From Yuri Milner to Richard Branson: Four Billionaire Business Innovators and Their Manifestos
Many of the world’s most successful business leaders, like Yuri Milner, have written books on their unique philosophies, lessons, or visions for the future. These manifestos offer valuable insights and inspiration for business and life, guiding readers with practical advice and radical theories.
These are four influential manifestos by billionaire business innovators:
- Richard Branson’s The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh, and Lead.
- Mark Cuban’s How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It.
- Peter Thiel’s Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.
- Yuri Milner’s Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation.
1. Richard Branson’s The Virgin Way
Branson is an entrepreneurial icon and a household name. He founded Virgin in 1970 as a mail-order record retailer and has grown the business into a global brand spanning multiple industries. His success has netted him an impressive fortune — his net worth is currently $2.6 billion.
Branson has written eight books, including his bestselling first autobiography Losing My Virginity. In 2014, he released The Virgin Way, an unconventional book on leadership and business practices. It features anecdotes from his extensive business dealings and observations of those who have inspired him.
Whether heading a major company or just starting a career, The Virgin Way guides each reader to become a “true leader — not just a boss.”
2. Mark Cuban’s How to Win at the Sport of Business
Cuban built his $5.4 billion fortune through various ventures, including a smart investment in the early internet and owning a pro sports team. He sold his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion in 2023, 23 years after he bought the NBA team for $280 million.
Cuban has appeared in many films and television shows, including the Emmy-winning Shark Tank. He’s also authored several books, including How to Win at the Sport of Business (2011).
Part memoir and part handbook, How to Win at the Sport of Business is a manifesto for any entrepreneur looking to outmanoeuvre competitors. The book offers 12 mantras for success, including “time is more valuable than money” and “don’t let fear be a roadblock.”
3. Peter Thiel’s Zero to One
Thiel is the founder and former CEO of PayPal. The entrepreneur made the first outside investment in Facebook in 2004 and is a partner at Founders Fund, which has funded companies like Airbnb and SpaceX. His current net worth is $8 billion.
Thiel’s book Zero to One (2014) is a number one New York Times bestseller. In the book, Thiel argues that we live in an age of technological stagnation. To unlock innovation and build companies that create new things, he believes business leaders must master thinking for themselves.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said of Zero to One: “This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.”
4. Yuri Milner’s Eureka Manifesto
Milner is a technology investor and science philanthropist. He founded DST Global, one of the world’s leading tech investment firms. The company’s portfolio has included internet pioneers like Alibaba, Facebook, and Twitter.
When he signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, Milner vowed to give away most of his wealth — which currently stands at $5.9 billion — to mainly scientific causes. His philanthropic endeavours include the Breakthrough Prize, Breakthrough Initiatives, and Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
Released in 2021, Eureka Manifesto argues that, like many successful organisations, humanity needs a mission to guide its collective efforts. Milner believes that we can find this mission in our capacity to explore and understand the world around us.
By embracing this mission, we can drive scientific and technological progress to dramatically improve our lives and ensure humanity survives and flourishes.
