• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Leadershipdyslexia

Here are 5 business leaders who live with dyslexia

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 15, 2015, 1:17 PM ET
Photograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, and you might be surprised to learn that some of the world’s top business leaders are dyslexic.

Dyslexia is characterized as a reading disorder in which the brain has trouble properly processing language, making it difficult to spell, read quickly, and write words.

“Dyslexia is a neurological condition caused by a different wiring of the brain. There is no cure for dyslexia and individuals with this condition must learn coping strategies,” according to the International Dyslexia Association. “Research indicates that dyslexia has no relationship to intelligence. Individuals with dyslexia are neither more nor less intelligent than the general population. But some say the way individuals with dyslexia think can actually be an asset in achieving success.”

In fact, many business leaders with dyslexia have attributed the condition to their success in business. Here’s a look at a few of those individuals.

Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson.

The Virgin CEO recently penned a blog post to raise awareness for the condition and how it inspired him to be a better businessman: “I struggled with dyslexia when I was at school, long before it was widely known—my teachers just thought I was just stupid, lazy or both,” he wrote. “Words just looked like jumbles of letters on the blackboard to me.”

He added: "There are still many dyslexics out there, especially young people, who feel held back by their condition. I used my dyslexia to my advantage and learned to delegate those tasks I wasn’t so good it. This freed me up to look at the bigger picture, and is one of the main reasons I have been able to expand the Virgin brand into so many different areas.”

Barbara Corcoran

Corcoran in her New York City apartment

Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, who currently appears on the hit business reality show "Shark Tank," also considers her dyslexia a boon: “It made me more creative, more social and more competitive,” Corcoran said in an interview with Entrepreneur. “There’s a great freedom to being dyslexic… if you can avoid labeling yourself as a loser in a school system that measures people by As and Bs. And the kids that are so good at school, that don’t have to fight for it, very often they don’t do as well in life and business because they’re not flexible," she said.

Corcoran added: "There’s no system dictated to them out there like it is in school and they certainly tend not to make good entrepreneurs.”

John Chambers

Former Cisco CEO John Chambers

Former Cisco (CSCO) CEO John Chambers disclosed he had dyslexia accidentally at a work event and became a spokesperson for it as a result. He recalled growing up with dyslexia in an interview with Business Insider last year: "In third and fourth grade, my teachers thought I may not go to college. I had two parents who were doctors and my mom was valedictorian in multiple classes. My parents always told me, 'you’re smart' and that’s nice from love, but that’s not what you see."

As a result of dyslexia, Chambers said he became a more savvy and efficient person. "Because of my weakness I’ve learned other ways to accomplish the same goal with faster speed. So in math, I can do equations faster by eliminating the wrong answers quicker than I can get the right answer," he said.

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab

Another highly successful businessman living with dyslexia, the chairman and founder of the American brokerage and banking company has been an advocate to help others with the condition ever since his son was diagnosed. He even wrote a Letter to the Editor about his experiences with dyslexia in the Wall Street Journal: "When I was in grade school in the 1940's there was no word to describe my difficulty with reading and writing," he wrote. "I was 47 before I had a name and a diagnosis for this condition: dyslexia, the most common language-related learning disability."

He also said it proved beneficial to his career. "I think it leads to a better visualization capability, conceptual vision," said Schwab in another interview.

Paul Orfalea

Paul Orfalea (above, left) is the founder of the copying giant Kinko's, which is now owned by FedEx (FDX). He was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD: "I would always hire people who didn't have my skills," he said in an interview with Bloomberg. "My secret was to get out of their way and let them do their job."

"You know what's great about a C student? They have risk-reward pretty much well-wired," he added when discussing growing through school with the two conditions. "A students are always putting in maximum effort, and C students say, 'Well, is it really worth it?'"

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

paralegal
AIdisruption
The most reassuring argument about AI and jobs quietly explains why Gen Z can’t get one
By Nick LichtenbergJune 29, 2026
18 minutes ago
Jim Farley, wearing a suit, sits on stage.
AIAutos
Ford realized AI wasn’t capable of taking human jobs years ago—and hired 350 ‘gray beard’ engineers to steer its program
By Sasha RogelbergJune 29, 2026
53 minutes ago
Seated woman speaking
HealthBrainstorm Tech
‘Cop on your wrist’— Wearables offer tons of data but people are still going to sleep to Netflix and TikTok
By Amanda GerutJune 29, 2026
1 hour ago
Target worker stocks shelves
SuccessJobs
Target is starting to track employees’ unexcused lateness and absences with a points system—and if they rack up 12, they’re fired
By Emma BurleighJune 29, 2026
2 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott (left); Elon Musk (right)
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: ‘Sadly,’ it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
3 hours ago
Dave Portnoy
SuccessCareers
Dave Portnoy quit an $80K sales job to start Barstool—he hand-delivered papers in a secondhand van while living with his girlfriend’s mom for 6 years
By Preston ForeJune 29, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
4 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Success
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
Politics
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
By Jason MaJune 28, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.