Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg share this trait—and it makes complete sense

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg share this trait—and it makes complete sense·CNBC

Both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, two of the world's most successful individuals, share a top personality trait : their intellect.

That's according to a recent study from job search firm Paysa, which used IBM's supercomputer Watson to analyze Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk and Facebook's CEO Zuckerberg. Paysa also performed an analysis on a number of other tech leaders to determine their top characteristics.

Intellect, which is a "capacity for thinking and acquiring knowledge, especially of a high or complex order," isn't the only trait the CEOs apparently have in common, according to IBM and Paysa. Both are defined in part by immoderation, or a "lack of moderation," and emotionality, an "emotional state or quality."

Other traits Musk seems to possess include cautiousness, or "wariness," and altruism, which is the "the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others." Here's his full personality chart:

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg's other defining personality characteristics include melancholy, which means "sober thoughtfulness," and gregariousness, or "sociability." It's interesting to note that the tech executive scores high on these potentially contradictory qualities, although there's no explanation given.

Here's his full personality chart:

To arrive at these results, Paysa "gathered speeches, essays, books, the transcripts of interviews and other forms of communication produced by those highlighted above." It put over 2,500 words "through the Watson Personality Insights API."

"Personality Insights extracts personality characteristics based on how a person writes," according to IBM Watson's website. "You can use the service to match individuals to other individuals, opportunities, and products, or tailor their experience with personalized messaging and recommendations."

It makes sense that both tech titans share intellect as their top traits. After all, Musk and Zuckerberg are considered to be geniuses and are responsible for products that have revolutionized life for billions of people.

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See also: Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella and Bill Gates share this crucial personality trait for achieving success



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