This CEO beat Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to be the 'smartest': Report

Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Deep Mind (Image credit: @demishassabis/X)

Elon Musk may be the richest CEO in the world, but he may not be the smartest, according to a new report that analysed 100 American executives to find the most intelligent of them all. Demis Hassabis of Artificial Intelligence company DeepMind beat even Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg to top the list, a Preply report stated.

The e-learning platform considers the way a person uses language as among the clearest indicators of intelligence and compiled its report after analysing how the business leaders speak.

"Their command over a vast vocabulary, their adeptness at employing nuanced phrases, and the complexity of their sentence structures all illuminate depth of thought and understanding. Such proficiency in language often stands as a testament to their cleverness and competence," the report stated.

Elaborating more on the findings, it said that Demis Hassabis of DeepMind- led the pack with an impressive score of 87.33. "Hassabis, known for his dual expertise as an AI researcher and neuroscientist, has enriched his public discourses with a unique blend of knowledge," the report stated. He was followed by Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and legendary investor Warren Buffett who led Berkshire Hathaway.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos made it to the top five with a score of 71.00 round out. "Bezos, in particular, has transformed Amazon from a mere online bookstore to a global e-commerce titan. His foresight, adaptability, and insights shared through his dialogue highlight his remarkable leadership qualities," the Preply report said.

Mark Zuckerberg, however, ranked eighth with a score of 69.67 while Elon Musk settled at number 16 with a score of 64.33.

The report also pointed out that intelligence isn’t the sole determinant of success when leading a company. "Each leader on this list, regardless of their score, has demonstrated distinct leadership qualities and has made noteworthy contributions to their respective sectors," it added and mentioned the contributions of Raj Subramaniam of FedEx.

Although Subramaniam achieved a low score of 31.33, he has consistently showcased a visionary approach, driving innovation and ensuring that "FedEx remains at the forefront of global delivery and supply chain solutions," Preply stated.