Apple is pretty genius when it comes to marketing. It's managed to position itself as a luxury brand; people perceive iPhones as luxury items, as a sign of good financial standing.
Even though Android phones can be far more expensive than your average iPhone, iPhones are seen as the high status smartphone in today's zeitgeist.
But what do actual high status individuals choose? What smartphone brands do the richest 1% of society choose? And what can that teach the rest of us? Let's try to find out!
Bill Gates uses a folding Android phone – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Bill Gates showing his Z Fold | Source - Mrwhosetheboss
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, net worth 124 billion USD, uses a Galaxy Z Fold 5 right now, and a Z Fold 4 before that. And the Z Fold 3 before that! He's basically been sticking with Samsung through most of its folding growing pains.
It's safe to say that Gates is a tech nerd like most of us, considering his long history with Microsoft, and turbulent, occasionally frenemy relationship with late Apple legend Steve Jobs.
Should we even pretend to be surprised that a multi-billionaire businessman such as him prefers the unique, productivity-empowering form factor of the Galaxy Z Fold over an iPhone 15? Hardly.
Like the rest of us Z Fold fans (I'm using the Z Fold 5 myself right now), he doesn't seem to mind the minor hassle of carrying around a bulkier phone that needs constant unfolding, if it equates to having a pocketable, cutting-edge, powerful tablet on you at all times.
Gotta wonder – is Gates one of those people who actually uses Samsung DeX? Is he taking advantage of all the niche, nice Z Fold 5 productivity features? Or is he simply a fan of the unique form factor?
Either way, a "normie" iPhone clearly won't cut it for him, especially knowing Apple was a bitter rival in his eyes for many, many years working at Microsoft.
Mark Zuckerberg uses a flagship Android with a stylus – Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Mark Zuckerberg and his S23 Ultra | Source - SamMobile
Mark Zuckerberg, who is among the top four richest people in the world, was often seen rocking a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra last year. It's possible he's upgraded to the newer S24 Ultra by now, but the point is – the Facebook billionaire clearly prefers Samsung's popular flagship over anything Apple has in store.
Unlike Bill Gates, apparently Zuck prefers the more traditional slab phone form factor over extravagant foldable designs, but his phone still has a niche gimmick – a built-in stylus.
But that's unlikely to be the reason he picked this phone, considering Galaxy S23 is generally such a top-of-the-food-chain Android flagship.
There's a good chance that the CEO of Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) simply wanted to pick the most top tier non-Apple phone, and naturally ended up with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Fair enough!
Jeff Bezos is a mystery, but we can speculate
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, worth 190.7 billion USD, is not as open in regards to what smartphone he's using. He has pretty good reasons to be private about it, in fact.
Unreliable sources claim he's currently carrying a Google Pixel or a Samsung Galaxy phone, although I'm willing to bet it's neither.
We do know Bezos used an iPhone back in 2020, which was unfortunately hacked via WhatsApp. That event likely got him to switch sides to Android, but it's reasonable to assume he's chosen some niche, ultra-security-oriented version of Android, on a security-oriented phone. Perhaps tailor-made for him alone, at least on the software side.
What brand that phone might be, we don't know, but that's the whole point of it – mr. Bezos has every reason to keep it a secret. Regardless, it's very, very likely to be an Android-based smartphone.
Elon Musk is an outlier (as in most other things), Warren Buffet too, but we can understand why
Not all of the top richest people in the world are team Android, though, for various, understandable reasons.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, chairman of X (formerly Twitter), worth 205.2 billion USD, has reportedly been seen with both iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones over the recent years.
He's mentioned he prefers the iPhone, and is supposedly using one right now. Also we can't overlook some crazy rumors floating around, claiming he might be launching his own "Tesla Pi" phone someday, although they're evidently unfounded, and unlikely.
Warren Buffett is a name you may not have heard of, but he's also among the top 10 richest people in the world. A legendary investor and businessman, he is currently worth 133.3 billion USD at age 93.
Considering his age and sphere of work, it's no shocker that he's not exactly as interested in smartphones as some of the tech billionaires we mentioned earlier. In fact, he's known to have been casually rocking a flip phone for many, many years, before Tim Cook eventually convinced him to start using an iPhone, by just constantly sending him free ones. Clever!
The latest reports say Buffett is still using the 2019 iPhone 11.
Should you join the billionaires club and start using Android flagships?
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and its stylus
It appears that like most of us casual folk, billionaires either go with an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. You don't see many of them rocking an Asus phone, or Sony, or Xiaomi, or any of the many other options. Just the absolute most popular brands.
But unlike the majority of casual consumers, it does look like some of the top 1% really love niche Android flagships with specific gimmicks. Whether it's the foldable Z Fold, or the stylus-packing S23 Ultra…
At the end of the day, it only makes sense that tech billionaires would prefer an interesting, unique, niche phone, over the safe and comfortable iPhone.
So, should you switch to Android, if you're an iPhone user? Well, that's up for the individual in you to decide. But do let us know – are you using an iPhone or an Android phone, and would you still use that phone if you were to become a billionaire tomorrow? Or would you go crazy and buy some ultra-extravagant, gold-plated iPhone, unlike the billionaires on this list?
Learn more about these phones:
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review
- Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max review
