Billionaire Roundup – How did the world’s richest spend their week? – Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Will Durant

The mega-rich have built habits that have led them to success, but there are plenty of real, in-depth memes and stories that will tell you otherwise. You’ll see stories discredit Jeff Bezos“garage start” called Amazon.com Inc. AMZN because he received $300,000 from his parents, or Elon Musk was far from a self-starter because his father was a wealthy engineer in South Africa.

Something we forget is that we are allowed to recognize both sides. Of course, Bezos and Musk had a huge advantage given the position their parents placed them in. Of course, their upbringing was atypical, privileged, and not what you imagine when you hear stories about ‘beginners, self-starters, etc.’. However, we can also applaud their ability to maintain and grow with the tools provided to them.

You see, just having money doesn’t make success inevitable. How many lottery winners end up broke? Various reports say 70%. Yet when we imagine hitting hard, we all say we’d be “fit for life.”

The fact is, long-term success cannot be luck or privilege. There are too many opportunities for stupid decisions that people like Musk and Bezos have to avoid on a daily basis for their fortunes to happen by accident. Of course, it’s rare to end up at the same starting point as any billionaire on this list at first. But, it is absolutely within our control to learn discipline, business acumen, and the ability to play smart long-term games to manage your money, assets, and wealth. While each of these moves isn’t perfect for an individual’s circumstances, it’s worth considering the types of risk these billionaires find worthwhile.

Related: Want to learn to trade like a pro?

That being said, what did the world’s richest get into this week (8/12/22 – 8/19/22)?

Bill Gates is already Ecolab Inc. ECL first shareholder. But this week, according to Barronsthe billionaire and Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder doubled that investment, buying even more. The move may look like something you can use in your own wallet. Ecolab is down nearly 27% year-to-date. Gates saw a stock he clearly believed in when he made his initial investment. Despite the stock drop, he loves and believes in the company and has doubled down on his instincts. If you believe in the product, just pretend that this stock is for sale.

One of the reasons for the move to Ecolab may have to do with a story reported on Yahoo! Finance, thanking Gates for saving Biden’s climate bill. Bloomberg Green reported that “one of the richest men in the world felt he had to give a little pep talk to one of the most powerful lawmakers in the land…” The same article claims that Gates sank tens of millions in green cement startups like Ecocem, CHEMent, and sulfur energy.

There was also the question of the nuclear fission start-up TerraPower. TerraPower, which is clearly not yet on the market, has raised more than $700 million to develop advanced nuclear reactors that will serve as alternatives to the existing reactors that make up the vast majority of the world’s civilian nuclear fleet. Slated to be operational by 2028 and with a price tag of $4 billion, these are not steps to be taken lightly. You can learn more about TerraPower at CanaryMedia. An interesting investment note on this is where the startup gets its money from. Investments include over $250 million from a group in South Korea and previous funding from none other than..

warren buffet can plot for the future supporting Gates, but in the present moment, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) just received approval on August 19, 2022 to buy up to 50% of the oil giant Western Oil Company OXY. The news alone of Buffett’s involvement helped the stock jump nearly 10% to close the day. Berkshire is already heavily invested in the company, which has led to speculation that Buffett will buy the whole company. CNBC reported “He will probably keep buying as much as he can get below $70 or $75. If you own 30% or 40% and want to buy it back at $95 or $100, you’ve saved a lot of money,” said Cole Smead, chairman of Smead Capital Management and Berkshire shareholder. “This stock trades like a casino. The market gives him all the stock he wants.

Jeff Bezos also made a ton of money betting on startups. In fact, he probably made a fortune investing in Airbnb Inc. ABNB almost a decade before they were made public. Bezos has an eye on newcomers to the real estate industry, as he was one of many high-profile investors to take part in Homes arrived‘ in 2021. Arrived Homes is a real estate investment platform that allows retail investors to buy shares of single-family rental properties with as little as $100.

Bezos’ Amazon made headlines this week as the company filed a lawsuit accusing the Federal Trade Commission of “harassing” current and former executives, naturally including Bezos himself. The August 5, 2022 filing hasn’t hurt the business, as Amazon is up nearly 13% in the past month.

Elon Musk also remained in the news, as usual, this week. There was the Tweeter on the purchase Manchester United PLC MANUAL, which was quickly cleared as a joke by Musk himself. He probably must have clarified since Man. U. is a publicly traded company. CNN has discussed the possibility of SEC action against Musk over the matter, but it seems unlikely. However, Musk has to be careful because his tweets literally move the markets. Manchester United jumped immediately after the tweet and went up $2.50 last month.

Twitter Inc. TWTR seems to be putting Musk in hot water in more ways than one lately. In addition to trolling, thanking Billie Eillish and the general mockery, there is the whole question of… the acquisition of the whole company. The purchase has been in the headlines for months, but there was an interesting development this week. Musk’s team used Botometer to estimate that 33% of accounts seen on the platform were simply spam or fake. However, the creator and maintainer of Botometer Kaicheng Yang says the number “means nothing”. BBC covered the story in depth.

Finally, Musk’s baby, Tesla Inc. TSLA is in the news for several reasons this week. On Friday, Musk said Tesla was slowing the rollout of its upcoming “Full Self-Driving Beta” (10.69) software update due to “numerous major code changes.” Musk’s full tweet read, “There are a lot of major code changes, so this will be a very careful rollout. Released 8/20 to around 1000 Tesla owners, then 10.69.1 next week to accommodate feedback and release to around 10,000 customers, then 10.69.2 week after and released for remainder of beta FSD.

The news comes the same week as the Indonesian president Joko Widodo urged Tesla to manufacture its cars and batteries domestically. The president and Musk had spoken about the move before and met earlier this year. The Indonesian president envisions the country as a hub for all electric vehicles, not just batteries. The November meeting is fast approaching when the country hosts a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies. It should be noted that Tesla is not the only electric vehicle company on Indonesia’s radar, as it already has investments or planned investments of Toyota Motor Corporation MT, Mitsubishi Corp. MSBHFand Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF.

Some takeaways:

Invest in what excites you. Despite what you may think of Gates or Musk, or the backlash they receive, it’s clear they’re pouring time, money and energy into the projects that matter most to them.

Double your investments and the things you believe in. And don’t be afraid to play both sides. If Warren Buffett can support nuclear fission, while taking steps to acquire an entire oil company, you can invest in health-conscious projects. Simply Good Foods Co SMPL and sugar cane Hershey Co. HSY.

Take your time, invest in what you believe in, only invest what you can afford to lose and grow positive habits by investing in yourself. Do these things, and you’ll be better for it.

Looking for ways to increase your yields? Check out Benzinga’s coverage of alternative investments:

Photo: Created with images from Steve Jurvetson, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution and Antoine Quintano on Flickr