You might already know one significant fact about Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg: They all belong to the $100 billion club, which boasts just 14 members.
Image Credit: Monica Schipper | Getty Images. Warren Buffett, left; Bill Gates, right.
Buffett, the 94-year-old chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has a net worth of $143.1 billion; Gates, the 68-year-old co-founder of Microsoft, has a net worth of $106.7 billion; and Mark Zuckerberg, the 40-year-old co-founder and CEO of Meta, formerly Facebook, has a net worth of $198.6 billion.
However, vast amounts of wealth and success aren’t the only things these business leaders share.
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Buffett, Gates and Zuckerberg also have the same position in their sibling lineups: The billionaire businessmen are all middle children.
Perhaps that comes as a surprise, as some experts who study personality consider middle children likely to suffer from “middle-child syndrome,” the feeling of being caught between the oldest and youngest siblings, which can lead to more rebellion and less perfectionism.
So, how has being the middle child potentially contributed to Buffett’s, Gates’ and Zuckerberg’s success in business and life?
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Earlier this year, Entrepreneur sat down with Dr. Brittany McGeehan, a licensed psychologist based in Frisco, Texas, who specializes in working with high achievers, to learn more about how birth order influences personal and professional outcomes.
Although McGeehan points out that conclusions about birth order and success are “painting with a broad brush” and may not apply to everyone, she notes that middle children are often particularly suited to thrive in business.
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That’s because middle children are well-versed in the art of communication — an undeniable asset in the business world.
“[Middle children are] the peacemakers, typically,” McGeehan says, “so they have absolutely wonderful negotiation skills, and they are usually able to read a room and see what the room needs to calm down. —[from] childhood all the way up [to] sitting in a boardroom or wherever.”
Middle children who exhibit peacemaking skills tend to “go with the flow” and “show up in the way that they need to in order to maintain balance,” McGeehan adds.
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Parents of middle children who aspire to raise the next Buffett, Gates or Zuckerberg should keep one thing in mind, though: Kids who fall mid-birth order need just as much attention as their older and younger siblings.
“Don’t forget about your middle children,” McGeehan says. “Because they really do turn into little wallflowers if you let them.”
