On Being Humble — 10 most famous and super-rich but simple human beings
The idea of writing about ‘on being humble’ in our life struck me when two great stalwarts of the India Inc met each other. The occasion was the award function organized by TIE Mumbai. And the two great leaders are Narayan Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys and another a patriarch of the Tata group, Ratan Tata.
Ratan Tata was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award by none other than Narayan Murthy. Both are business tycoons in the IT Industry and in a way they are competitors of each other. But when Narayan Murthy touched the feet of Ratan Tata after honoring Ratan Tata with the Award, it was a sight to behold. This humble and heart-warming gesture touched many on social media when the photos of this historic moment were shared.
Soon thereafter, Ratan Tata himself shared the photo in an Instagram story about Narayan Murthy’s gesture and said, ‘I am truly humbled’
The point here I want to stress is about the simplicity and humility of a person even after being famous and the super-rich. They never carry any excess pride in themselves. And they never brag or boast about themselves and have adopted a frugal lifestyle. It could also be that because of their being humble and simple, they are so successful.
There are many examples of humble people around us — in business, in politics, in social work, film world. A few names we can remember are — Warren Buffet, Narayan Murthy, Azim Premji, Bill Gates, Chuck Feeney, Ingvar Kamprad, Jose Mujica, Christy Walton, Alexander Lebedev, Tim Cook.
To know about each of them would be a great insight into how they live their down-to-earth lives.
Warren Buffet
Source: marketwatch.com
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest persons in the world today. His investment quotes are very famous in the financial world. He is the greatest investor of all time and a notable philanthropist who has pledged 99% of his total wealth to philanthropic causes. On thought about a billionaire, we normally think about expensive cars, mansions, extravagant vacations, etc. But Warren Buffet stays as simple as he was living in his early life. He still stays in the same house he bought in 1958, uses the same Nokia Flip Phone, never splurge on designer suits.
Narayana Murthy
Source: Infosys
Narayana Murthy is an Indian business magnate and described as “the father of the Indian IT sector”. He is better known as the legend who co-founded the Indian tech giant Infosys. He has been honored with many awards during his lifetime by various governments in the world. To this day, he lives a simple life, flies economy class, lives in a simple middle-class house. He believes in an organization that is driven by values. Under his leadership, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on the Nasdaq. His ‘Infosys Foundation USA’ conducts professional training programs for teachers. His quality of humbleness and remaining grounded even after becoming super-wealthy is a great contribution to his success.
Azim Premji
Source: Business Line
Azim Premji is an Indian business tycoon who founded Wipro. Despite his vast personal wealth, he is recognized for his charity work and modest lifestyle. He is running the ‘Azim Premji Foundation’ a non-profit organization that has been working since 2000 with the elementary education system in rural government schools. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. In 2013, he agreed to give away at least half of his wealth by signing the Giving Pledge.
He always believed in ethical entrepreneurship that served as a model for other Indian firms.
Bill Gates
Source: news.microsoft
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Paul Allen in 1975 which went on to become the world’s largest personal computer software company. From 1995 to 2017 he held the title of the richest person in the world all but four of those years. Later in his career, he persuaded many philanthropic endeavors and donated large amounts of money through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is said to be the world’s largest private charity. In 2009, Gates along with Warren Buffet founded The Giving Pledge whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth to philanthropy. Recently he announced $100 million commitment to fight Coronavirus Global Health Crisis.
Chuck Feeney
Source: Facebook
Chuck Feeney is an Irish-American philanthropist and the founder of ‘Atlantic Philanthropies’. Along with his friend, he founded ‘DFS — Duty-Free Shoppers Group’.
After tasting huge success in his business that earned him billions, he realized that big wealth has side effects as well. He started giving away his fortunes to other people.
He divested himself of all that he owned, cash, businesses, and shares and placed them in the foundation that he created, known as Atlantic Philanthropies.
Ingvar Kamprad
Source: Flickr
Ingvar Kamprad was a Swedish business magnate best known for founding IKEA, a multinational company specializing in furniture. His journey as an entrepreneur began with almost empty hands and then becoming one of the richest people in the world.
He was born on a Swedish farm to a poor family. Despite his successful life as an entrepreneur, he lived a frugal lifestyle and in a modest house, flew economy class.
He once said, “how the hell can I ask the people who work for me to travel cheaply if I am traveling in luxury?”
Jose Mujica
Source: Twitter
Jose Mujica was born to parents of modest means in Uruguay. As a former Uruguayan leader, he is often dubbed as “the world’s poorest president” for his modest lifestyle.
He refused to live in the presidential palace during his time in the office and rejected the pension. He donated most of his salary as president to charity. He stayed humble and believed that “a President is a high-level official who is elected to carry out a function.
He is not a king. Not a god. He is a civil servant.” He believes in sobriety and says “if you don’t have many possessions, then you don’t have to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself.”
Christy Walton
Source: SiliconIndiaChristy Walton married into what is now the richest family in the world: the
Walmart’s Walton clan. She is ranked as the highest female philanthropist according to the amount she gives as a percentage of her wealth. She donated her house to the International Community Foundation after her husband died in a plane accident.
Alexander Lebedev
Source: Forbes
Alexander Lebedev is a Russian businessman who believes “money warms only a shallow soul. It shrivels the heart, gives no peace and problems proliferate. And you are at risk of acquiring bad habits. If you have enough money to cover the everyday necessities, anything above that does not make life appreciably better, and may well make it worse.” Lebedev tries to do something for his country and his philanthropic interests extend to Britain. He and his London based son run the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation. He has built a 12-story cancer hospital in St. Petersburg where sick children can be treated free of charge.
Tim Cook
Source: Livemint
Tim Cook, the CEO of the world’s most valuable company, Apple Inc. after taking over from Steve Jobs took the company to the next level. Even after succeeding he kept himself grounded and humble. Once in an interview, he said: “staying humble will give you the respect of your employees and is a quality that is necessary to becoming a great leader.” And in another interview with Fortune, he revealed that he would give away all his Apple fortune before he dies.
