bill gatesBarack Obama and Oprah Winfrey all share a daily habit that most Americans have quietly given up: reading.
In fact, according to J.P. Morgan’s latest survey of more than 100 billionaires, Reading ranked No. 1 primary habits What elite achievers have in common
But among the wider public, that habit is breaking down. Two-fifths of Americans I haven’t read a single book in 2025enjoy reading every day plummet About 40% over the past two decades. Experts generally point to the attention economy, driven by social media and increasingly artificial intelligence, as a key driver of the shift in long-form reading.
Brooke Vuckovic, a professor at the university, said the deepening recession has troubling implications for future success. Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. She emphasizes that reading is the cornerstone of nuanced, in-depth analysis and communication, especially key skills for aspiring business leaders.
“Reading novels, biographies, and histories requires concentration, a tolerance for ambiguity, unanswered questions, or unrevealed nuances in characters and situations, and a willingness to subvert our preconceptions,” Vukovich tells us wealth. “All of these qualities are requirements for strong leadership, and they are increasingly in short supply.”
Alison Taylor, professor of business and sociology NYU Stern School of Business In line with this, being a deep thinker is becoming like a “luxury”—increasingly rare and important.
“Having intellectual credibility, being well-read, etc. is definitely something that money can’t buy, so it’s the ultimate status symbol,” she told me wealth”, adding that this is why many CEOs profess a love of reading, even though some are “completely out of their depth” in understanding broad variations in literature, philosophy and geopolitics.
Reading inspires curiosity—what business leaders are looking for
Vukovich practices what she teaches. She reads 35 to 60 novels and short stories a year, a habit that enhances her thinking skills and ability to communicate with others.
She believes that this kind of reading fosters intellectual curiosity, an increasingly valued leadership trait in an age when many decisions are dictated by algorithms and echo chambers.
Research supports this idea. one study American Journal of Sociology surveyed defense contractor managers Raytheon and found that the highest-rated ideas came from those with connections to people outside of their immediate work team. Sociologist Ronald Burt, who led the study, writes that people who are well-read are more likely to come up with good ideas.
Many business leaders say this is the same quality they currently prioritize. Take former Indeed CEO Chris Hyams as an example. he Tell wealth Curiosity and openness are more important than qualifications when evaluating candidates.
Likewise, Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer Last year he said he didn’t care what a candidate’s IQ was, but instead focused on the six most important emotional skills. These include intellectual curiosity, empathy and self-awareness.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon agrees that if leaders don’t intentionally seek new perspectives, they risk stagnating. ‘Leaders must go,’ Dimon Tell LinkedIn last year. “They have to be curious. Ask a million questions.”
Gen Z reads the least—and it could be seriously hurting them
Despite growing opposition from Generation Z Digital “brain rot”” — which even dominates BookTok (a TikTok subcommunity dedicated to books and literature) — young people still choose the least amount of books.
According to YouGov, Americans aged 18 to 29 will read an average of 5.8 books by 2025, the lowest number in history.
Taylor said the decline is particularly troubling in the classroom, where students increasingly rely on AI chatbots to summarize readings rather than delve into the material itself.
While artificial intelligence and other technologies may make reading easier to skip, for Gen Zers with leadership ambitions, avoiding challenges may be counterproductive. After all, strategy and critical thinking are One of the most in-demand soft skills At the company today.
But once they start reading, Vukovich says, the transformation is immediate: “It’s an easy, enjoyable, low-cost way to expand their minds.”