Education and Skills

12 books recommended by Bill Gates

Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, takes part in a panel discussion titled "Investing in African Prosperity" at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California May 1, 2013.

Bill Gates has said he reads about a book a week. Image: © GUS RUELAS / Reuters

Shana Lebowitz
Strategy Reporter, Business Insider
Mike Nudelman
Graphic Designer, Business Insider

Billionaire Bill Gates has said he reads about a book a week.

We sifted through years of his book recommendations to find 12 that made especially strong impressions on him. Read on to find out why he enjoyed each one.

12 books Bill Gates thinks everyone should read
Image: Business Insider

Here are the links to find each book:

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

leadership

Related topics:
Education and Skills
Arts and Culture
Leadership
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Education is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

More on Education and Skills
See all

How Nigeria’s youthful population could help it become a digital talent powerhouse

Jumoke Oduwole and Abir Ibrahim

November 11, 2025

How does media and information literacy need to step up its game in the AI era?

About us

Engage with us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2025 World Economic Forum