that I agree with all of it, but it is still mind-bending speculation about our future." - Vinod Khosla

Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.

Raoul Pal recommended this book on Twitter.

"Badass book." - Tai Lopez

Penn Jillette mentioned this book in a New York Times interview.

"Quite interesting." - Elon Musk

"I’m fascinated by the discussion of how Jobs developed what became known as the Reality Distortion Field. Apparently Jobs had a lifelong battle with reality and won." - Scott Adams

"I noticed a number of similarities between [Steve Jobs and I], especially when [the author] quoted Jobs’s own words. [...] but to be clear, I didn’t think that Bridgewater or I held a candle to Apple and Jobs." - Ray Dalio

"I've read 3 business books in my life. If you call [this book] a business book." - Gary Vaynerchuk

"[When I read this book] I was so blown away. I had underlined about three-quarters of the book." - George Raveling

"Really did a good job of capturing the way that an innovation leader’s mind works." - Chris Fussell

"Sensational . . . [This book] will forever be the definitive work on what causes financial panics and what must be done to stem them when they occur." - Warren Buffett

"[An] 800-page description of the financial crisis and I found it pretty captivating." - MMM

"We all live in Malcolm’s world because the shipping container has been hugely influential in history." - Tobi Lütke

"A great book about the invention of the shipping container and what impacts it had across many industries." - Jeff Dean

"[Has] comparable breadth as The Prize in terms of globe-spanning industries." - Trung Phan

"A nice financial and political trot around the globe that explains the changes going on in the world as countries like China, Brazil and India collectively become larger economies than the US/Europe/Japan." - MMM

"A very well-written book. [...] The whole thing is a critique of individual decisions." - Ben Shapiro

"Provides the reader with insight into how the United States got into its current mess." - Bill Nye

Jason Calacanis recommended this book on his blog.

"Human, perceptive, loving, well-told." - Stewart Butterfield

Max Levchin recommended this book on LinkedIn.

Patrick Collison labeled this book "particularly great."

"Concludes that innovation is the ultimate source of dramatic improvements in the human condition." - Satya Nadella

"I'm reading this book and I can already tell I am going to be so annoying about it afterwards. Sorry in advance." - Stewart Butterfield

"I disagree with the book, but it's a very well written book." - Marc Andreessen

"Explains all these very complicated concepts, [but] only using the 1000 most common words in the English language." - Naval Ravikant

Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.

Michelle Obama said this is one of the books on her nightstand in a "New York Times" interview.

"The perfect book to read along with a friend or family member." - Oprah Winfrey

"A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple." - Barack Obama

"WOW. Absolutely loved this book!" - Shauna Niequist

Ezra Klein recommended this book on Twitter.

Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended this book in his newsletter.

"Might be the best book I’ve ever read." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy

"One of my favorite books." - Mohnish Pabrai

"If you were to ask me what single business book most changed my perception of the world, it is [this one.]" - Trung Phan

"By pure luck I came across this book and it introduced me to the thinking of Warren Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger." - Shane Parrish