Melinda French Gates hates CEOs who sleep less: ‘Let’s be honest, they are dumb’

Melinda French Gates criticized CEOs who boast about sleeping less, calling them 'dumb.' She advocates for 7-8 hours of sleep, a view echoed by Bill Gates.

Melinda French Gates said that top CEOs who say they sleep for less hours to put in more at work are “so dumb”. On those top bosses who claim to sleep three or four hours a night, the philanthropist told Vanity Fair, “Some of us didn’t want to be around them! Let’s be honest!” She also shared that she aims to sleep for seven or eight hours every night.

US philanthropist Melinda French Gates denounced top CEOs for minimizing sleep, advocating for 7-8 hours nightly. Bill Gates shared his past misconceptions about sleep, now emphasizing its critical role in health, especially after witnessing Alzheimer's effects. Elon Musk has also shifted to prioritize more sleep. (AFP)

Melinda French Gates' ex-husband Bill Gates said earlier that in his youth he was influenced by other entrepreneurs bragging about not needing enough sleep which led him to believe that “sleep is laziness and unnecessary”. At the time, he also copied these people but now he aims for a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night.

He had then said, "[I] would be like, ‘I only sleep six hours.’ And the other guy says, ‘I only sleep five!’ and ‘Well, sometimes I don’t sleep at all. I’d be like, ‘Wow, those guys are so good. I need to try harder, because sleep is laziness and unnecessary.’”

Even Elon Musk has talked about pulling all-nighters and sleeping under his desk when his electric vehicle company Tesla tried to meet its production goals. But last year, he said he changed his sleeping habit and now tries to sleep for at least six hours every night.