Brent D. Taylor 
The Outsider’s Edge 
The Making of Self-Made Billionaires

The secret of extreme wealth creation

The Outsider’s Edge reveals the one common denominator the
world’s richest self-made people share. Studying the lives of 17
world-famous billionaires, author and researcher Brent Taylor
discovered that their one shared experience is that of the
outsider. From Bill Gates to Richard Branson to Warren Buffett,
being different from their peers, and proud of it, has served as
prime motivation for many of the world’s most spectacularly
successful people. Turning the conventional wisdom about wealth on
its head, The Outsider’s Edge reveals the true value and importance
of being different.

Brent Taylor (Australia) is a professional researcher who has
worked for more than 20 years as a market researcher to government
and corporations.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

About the Author v

Preface vii

Part I — Introduction

1 Why haven’t I got what Bill Gates has? 3

2 Seeking the causes of extreme wealth 5

Part II — Biographies

3 Bill Gates 13

4 Warren Buffett 25

5 Ingvar Kamprad 37

6 Larry Ellison 47

7 Carl Icahn 59

8 George Soros 69

9 Steve Jobs 79

10 Charles Schwab 93

11 Ralph Lauren 103

12 David Geffen 115

13 Frank Lowy 125

14 Richard Branson 137

15 George Lucas 151

16 Bernie Ecclestone 165

17 Steven Spielberg 177

18 Oprah Winfrey 187

19 John Sperling 195

Part III — The big picture

20 Finding the pattern 207

21 Outsiders and their edge 219

Part IV — Beginnings matter

22 Development pain 243

23 Salvation 287

24 Learning about learning 293

25 Trading intelligence 301

Part V — Lessons learned

26 Don’t try this at home, folks 313

27 Hope for the future 319

Bibliography 325

Further reading 329

Index 333

Über den Autor

Brent D. Taylor (Melbourne, Australia) is a respected social
and market researcher. For the past twenty years he has provided
advice to Australian governments and large corporations. He was a
director of KPMG for four years and ran KPMG’s Centre for
Consumer Behavior. As a researcher Brent has always been fascinated
with extreme achievers, however he became increasingly frustrated
with the lack of explanation as to why extreme achievers are the
way they are. His curiosity and drive have led him to write the
exciting Outsider’s Edge.

Taylor gained a bachelor of Engineering from Auckland University.
He then earned an honours degree in psychology at Melbourne
University. He is currently a member of the Australian Market and
Social Research Society.