Want to Be More Like Elon Musk and Beyoncé? Here Is Who They Follow on Twitter. For many of the biggest personalities, they take the less-is-more approach.
By Nina Zipkin
Social media can be all-consuming, the constant scroll and need to see what everyone is doing at all times. But there is something to be said for quality over quantity. Many of the most famous people have millions of followers on Twitter, but they do very little following of their own. Take a look at who the people are who captured their attention.
Brian Dowling | Getty ImagesElon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO follows 47 accounts. A lot of those are aerospace and news-related, but he does follow six actual people:
- Oculus VR CTO John Carmack
- His ex-wife, actress and writer Talulah Riley
- His brother, fellow entrepreneur Kimbal Musk
- Science blogger Tim Urban, co-founder of waitbutwhy.com
- Comedian John Oliver
- Science blogger Phil Plait
Musk also seems to be a fan of the cartoon comedies Rick & Morty and South Park.
Daniel Zuchnik | Getty ImagesWarren Buffett
Zero. The Oracle of Omaha has 1.35 million followers, but has only actually tweeted nine times. We do know from his account that he is a supporter of Sheryl Sandberg's organization Lean In and he is a fan of Breaking Bad.
Not even the Oracle knows what will happen tonight. #waltsuccessor pic.twitter.com/EM8gIzZib5
— Warren Buffett (@WarrenBuffett) September 30, 2013
George Pimentel | Getty ImagesOprah Winfrey
Winfrey has 41.2 million followers, but only follows 289 accounts. She predominantly follows the people she works with on her network, (very famous) friends and writers she admires. Lately she has been using the platform to share her thoughts and prayers for those affected by the wildfires in California, to talk about her upcoming film, A Wrinkle in Time and congratulate the most recent addition to Weight Watcher's slate of celeb ambassadors.
.@djkhaled Welcome to #WWFreestyle. Can't wait to see you #blessup this program ????
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 2, 2018
Alberto E. Rodriguez | Getty ImagesJeff Bezos
Zero. Bezos has only tweeted 139 times, and mainly uses his account to share news about Amazon and Blue Origin, like this video from December 2017
First use of our landing pad bot #Blue2D2. @blueorigin pic.twitter.com/Ht2P7yVwEs
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 15, 2017
Aurelien Meunier | Getty ImagesBill Gates
Gates is actually fairly active on Twitter. He follows 183 accounts total but 79 individual people including a variety of world leaders, economists, scientists, writers and actors. It's quite an eclectic list that includes Malala Yousafzai, Mandy Moore and AOL co-founder Steve Case.
He frequently tweets about what inspires him, especially books.
Melinda and I have been working for some time to learn more about the challenges Americans face moving up the economic ladder. This book helped me understand what it's like to be poor in the U.S. better than anything else I've read: https://t.co/inBzufT8pP pic.twitter.com/I6x7ztXIhV
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 20, 2017
Kevin Mazur | Getty ImagesBeyoncé
Queen Bey is more known for her highly curated and art directed Instagram account than for her Twitter presence. She's only tweeted 10 times and 15.2 million people follow her. She follows exactly eight people and two organizations, her non-profit BeyGood and BeyonceWeb, a dedicated fan account.
Here are the people she follows:
- Activist DeRay Mckesson
- Michelle Williams
- Usher
- Mariah Carey
- Kelly Rowland
- Angie Beyince
- Solange Knowles
Charley Gallay | Getty ImagesKim Kardashian
Whatever you think about Kim Kardashian, her business savvy as far as constructing her image is pretty unparalleled. She has 58.2 million followers and only follows 129 people, many of them her fans, but mostly her family members and other famous faces.
Isabel Infantes | PA Images | Getty ImagesTaylor Swift
Zero. The pop superstar has 85.8 million followers, has tweeted 81 times and has a very on-the-nose Twitter bio tying into her most recent album: "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now."
Related: 5 Business Lessons From Taylor Swift
Chris Haston | Bravo | Getty ImagesConan O’Brien
The comedian and host has 27.9 million followers and follows just one person, a woman named Sarah Killen. No celebs, just a single civilian, whose Twitter bio reads: "I love to smile and have fun in life. I think that anyone and anything can be forgiven and we should all just love and be." He sort of explains why in this tweet:
I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) March 5, 2010
