Books Recommended by CEOs

The books most recommended by CEOs, drawn from their real public recommendations.

Elon MuskJeff BezosMark ZuckerbergSam AltmanBill GatesWarren BuffettSteve Jobs
144 experts · 24 most-recommended books · Updated on June 6, 2026
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Books CEOs recommend most

  1. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
    The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
    Ben Horowitz
    Recommended by Larry Page, Satya Nadella +11 more
  2. Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future
    Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future
    Blake Masters
    Recommended by Elon Musk, Sam Altman +8 more
  3. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition
    Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition
    Robert B. Cialdini
    Recommended by Chris Voss, Max Levchin +5 more
  4. Good To Great : Why Some Companies Make The Leap and Others Don't
    Good To Great : Why Some Companies Make The Leap and Others Don't
    Jim Collins
    Recommended by Jeff Bezos, Max Levchin +5 more
  5. Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
    Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
    Geoffrey A. Moore
    Recommended by Chris Dixon, David Cancel +4 more
  6. Outliers: The Story of Success
    Outliers: The Story of Success
    Malcolm Gladwell
    Recommended by Eric Schmidt, Tony Hsieh +4 more
  7. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
    Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
    Greg McKeown
    Recommended by Daymond John, Justin Kan +3 more
  8. The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
    The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
    Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison, Craig Walsh
    Recommended by Sam Altman, Jack Dorsey +3 more
  9. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
    Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
    Carol S. Dweck
    Recommended by Bill Gates, Satya Nadella +3 more
  10. How Women Rise
    How Women Rise
    Sally Helgesen
    Recommended by Liz Wiseman, Aicha Evans +3 more
  11. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2)
    Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2)
    Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras
    Recommended by Jeff Bezos, Skip Prichard +2 more
  12. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Yuval Noah Harari
    Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates +2 more
  13. Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice
    Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice
    Clayton M. Christensen, Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall, David S. Duncan
    Recommended by Jack Dorsey, Reed Hastings +2 more
  14. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
    Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
    Yuval Noah Harari
    Recommended by Bill Gates, Naval Ravikant +2 more
  15. How to Win Friends and Influence People
    How to Win Friends and Influence People
    DALE CARNEGIE
    Recommended by Daymond John, Sahil Lavingia +2 more
  16. Thinking, Fast and Slow
    Thinking, Fast and Slow
    Daniel Kahneman
    Recommended by Sam Altman, Satya Nadella +2 more
  17. Engine of Impact: Essentials of Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector
    Engine of Impact: Essentials of Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector
    William F. Meehan III
    Recommended by Jamie Dimon, Bill Drayton +2 more
  18. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)
    The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)
    Clayton M. Christensen
    Recommended by Jeff Bezos, Naval Ravikant +2 more
  19. The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed. The Definitive Book on Value Investing
    The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed. The Definitive Book on Value Investing
    Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig
    Recommended by Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman +2 more
  20. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
    The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
    Matt Ridley
    Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates +1 more
  21. Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
    Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
    Dr. Dan Ariely
    Recommended by Max Levchin, Rand Fishkin +1 more
  22. Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
    Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
    Gary Vaynerchuk
    Recommended by Eric Schmidt, Tony Hsieh +1 more
  23. Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)
    Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)
    Chade-Meng Tan, Daniel Goleman, Jon Kabat-Zinn
    Recommended by Eric Schmidt, Tony Hsieh +1 more
  24. The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
    The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
    Peter F. Drucker, Zachary First, Jim Collins
    Recommended by Josh Bersin, Skip Prichard +1 more

The CEOs

Elon Musk
Elon Musk
CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Founder of xAI
24 book recommendations
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop CultureThe Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon ValleyVietnam Saga: Exploits of a Combat Helicopter Pilot
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Former CEO of Amazon
13 book recommendations
Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and UpdatedThe Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Anniversary EditionCreation: Life and How to Make It
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Co-Founder and CEO of Meta
25 book recommendations
High Output ManagementZero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the FutureRational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge
Sam Altman
Sam Altman
CEO of OpenAI
34 book recommendations
What Is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work?Plentiful Energy: The Story of the Integral Fast Reactor: The complex history of a simple reactor technology, with emphasis on its scientific bases for non-specialistsEndurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Bill Gates
Bill Gates
Co-Founder of Microsoft and Chair of the Gates Foundation
70 book recommendations
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novelThe Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human RaceElegant Defense, An: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
16 book recommendations
Leadership: In Turbulent TimesPoor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Expanded Third EditionThe Clash of the Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation
EL
Eva Longoria
Award-Winning Actress, Producer, Director, Activist, Philanthropist and CEO of UnbeliEVAble Entertainment
2 book recommendations
Mexico: The CookbookJefa in Training: The Business Startup Toolkit for Entrepreneurial and Creative Women
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Co-Founder and Former CEO of Apple, Former CEO of Pixar
20 book recommendations
Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.)1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four: The Internationally Best Selling Classic from the Author of Animal Farm (Collins Classics)Meetings with Remarkable Men
Bill Ackman
Bill Ackman
Founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management
4 book recommendations
One Up On Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the MarketYou Can Be a Stock Market Genius Even if You're Not Too Smart: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market ProfitsThe Intelligent Investor Rev Ed. The Definitive Book on Value Investing
Jamie Dimon
Jamie Dimon
Chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase
15 book recommendations
Invested: Changing Forever the Way Americans InvestI Love Capitalism!: An American StoryEngine of Impact: Essentials of Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector
Tim Cook
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
8 book recommendations
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal IconTrillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill CampbellMarch (Trilogy Slipcase Set)
Rick Ross
Rick Ross
CEO, People-centric Innovation, Technology, Digital-Age Leadership, Design
2 book recommendations
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful GroupsThe Family Office: A Comprehensive Guide for Advisers, Practitioners, and Students (Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing Series)

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