Buffett, Soros, Musk, & Trump

I’ve been thinking a lot about billionaires lately. Not in the I wish I had a billion dollars way (though let’s be honest, that wouldn’t hurt). No, I’m thinking about how wildly different billionaires can be—not just in how they made their money, but in what they do with it.

Take Donald Trump and Elon Musk, for example. They hoard power, crave attention, and seem to believe the world should exist to serve them. Then there’s George Soros and Warren Buffett, who—despite being just as wealthy—see their fortunes as something to give away, to reinvest in society, to expand opportunity rather than strangle it.

So how does one billionaire turn out like Trump and another like Soros? Is it their upbringing? Their worldview? A personality quirk? Or is it a combination of all of it? It’s keeping me up at night.

The Fathers: Love vs. Power

I have always said, if you want to understand a man, start with his father. Many say it’s the mother, but I think it’s the father.

Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was a cold, ruthless real estate mogul who believed success was about dominance. He raised Donald to believe that weakness was a sin and that the world was divided into killers and losers. In Fred’s eyes, his son wasn’t a child to be nurtured—he was a project to be molded into a winner. And when molding didn’t work, he beat him up. Sent him to an abusive boarding school. Trump never belonged anywhere, had no friends, and still doesn’t. The result? Donald Trump, a man who spends every waking moment trying to prove that he is the biggest, toughest, most important person in the room.

Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, was—by Musk’s own admission—“evil.” A wealthy, manipulative man, Errol had a toxic presence in Elon’s life, reportedly abusive both mentally and physically, and morally corrupt. Musk, for all his bluster, carries the scars of that upbringing. He doesn’t just want to be rich—he wants to prove he’s the smartest person alive. Every new venture, every reckless tweet, every chaotic decision is a way to assert his superiority over the world.

He was autistic in South Africa when it wasn’t even a word. The kids beat him up. A lot. Badly. One day he came home, and his father made him stand there, in front of him, for hours, berating him about how he could have let them do this to him, and then he beat him some more.

Interesting that these people emerging now as the new power brokers in our country are flawed and beaten and, in their heart of hearts, think they are less than. So the more you appear more than (Zelensky), the more they will take this power they finally have and beat you into submission.

Now, compare that to George Soros. George’s father, Tivadar Soros, was a writer, intellectual, and adventurer who taught his son to think critically, question everything, and see the world as interconnected. Tivadar wasn’t interested in raising a conqueror—he was interested in raising a thinker. And that’s exactly what he did.

When they were hiding in plain sight in Hungary during WWII, George’s father told him that nothing is as it appears. If someone tells you it’s a lovely day outside, go look out the window. He hid his son with a Nazi commandant because no one would look for a Jewish boy in that house. He had George meet him at the baths because Jews didn’t go to the baths during the war for obvious reasons.

Warren Buffett’s father, Howard Buffett, was a mild-mannered congressman and investor who believed in ethics, frugality, and fairness. Unlike Fred Trump, who drilled the importance of winning into his son, Howard Buffett taught his son how to think about money as a tool, not an identity. Warren never developed the desperate need for validation that Trump and Musk exhibit daily.

If your father teaches you that success means domination, you spend your life trying to crush everyone else. If your father teaches you that wisdom and generosity matter, you see wealth as a means to improve the world.

Intellectual Curiosity: Questioning vs. Proving

I’ve seen this in action. I’ve been at a dinner with Trump. I’ve had dinners with Soros. And I can tell you this—Trump never asked a single question. Not once. He talked about himself, and if you weren’t interested in that, he wasn’t interested in you. And there were some very interesting humans at the table.

George Soros is endlessly curious. He wants to know what you think, why you think it, and where he might be wrong. He doesn’t need to prove he is smart—he wants to turn things over and over in his mind to figure them out for himself. Not to impress anyone else. He never talks about himself. He will answer questions about his ideas, but he has no interest in wasting his time telling you about a win he had. Or who thinks he’s special this week.

That difference? It shows up everywhere.

Elon Musk doesn’t ask questions. He makes declarations. He positions himself as an infallible genius, whether he’s talking about AI, space travel, or social media. If he doesn’t know something, he doesn’t seek out an expert—he makes it up.

Warren Buffett constantly asks questions. He reads, listens, and adjusts. He doesn’t assume he knows everything, and that humility is why he’s been able to adapt and thrive for so long. And his daily interactions with his partner, Charlie Munger (recently passed away), were because he believed Charlie was bringing something to the table that he didn’t.

If you’re constantly proving yourself, you don’t have time to grow. And if you don’t grow, you stay locked in the same defensive, insecure mindset forever.

How They Use Their Money: Hoarding vs. Expanding

Donald Trump: Hoard & Inflate
Trump doesn’t invest in the future—he invests in himself. His wealth exists to bolster his image, not to build anything lasting. His businesses? Mostly scams. His philanthropy? A joke. His entire financial empire is about appearing rich, not actually using wealth to create value.

Elon Musk: Hoard & Destroy
Musk is different in that he actually does build things—Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink—but he treats them as extensions of his ego rather than tools for progress. He doesn’t just want to make money—he wants worship. And when he doesn’t get it (see Twitter), he burns it all to the ground just to prove he can. Is this the beating he didn’t have the courage to give to the boys that beat him when he was defenseless?

George Soros: Expand & Uplift
Soros has spent billions—not on yachts or vanity projects, but on democracy, education, and human rights. He funds free press initiatives. He supports marginalized communities. He doesn’t need the credit, and he doesn’t need to be loved. He just believes that people deserve freedom, and he’s willing to pay for it.

When he got to England, he studied under Karl Popper at the London School of Economics, where he was taught about a pure open society. And he spent his life trying to support that theory.

Warren Buffett: Expand & Educate
Buffett has pledged to give away over 99% of his wealth. He doesn’t believe in dynastic power, and he doesn’t think being a billionaire makes him superior. He sees money as a tool, not an identity, and he uses it accordingly.

Trump and Musk believe wealth is about control.
Soros and Buffett believe wealth is about responsibility.

Legacy: What Happens When They’re Gone?

I believe Trump’s empire would collapse. And, I don’t think he has an empire, although at the end of this mess he’s creating, he most likely will. Musk’s legacy would depend on the leadership left behind. But Soros and Buffett’s work would continue, shaping generations. They made sure of it. Both of them.

So here’s the scary part—we elevated the wrong ones.

We keep handing the microphone to the men who hoard power and burn things down while ignoring the ones who quietly build a better world.

How about we start posting about what the builders—Soros, Melinda Gates, MacKenzie Scott, Warren Buffett—are doing today?

Maybe the real question isn’t why billionaires turn out so differently. Maybe the real question is why we, as a society, keep choosing the worst voices to magnify.

I will ponder that for the rest of the week and try to think of ways I can start putting out information that will build, not destroy. How about we all agree to forward something about a billionaire who is building something.