Billionaire Ray Dalio Explains Why He Likes To Break Down His Employees' Egos

Bridgewater Associates founder and chair Ray Dalio is one of America's most powerful investors and has an estimated net worth of $15.2 billion. It's safe to say he understands success.

He and fellow self-made billionaire and Harvard Business School alum Michael Bloomberg talked about that subject at the Bloomberg Markets Most Influential Summit on Monday.

At one point moderator Stephanie Ruhle asked the two how they deal with an accomplished new hire's huge ego. Dalio said Bridgewater's culture always breaks them down because the new hire sees really quickly that no one is resting on their laurels. He says that's the key to being successful.

"Everybody's struggling. If you're not struggling then you're not operating at a high enough level. Right? As you go to a new job, as you go to higher and higher levels, you're gonna be struggling, you're gonna fall," he said.

To Dalio, arrogance can become an excuse to be lazy.

"[I]f you want to be powerful, you have to have humility," Dalio said.

In an earlier comment, Bloomberg said that the most successful people never lose a constant, exhausting drive, whether they're just starting out or decades into their career.

"From the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed, you want to be overscheduled and rushing from one thing to another. There's no greater high," Bloomberg said.

You can watch the full interview over at Bloomberg.