In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, philanthropist Melinda French Gates dismissed the glorification of sleepless CEO habits, calling the trend “so dumb.” French Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, took aim at the workaholic culture that praises executives for enduring sleepless nights in pursuit of success.
French Gates argued that the glorification of exhaustion feeds into a larger culture that values overworking, often at the expense of personal well-being. “It’s not admirable,” she said, rejecting the idea that running on little to no sleep is a badge of honor. Her comments shed light on the machismo and puritan ethos that still pervades many workplaces, where long hours are equated with dedication and success.
Earlier this year, French Gates stepped away from her role at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization she led for over two decades with her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates. She left with $12.5 billion, signaling her move toward new philanthropic ventures. French Gates announced on social media that it was time to focus on the “next chapter” of her work.
Since then, she has made bold strides on her own. She quickly donated $1 billion to support women’s and reproductive rights, publicly backed a presidential candidate for the first time, and called out other billionaires, including Elon Musk, for their lack of charitable giving. French Gates is making it clear that she is unafraid to challenge norms and push for greater accountability in philanthropy.
Her straightforward approach extends to her thoughts on sleep. French Gates emphasized that executives who boast about surviving on minimal sleep may not be pleasant to work with. In the interview, she highlighted that these individuals, who often claim to sleep only three or four hours a night, are not necessarily people you want to be around. “Some of us didn’t want to be around them! Let’s be honest!” she told Vanity Fair. French Gates herself prioritizes seven to eight hours of sleep, a far cry from the sleepless CEO lifestyle she criticizes.
Interestingly, her ex-husband Bill Gates once participated in the sleepless competition that many executives engage in. On his podcast, Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates, he shared how, in his thirties and forties, it was common for executives to boast about how little they slept. “It was almost like a contest—‘I only sleep six hours,’ ‘Well, I only sleep five,’ or ‘Sometimes I don’t sleep at all,’” he recalled. At the time, Gates believed that more sleep was a sign of laziness and that he needed to work harder.
Today, Bill Gates acknowledges the importance of rest, stating that sufficient sleep is essential for maintaining brain health. He pointed out that lack of sleep is a significant predictor of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This insight is supported by studies linking poor sleep with shorter life spans and other serious health issues. Research shows that women who sleep well live about two years longer than those who don’t, and for men, the difference extends to five years.
Despite the popular image of sleepless CEOs, data suggests that top executives often sleep more than they let on. A 2023 survey by Expert Reviews of almost 4,000 adults found that 100% of board chairs and 77% of chief executives reported getting enough sleep, compared to just 38% of non-managerial employees. The survey suggests that the higher up the corporate ladder, the more sleep people tend to get.
Additionally, the belief that working late into the night improves performance may be unfounded. Sleep deprivation can backfire, leading to unplanned absences and costing companies billions in lost productivity. A 2022 Gallup report estimated that sleep deprivation results in $44.6 billion in lost productivity annually.
In French Gates’ view, sacrificing sleep for the sake of work isn’t just unhealthy—it’s unnecessary. For her, the message is clear: getting enough rest is vital, and ignoring it, in her words, is simply “dumb.”
