Real people, lives and working habits of the richest people in the world have always been the most curious thing to the public.

The lives and work habits of billionaires fascinate those who aspire to understand their success. Most books, podcasts, and countless articles emphasize the eccentricities and “different” life rules of these wealthy CEOs. But where is the truth? Business Insider interviewed subordinates who have worked with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Sara Blakely to give the public a new perspective on the real people of these billionaires.

Bill Gates easily knows a person is lying

In 8 years working directly with the founder of Microsoft, former VP of HR Chris Williams shared that he learned a lot from Bill Gates, especially how to ask questions to expose who is bragging. Gates always tries to use a succession of questions to “corner the other person” until the person admits he is lying or is silent.

Microsoft Corporation founder Bill Gates. Photo: BI

According to Chris Williams, the longer you talk, the better your ability to recognize Bill Gates’ lies. Then the other person will receive a disappointed look and know that he should withdraw from the conversation with one of the richest men in the world. Williams also began learning how to see people after working with Gates.

According to Williams’ description, the 67-year-old billionaire is always curious, wanting to learn everything in extreme detail. The former Microsoft executive was also impressed with Gates’ ability to absorb “thousands of data and dozens of ideas to find the right solution” during a meeting. Then the billionaire immediately identified what was important to do.

Sara Blakely is a “creative genius”

Sara Blakely is an American billionaire businesswoman who founded lingerie company Spanx. She was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.

Nữ tỷ phú Sara Blakely. Photo: Forbes

Blakely’s former assistants Lisa Magazine and Kenya Graham had “winged” words for the billionaire. They worked with Blakely when the company had just over 10 employees, in the basement of a hotel, and the office had no windows. Their task is to plan the businesswoman’s day, motivate and help her be as thoughtful as possible whenever she walks into meetings or lectures.

Although they have a boss-employee relationship, Magazine described Blakely as friendly, easy-going as a “neighborhood girl” and also “one of the most creative geniuses I’ve ever met.”

Elon Musk may be funny but fires employees very quickly

In his early days on the job, former Tesla regional director Carl Medlock participated in a meeting in which employees disagreed with Musk’s opinions. After that, Medlock never saw the employee again. “Musk is not someone who lets people go against his views. He’ll see you off very quickly,” Medlock said.

Elon Musk currently owns many large companies such as SpaceX, Tesla Motors, Twitter. Photo: Getty Images

“When Elon gets up at the end of a meeting and closes ‘the direction we’re going,’ it’s better to get up and agree with that direction,” the former Tesla regional manager said.

According to Carl Medlock, Elon Musk is funny if you’re on your side and “for people who aren’t in the car industry.” However, Medlock has never seen his boss socialize or joke with employees. “He would talk if he had something to talk about, but Musk never gossiped to people. Even in the meeting he didn’t waste a moment and got straight to the point,” Medlock added.

Jeff Bezos often holds meetings up to 4 hours long

Jeff Bezos, founder of multinational technology company Amazon. Photo: Getty Images

Colin Bryar, former Amazon vice president and Bezos Chief People Officer, worked for 12 years with Jeff Bezos and learned a lot from the billionaire. These include recognizing the importance of embracing trends, having effective initiatives to mitigate risks and accepting that it is difficult to work harmoniously in a team.

Bezos holds a weekly 4-hour meeting with his direct subordinates instead of meeting individually. All subordinates will participate regardless of whether the content of the meeting is directly related to their responsibilities. According to Bryar, the 59-year-old billionaire wants employees to understand each other’s duties to help them unite if a crisis inevitably strikes.