Melinda French Gates Slams Billionaires' Sleep Habits, Calls It 'So Dumb'

Billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump have often bragged about their gruelling work schedules and minimal sleep. However, American philanthropist, Melinda French Gates, doesn’t support their idea and feels it’s ridiculous. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Melinda spoke about the importance of rest and claims that she tries to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night. She felt concerned about the toxic culture that glorifies working without getting adequate sleep. She reveals that some entrepreneurs who brag about working day and night can be difficult to work with and nobody prefers to be around them.

Melinda strongly criticises the idea of minimal sleep and calls it “so dumb.” She highlights sleeping for seven to eight hours each night. Over the years, she has come across entrepreneurs who feel honoured about sleeping only three or four hours a night, which she finds concerning. Melinda adds, “Some of us didn’t want to be around them. Let’s be honest.”

Interestingly, Melinda French Gates’ former husband Bill Gates also followed this pattern during his early days and believed “sleep is laziness.” During the Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates podcast in 2023, the Microsoft founder had explained, “In my 30s and 40s when there’d be a conversation about sleep, it would be like, ‘Oh I only sleep six hours,’ and the other guys, ‘No, I only sleep five, well sometimes I don’t sleep at all,’ and I’d be like, ‘Wow those guys are so good, I have to try harder because sleep is laziness.’ Now what we know is that to maintain brain health, getting good sleep is super important.”

Even Elon Musk, who had often talked about sleeping under his work desk for limited hours, last year mentioned that he has changed his routine and now tries to sleep for at least six hours every day. In an interview with CNBC, he explained that he experimented with sleeping less but found that it actually made him less productive. He also shared that not getting enough sleep causes him discomfort and claimed that his mind feels worse when he sleeps less than six hours.