Jeff Bezos AND Elon Musk are two of the richest business leaders in the world, with respectively net worth of $202.5 billion and $261 billion. But that's not the only thing they have in common.
60-year-old Amazon founder and 53-year-old Tesla CEOs happen to be the oldest children in their families.
Related: How being the oldest child affects your success in business and life
Bezos has a younger brother named Mark and a sister named Christina, both of whom were early investors in Amazon; they bought 30,000 shares each for $10,000potentially worth more than $1 billion today.
Musk's younger siblings are businessmen Kimball Musk and cinematographer Tosca Musk.
Did Bezos and Musk's first-born sibling status help them achieve their impressive leadership? wealth and success? Being the oldest child certainly does not guarantee, but some research suggests that it can prepare people to be strong leaders.
At the beginning of this year, entrepreneur sat down with Dr. Brittany McGeehana licensed psychologist based in Frisco, Texas who specializes in working with with high achievementsto learn more about how birth order affects personal and professional outcomes, including leadership ability.
Although McGeehan admits that inferences about birth order and sUccess it doesn't apply to everyone, older children tend to be “natural born leaders”, she says.
Actually, two important ones leadership qualities can help create siblings seen as people to look up to. As adults, they are often able to take responsibility and handle critical feedback more effectively than their younger siblings, according to McGeehan.
Related: These leadership mistakes by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk should be a warning to all entrepreneurs
Parents who want their children to find success in business (or whatever path they follow) should pay attention to their children's attributes and interests, says McGeehan.
Providing structure IS important, McGeehan notes—but so is finding the “sweet spot” where the child can “rely on work ethic without interrupting himself”.