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Home / Blog / Inspiration / Men of Modest Height

Top 17 Short CEOs, Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

Published on February 17, 2019 by Brock McGoff · Men of Modest Height May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

You’ve probably heard that tall men get better jobs, make more money and have more power than short men, right? 

Short CEOs Entrepreneurs
Photo by PopularImages / Depositphotos.com

There is some truth to this. After all, heightism is a real, and it’s one of the most subtle forms of prejudice embedded in modern societies.

For example, some studies suggest that the majority of CEOs in America are above average height. And on a practical level, heightist language is woven into our culture with phrases like “look up to” and “stand tall”.

But it would be a mistake to believe that shorter men aren’t capable of building businesses, leading people and amassing ridiculous amounts of wealth.

Here are 18 short CEO’s, entrepreneurs and business leaders who are crazy successful, regardless of their height.

Quick disclaimer: we’re not saying these are all good people. This list is only focused on business and financial success.

NameHeightNet Worth
Jeff Bezos5’8”$156 billion
Bill Gates5'9"$94 billion
Warren Buffett5'10''$83 billion
Carlos Slim 5'7"$67 billion
Mark Zuckerberg5’7”$57 billion
Sergey Brin5’7”$49 billion
Jack Ma4'11"$35 billion
Dustin Moskovitz5’8”$10 billion
Travis Kalanick5’8”$6 billion
Jack Dorsey5’10”$5 billion
Brian Chesky5’8” $4 billion
Arash Ferdowsi5'7"$1.3 billion
Grant Cardone5’9”$300 million
Steve Chen5'6"$300 million
Gary Vaynerchuk5’7”$160 million
Shantanu Narayen5’6”$140 Million
Satya Nadella5’7”$130 million

Mark Zuckerberg – 5’7″

Chief Executive Officer of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg helped to co-found the worldwide social media network back in 2004.

Mark Zuckerberg
Photo by PopularImages / Depositphotos.com

Arguably one of the most famous short entrepreneurs of our time, the 5’7” American tech mogul and philanthropist has a net worth of $57 billion and is ranked as the fourth wealthiest American by Forbes.

Jeff Bezos – 5’8”

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the wildly successful online giant Amazon.

Jeff Bezos with Lauren
Photo by PopularImages / Depositphotos.com

He’s not only a creative technology entrepreneur but also an influential investor and philanthropist. With an estimated net with of over $156 billion, 5’8” Bezos is considered to be the wealthiest person in the world.

Carlos Slim – 5’7″

Several times since 2007, Carlos Slim surpassed Warren Buffett and Bill Gates as the wealthiest person in the world.

 

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A post shared by Carlos Slim official (@oficialcarlosslim)

He’s also a successful investor and motivational speaker with a personal net worth of $83 billion. Needless to say, 5’10” isn’t exactly short. It’s about average height in the U.S.

But still, with the majority of CEOs and presidents being over six feet tall, we thought it’s important to remember that one of the richest men in the world is just average, in terms of height.

Grant Cardone – 5’9”

Standing 5’9” tall, Grant Cardone started his career as a real estate mogul. He’s now a bestselling author and owner of Cardone Enterprises.

Grant Cardone
Photo by s_bukley / Depositphotos.com

Across the globe, Cardone is known as a top sales and marketing trainer who holds inspirational seminars to help other aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their vision.

Brian Chesky – 5’8”

Most people have heard of Airbnb, which has taken off as a wildly popular alternative to traditional hotels and hostels.

 

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A post shared by Brian Chesky (@bchesky)

Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky, 5’8” tall, has reached a net worth of $4 billion in just a few short years.

Jack Dorsey – 5’10”

Jack Dorsey started his professional career as a computer programmer. Like Warren Buffett, he’s about average height. But considering the empire he’s built, he’s earned a place on this list.

 

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A post shared by Jack Dorsey Hemsworth (@jackdhemsworth)

In the early 2000s, he helped to co-found the Obvious Corporation, which later became the Twitter that we all know and love. He also worked on the Square, a mobile device used for credit and debit payments.

Travis Kalanick – 5’8″

Since Uber’s beginnings in 2009, the company has become the go-to ride-sharing service in major cities across the globe.

 

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A post shared by HdE TALENT (@hde.talent)

The 5’8” founder and CEO, Travis Kalanick, is also co-founder of peer-to-peer exchange services Scour and Red Swoosh.

In our opinion, Kalanick isn’t doing short guys any favors. His aggressive pursuit of power and wealth, lack of morals and treatment of women make all men look bad.

Travis is why people still use the term Napoleon Complex. Come on, Travis…get it together, man!

Jack Ma – 4’11”

Jack Ma, is the founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a Chinese multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail and AI technology.

Jack Ma
Photo by ChinaImages / Depositphotos.com

Ma is also an investor and a philanthropist with a net worth of $35 billion. Standing at just 4’11”, he’s about the same height as our shortest U.S. president.

Satya Nadella – 5’8″

At 5’8”, Nadella stands at the same height as Oscar-nominated famous short actor Mark Wahlberg.

 

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A post shared by Jack Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom)

He’s an American business executive who succeeded Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft in 2014 after playing other key roles within the company since the early 1990s.

Sergey Brin – 5’8”

Standing 5’8” tall, American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur Sergey Brin co-founded Google alongside his partner, Larry Page.

 

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A post shared by SILICON VALLEY LOOP (@siliconvalleyloop)

Now he acts as president of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. and holds a net worth of $49 billion.

Gary Vaynerchuk – 5’7”

Gary Vaynerchuk is a Belarusian-American entrepreneur, speaker, and bestselling author who stands at just 5’7”.

 

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A post shared by Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk (@garyvee)

He started his foray into the world of business when he became involved in his family’s wine business, raising its worth from $3 million to $60 million. He later founded VaynerMedia, a social media agency, alongside his brother.

Bill Gates – 5’9″

Despite being the second wealthiest business magnate in the world after Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates is far from the tallest, which can be surprising considering his towering 6’7” father.

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates
Photo by ChinaImages / Depositphotos.com

At 5’9”, Bill Gates Jr. founded Microsoft and holds a net worth of $94 billion. Many people look up to the short entrepreneur not just because of his success, but also his extensive charity work through Gates Foundation.

Shantanu Narayen – 5’6″

Indian-American business executive Shantanu Narayen is a tech expert, working for companies such as Apple, Silicon Graphics, and Pictra Inc. over the course of his career.

 

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A post shared by Sinha Rk (@rksinhabjp)

The 5’6” magnate is currently acting CEO of Adobe Systems and president of the board of the Adobe Foundation.

Steve Chen – 5’6″

American tech mogul Steve Chen is one of the co-founders and previously acted as CTO for YouTube, a video sharing service that’s used by artists worldwide to share their work.

 

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A post shared by Guilherme Müller (@guig.muller)

The 5’6″ entrepreneur also helped co-found AVOS Systems, Inc., and the mobile app MixBit.

Arash Ferdowsi – 5’7″

Standing at 5’7″, Iranian-American entrepreneur Arash Ferdowsi has a net worth of $1.3 billion.

 

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A post shared by Tidepool (Brooke Embry) (@tidepoolreps)

He’s the co-founder of Dropbox, launching the widely-used app before he was even out of university. Ferdowsi served as CTO of Dropbox until late 2016 but remains a member of the company’s board of directors.

Dustin Moskovitz – 5’8″

Moskovitz helped to found Facebook back in college alongside Mark Zuckerberg.

 

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A post shared by Tommy Fung (@tommyfcy)

Although he hasn’t enjoyed the same claim to fame as his co-founder, he’s still doing alright for himself. Moskovitz went on to found online company Asana and the philanthropic venture known as Good Ventures.


This list goes to show that height isn’t everything. Whether you want to build a massive real estate empire or create the next big mobile app, you don’t have to let your physical stature determine your fate.

Whatever you do, remember that money and power isn’t everything. Treat people with respect, and remember to be thankful every day.

Who did we miss? Leave a comment below!

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About Brock McGoff

The Modest Man founder, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his family, discovering new brands and creating great content.

Background: Brock McGoff has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a professional background in digital marketing. He believes that men's fashion is just one facet of self-improvement, and he started The Modest Man to help regular guys feel more confident by improving their appearance.

An east coast native, Brock currently lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. When he's not working, he spends time with family, training BJJ, reading/listening to books and podcasts, and unsuccessfully trying to decide which movie to stream.

Expertise: Brock has built a men's lifestyle YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. He's also worked as the creative marketing manager in a men's apparel startup. Brock has been quoted in, mentioned by or featured in publications like Esquire, Huff Post, Men's Health, WWD and Forbes.

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    Got questions? Want to share your opinion? Comment below!

  1. AMC says

    April 25, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    Sooo you have nine short CEOs here not 17, I agree with the point of the article – of course you’re height doesn’t matter but since when was 5’9” short lol. 5’8” isn’t short either like!

    Reply
    • Brock says

      April 25, 2019 at 5:40 pm

      Average height in the U.S. is 5’10”, so anything below that is considered short.

      Reply
      • AMC says

        April 26, 2019 at 4:56 pm

        No it isn’t, being under 5’10” doesn’t make someone short. Of course opinions will vary but if you asked ten people on the street, I’m pretty sure they’d define anything under 5’8″ as short. You do realise you yourself define it as such on your homepage, right?! 😀 A 5’7″ is short, a 5’9″ guy is not. Modest / medium height, sure.

        Anyway, cool blog, like what you’re doing here 🙂

        Reply
        • chris says

          December 22, 2020 at 2:01 am

          Yea for me 5’7 is starting to push it but 5’8-5’9 seems fairly unnoticeable to me

          Reply
  2. mpfarr says

    February 18, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    Your sorting feature of the Net Worth column doesn’t work.

    Reply
    • Brock says

      February 18, 2019 at 3:35 pm

      Oops. Apparently the table doesn’t know the difference between billion and million. I yelled at it, “That’s BILLION…with a B!” but it didn’t work. I just changed it to auto sort by net worth. Thanks for catching that.

      Reply

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