It’s Official: Wealth Comes at the Cost of Sleep

“Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms.” Elon Musk has been trying to reassure the shareholders of his companies, worried about his all-consuming new passion for politics. The boss is back to business: the current setbacks facing Tesla, X, and SpaceX will soon be just bad memories — that is the implied message. Especially because, as ultimate proof of his commitment, the entrepreneur will spend his nights at the bedside of production lines and data centers.

The billionaire likes to present himself as an extraordinary figure. And it’s not hard to believe. Yet, according to three Chilean economists — Rodrigo Wagner, Cristian Jara and Francisca Pérez — his willingness to sacrifice sleep is actually quite ordinary. In a recent study, the researchers highlight a global trend: The wealthier people — and societies — grow, the less they sleep. Surprisingly, this holds true both at the individual and national levels: It’s in the world’s wealthiest countries…