Beyond the Boardroom: The CEO Who Trades Million-Dollar Deals for Heart-Stopping High-Speed Races

In order to be a CEO, you need a variety of skills, from being able to stay calm under pressure to making tough decisions when it matters. That’s probably why so many seem to love participating in high-risk sports.

For example, Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke “immediately fell in love” with racing cars after visiting a track with a friend, he told Stripe’s “Cheeky Pint” podcast, which aired on Monday. His Instagram feed is a love letter to the sport. Business Insider reports that Lütke has already competed in various events, including the Daytona, Florida-held, endurance race, the Rolex 24.

“I don’t even try to win,” he said on the podcast. “I’m still competing against myself, and I see all of the other cars as obstacles.”

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Like Lütke, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also enjoys being in the driver’s seat. At one time, Altman owned at least five race cars, The New Yorker reported back in 2016. With OpenAI’s current $500 billion valuation, one can only guess how many he has now.

Meanwhile, The Information reported in 2023 that Altman is also getting his pilot’s license — and so is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Further, Zuckerberg is a huge fan of combat sports like MMA. He’s rented out entire arenas to watch the fights, sparred on a barge in the middle of the water, had major surgery to fix a fighting injury, won a gold medal in jiu jitsu, and even built a “backyard” octagon at his Ko’olau Ranch compound in Hawaii.

Related:‘I Love This Sport’: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Enters Into ‘Massive Partnership’ With UFC

All of this caused the company to warn investors about the “risk factors” in its 2023 10-K annual report: “Mr. Zuckerberg and certain other members of management participate in various high-risk activities, such as combat sports, extreme sports, and recreational aviation, which carry the risk of serious injury and death.”

Still, Lütke told the podcast that high-risk sports like racing help him perfect a variety of skills, from improving driving to anticipating what’s next.

“The immediacy and the adrenaline,” Lütke said. “It’s just a brilliant thing that I discovered for myself.”

In order to be a CEO, you need a variety of skills, from being able to stay calm under pressure to making tough decisions when it matters. That’s probably why so many seem to love participating in high-risk sports.

For example, Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke “immediately fell in love” with racing cars after visiting a track with a friend, he told Stripe’s “Cheeky Pint” podcast, which aired on Monday. His Instagram feed is a love letter to the sport. Business Insider reports that Lütke has already competed in various events, including the Daytona, Florida-held, endurance race, the Rolex 24.

“I don’t even try to win,” he said on the podcast. “I’m still competing against myself, and I see all of the other cars as obstacles.”