Ceo Facts

In 2006, the CEO of Whole Foods reduced his salary to $1 a year, donated his entire portfolio to charity, and set up a $100,000 fund for staff facing personal problems.

As a reward for record profits, the CEO of Lenovo, Yang Yuanqing, received a $3 million bonus, which he redistributed to about 10,000 of Lenovo's employees. He did the same again in 2013.

FedEx was days from collapse. $5,000 left in the bank. Founder Fred Smith flew to Las Vegas and bet it all at blackjack. By morning he had $32,000. Just enough to keep the planes flying one more week. In that week, he closed an $11 million deal. FedEx now makes over $90 billion a year.

Some tech CEOs intentionally use the same outfit every day—like Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck—not out of laziness, but to minimize decision fatigue and boost creativity.