---
title: "Up at 4 AM, Working Over 100 Hours a Week: How Hard Do the Big Shots Work?"
description: "This article highlights the extreme work ethics of several business magnates, including Elon Musk, Wang Jianlin, Li Ka-shing, Robin Li, and Bill Gates, who are known for their long hours and early rising. It also lists the morning routines of various CEOs, emphasizing that success often comes from relentless hard work and discipline."
author: "正和岛"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-05-25"
language: "en"
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# Up at 4 AM, Working Over 100 Hours a Week: How Hard Do the Big Shots Work?

> This article highlights the extreme work ethics of several business magnates, including Elon Musk, Wang Jianlin, Li Ka-shing, Robin Li, and Bill Gates, who are known for their long hours and early rising. It also lists the morning routines of various CEOs, emphasizing that success often comes from relentless hard work and discipline.

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**Introduction**
Today, I only want to say three sentences:
The most terrifying thing in the world is: people smarter than you are working harder than you;
The even more terrifying thing is: people with better backgrounds than you, who are smarter, are indeed working harder than you;
The most terrifying thing of all is: people with better backgrounds, who are smarter and work harder, also have more foresight than you.
On the road ahead, let us encourage each other.

> **Elon Musk: Works Over 100 Hours a Week and Still Finds Time to Play with His 5 Sons**
Born in 1971, Elon Musk became a billionaire at 31. He is currently the CEO of four companies: PayPal, the world's largest online payment company; Tesla, the eco-friendly sports car company; SpaceX, the space exploration technology company; and SolarCity.
Elon Musk works over 100 hours a week, often not lying down until 3 AM. He is said to be extremely busy, frequently going to bed after 3 AM, then rushing to meetings early the next morning, flying to another city for events in the evening, and still finding time to play with his five sons. This is like a super-long standby work mode.

> **Wang Jianlin: Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent; Hard Work Helps Us Discover and Seize Opportunities**
If not on business trips, Wang Jianlin arrives at his office on the 25th floor of Wanda's Beijing headquarters at 7:30 AM sharp to start work. He has maintained this work habit for over 20 years since starting his business.
He is now more motivated than ever. In 2012, he started running and exercising for an hour a day to maintain better physical strength and energy, hoping to work until he is 75. He once bluntly said that those seemingly stylish entrepreneurs are "short-sighted" or constrained by the system, while he wishes he could split himself into several parts.
"How to succeed in entrepreneurship? I think diligence is the most important, and I deeply feel this. Since I was a demobilized soldier, I knew nothing about the real estate industry at the beginning. Many peers laughed at me, saying I would eventually return to where I came from."
"So I made up my mind to learn first. In the next 4 to 5 years, I gave up all rest time. I worked normally during the day and spent all my evenings studying. I believe diligence can compensate for lack of talent, and hard work can help us discover and seize opportunities."

> **Li Ka-shing: Resentment Without Thinking Only Makes You Weaker and More Fearful**
Li Ka-shing, now in his 80s, has maintained two habits since his early entrepreneurial days: First, he always reads before sleeping. For non-professional books, he focuses on key points; if it's related to the company's business, he will finish it no matter how difficult. Second, after dinner, he always watches English TV for 10 to 20 minutes, not just watching but also speaking aloud, because he "fears falling behind."
Such diligence and self-discipline are beyond ordinary people.
Regarding work habits, the most famous detail is Li Ka-shing's schedule: no matter when he goes to bed, he always wakes up at 5:59 AM when the alarm rings. Then he listens to the news, plays golf for an hour and a half, and then goes to the office.
People familiar with Li Ka-shing say he has a strong sense of crisis, spending 90% of his time thinking about the future. He constantly creates adversity for the company in his mind, keeps asking himself questions, and then finds solutions. "By the time the crisis comes, he is already prepared."
On June 28, 2013, Li Ka-shing attended the Shantou University graduation ceremony and delivered a speech titled "Realistic Dream Maker," in which he revealed for the first time that he had recently undergone surgery for acute cholecystitis. He used this to advise young people not to let inner anger affect their problem-solving ability, otherwise they would suffer greater pain. He said: "Resentment without thinking only makes you weaker and more fearful, causing you to pay a greater price and endure greater pain. I want to turn anger into higher demands on myself and more focused motivation to solve problems. Only those who can face reality can conquer reality. Only those who are more diligent, more observant, and more resilient can change difficulties, create opportunities, and forge hope."

> **Robin Li: Woken Up by Opportunities at 5:00 AM Every Morning**
Robin Li, founder and CEO of Baidu, has created the world's largest Chinese search engine. Baidu went public on NASDAQ within just five years of its founding, making a "splash" in the global IT industry.
"Diligence" seems to be a constant label for Robin Li. Since his school days, he understood the meaning of "diligence" better than his peers, often spending time in the library as a "bookworm." After founding Baidu, he maintained this diligent style. At the China-U.S. Internet Leaders Summit in late 2014, Robin Li revealed that he is woken up by opportunities at around 5 AM every day because there are so many opportunities that he can't sleep. He must "decide which opportunities to give up and focus on what he is truly good at and loves."

> **Bill Gates: I Am Very Demanding of Myself**
Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the world's richest person on Forbes' list for 13 consecutive years and the richest in the U.S. for 20 consecutive years. Besides his wealth, his diligence is also well-known in the industry. When asked by netizens about the main reason for his success, Bill Gates replied: "Work hard, and I am very demanding of myself."
Microsoft is known for its employees working hard and habitually working overtime, but even so, Microsoft employees admire Bill Gates even more, believing no one works harder than him. According to a friend of Bill Gates, he usually stays awake for 36 hours and then sleeps for about 10 hours. Even after getting married, he often worked until after 10 PM.

>>>>
**The Early Bird Catches the Worm: How Early Do Business Tycoons Wake Up?**
To observe the "diligence" of business leaders, nothing is more vivid and direct than their "early rising" habits.
In fact, a large number of people who have achieved success in finance or other fields are accustomed to waking up early to prepare for the new day. Some believe that waking up early keeps their minds clear and stimulates more creativity in the morning.
Now, let's see how early these tycoons wake up and what they do after waking up.

◆ **Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL**
The former Google executive is not a "sleep lover." He wakes up at 5:00 or 5:15 AM every day. After that, he either works, reads, looks at his company's products, or replies to emails.
To ensure more thinking time, Tim Armstrong usually doesn't drive himself but hires a dedicated driver.

◆ **Tim Cook, CEO of Apple**
This tech giant is famous in the industry for waking up early. Apple employees receive Tim Cook's emails at 4:30 AM, near dawn, every day, and they are used to it.
Of course, Tim Cook appears at the gym at 5:00 AM sharp.

◆ **Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE)**
Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, wakes up at 5:30 AM every day to do aerobic exercise. During this time, he also reads newspapers and watches CNBC. He once mentioned that he has been working 100 hours a week for 24 consecutive years. That means, based on a 7-day week, he works more than 14 hours a day...

◆ **Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors**
Waking up early seems to be a tradition at General Motors. Current CEO Mary Barra, like her predecessor Daniel Akerson, wakes up early every day. She arrives at the office at 6:00 AM sharp. In this regard, she does even better than her predecessor.

◆ **Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox**
Replying to emails is Ursula Burns' daily morning habit. To do this, she wakes up at 5:15 AM. However, despite often working late into the night, Ursula Burns ensures she has two personal fitness training sessions per week, scheduled at 6:00 AM, each lasting an hour.

◆ **Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat and Chrysler**
This businessman with dual Canadian and Italian nationality wakes up at a time when most people are still dreaming—3:30 AM. A senior executive at the company once said: "Sergio created the eighth day (of the week), and we make it happen." Another executive said on 60 Minutes: "When Italy is on holiday, he returns to the U.S. to work; when the U.S. is on holiday, he goes back to Italy to work."

◆ **Bill Gross, Founder of PIMCO**
Bill Gross's early rising is as famous as his bad temper and his identity as a professional blackjack player. He wakes up at 4:30 AM, checks global market conditions and news, and sits at his desk at 6:00 AM sharp.

◆ **Jack Dorsey, Founder of Twitter and CEO of Square**
Jack Dorsey once told the media that he usually wakes up at 5:30 AM and then starts his morning routine—meditation and an hour of jogging. He has maintained this lifestyle for a long time, especially when he was working between Twitter and Square.

◆ **Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group**
Richard Branson revealed that he wakes up at 5:45 AM, even when vacationing on his private island. He sleeps with the curtains open so that the next day's sunlight wakes him up.

◆ **Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo**
This Indian-origin female executive's earliest wake-up time is 4:00 AM. She once said: "People say sleep is a gift from God... I never received that gift." She revealed that she arrives at the company no later than 7:00 AM every day.

◆ **David Cush, CEO of Virgin America**
He told the media that he wakes up at 4:15 AM every day, then sends emails and calls business partners on the East Coast. However, the Dallas sports radio broadcast in the early morning is a program he never misses, along with reading newspapers and exercising.

◆ **Bob Iger, CEO of Disney**
Bob Iger told the New York Times that he usually wakes up at 4:30 AM, using the quiet time before work to read newspapers and watch TV. During this time, no one disturbs him, and he can handle multiple things at once.

◆ **Irwin Simon, CEO of Hain Celestial Group**
Irwin Simon, CEO of the U.S. natural products manufacturer Hain Celestial Group, wakes up at 5:00 AM. His habits are similar to the other CEOs mentioned above: replying to emails and calling business partners in Europe and Asia. The difference is that he also prays, walks the dog, and exercises before the kids wake up. Moreover, he can even have a breakfast meeting in Manhattan before arriving at his Long Island office.

◆ **Steve Reinemund, Former CEO of PepsiCo**
Steve Reinemund, now dean of the business school at Wake Forest University, once told Yahoo Finance that he wakes up at 5:30 AM and reads newspapers. He browses the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Dallas Morning News before work.

◆ **Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks**
Howard Schultz starts his day with morning exercise, usually cycling with his wife. Even so, he ensures he arrives at the office before 6:00 AM.

◆ **Mike Shearwood, CEO of Aurora Fashions**
As a leading British fashion company, Aurora Fashions CEO Mike Shearwood's busy day begins at 5:00 AM. He travels from Nottingham to London, arriving around 7:45 AM. He enjoys the long commute: "I can catch up on emails, work, and talk to the team on the phone."

◆ **Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Nets**
The Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, have Brett Yormark as the youngest CEO in the NBA. His wake-up time might make many people feel ashamed—3:30 AM. And he appears in the office at 4:30 AM. Then he starts his day's work, sending emails, etc.
However, he is not an iron man. Weekends are his time to relax—he only arrives at the office at 7:00 AM.

◆ **Gerry Laybourne, Former CEO of Oxygen Channel**
As a pioneer in cable TV in the 1980s, Gerry Laybourne always wakes up at 6:00 AM and leaves home half an hour later to go to the company. If you get up early enough, she might even take you along. She once told Yahoo Finance: "Once or twice a week, I walk in Central Park with a young person who seeks my advice. This is my way of helping the next generation. If someone gets up early, I think they are serious about life. I can't do these things at the company, but waking up early allows me to exercise and also stay in touch with young people."

◆ **Haim Saban, CEO of Saban Capital**
This Egyptian-born Israeli-American billionaire is also diligent. At 6:02 AM, he starts enjoying his morning coffee. He works for an hour before his 75-minute morning exercise.

◆ **Lexy Funk, CEO of Brooklyn Industries**
This co-founder of the fashion company described her day to the Huffington Post: "I usually wake up at 4 AM." Then she starts to struggle: whether to go back to sleep or pick up the BlackBerry and work. However, in most cases, while busy replying to emails, she also makes a few business-related calls.

◆ **Frits Van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels**
He starts running at 5:50 AM, so you can imagine his wake-up time. At 6:30 AM, he appears at his desk.

◆ **Padmasree Warrior, CEO of Cisco**
This Indian-origin strong woman wakes up at 4:30 AM, doing emails, reading news, and exercising. She enters the company by 8:30 AM at the latest.
It is precisely because of her diligent and effective work that Padmasree Warrior was highly praised when she was Chief Technology Officer at Motorola.

Source: Zhenghe Island (ID: zhenghedao)

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