If you’re wondering how Brad Jacobs built a multibillion-dollar fortune, the answer isn’t flashy innovation or viral branding. It’s discipline. The billionaire CEO and chairman of QXO has spent decades eliminating friction inside complex companies. Ranked #68 on the 2025 Forbes 400, Jacobs has led businesses in logistics, equipment rental, and construction supply—industries where inefficiency quickly destroys margins. His formula is surprisingly simple: cut what doesn’t compound value. Around his companies, bad ideas get labeled “WOT-WOM.” Say it aloud and it sounds like “womp womp.”
Jacobs’ career includes building and scaling companies that became standout performers in the Fortune 500. Two of his ventures ranked among the sixth and seventh best-performing stocks of the past decade. His approach isn’t rooted in corporate slogans or motivational speeches. Instead, it centers on operational friction. He believes most underperformance comes not from bad strategy but from accumulated drag—layers, meetings, duplicated roles, and misaligned incentives.
In his book How to Make a Few More Billion Dollars, Jacobs outlines the frameworks behind his success. But when asked what matters most, he points to resource allocation. Employee time and company money are finite. Leaders must decide where they compound and where they evaporate. That clarity shapes every acquisition and restructuring decision he makes.
Jacobs created a shared language inside his companies to challenge low-value work. Any project that doesn’t drive revenue growth or expand margins can be called “WOT-WOM”—waste of time, waste of money. The phrase is intentionally blunt. It gives employees permission to question unnecessary complexity without hierarchy getting in the way.
The test is straightforward: does the activity directly or indirectly compound shareholder value? If not, it gets redesigned or removed. This framework prevents organizations from drifting into bloated structures. Over time, unchecked complexity slows decision-making and erodes profitability. Jacobs’ system forces constant pruning.
One of Jacobs’ most discussed leadership tools is what he calls the “resignation test.” He imagines an employee walking into his office and quitting. His emotional reaction determines their category. Relief signals a C player. Mild concern suggests a B player. Panic—true difficulty replacing them—marks an A player.
Jacobs believes A players thrive when surrounded by other A players. High performers raise each other’s standards. Conversely, tolerating underperformance, especially in leadership roles, spreads dysfunction. His companies aim to eliminate prolonged C-player drag. The philosophy isn’t about harshness; it’s about maintaining momentum.
Few CEOs publicly admit they “geek out” over organizational design. Jacobs does. He studies org charts the way others study balance sheets. To him, a clean org chart signals clarity of purpose and speed of execution. It should fit on one page and clearly show how the company generates profit.
Too many layers between the CEO and the customer slow communication and dilute accountability. Jacobs prefers spans of control between seven and fourteen direct reports. After acquiring Beacon, a roofing and waterproofing company, his team reduced layers from nine to four. They removed roughly 250 mid-level and senior roles while investing more heavily in sales, logistics, and customer-facing functions. The goal was alignment, not austerity.
Jacobs draws a clear line between efficiency and reckless cost-cutting. Slashing expenses at the expense of customer experience backfires. Poor service drives churn and forces price concessions later. Instead, he focuses on eliminating waste while strengthening value creation.
Customers reward reliability and responsiveness. Companies that over-index on austerity often undermine growth. Jacobs views efficiency as removing friction so top talent can focus on high-impact work. The difference is strategic discipline rather than blanket cuts.
At QXO, senior leaders collectively own roughly 30% of the company’s equity, locked in over a six-year period. Compensation ties directly to total shareholder return relative to the S&P 500. This structure discourages cosmetic short-term gains. Leaders win only if investors win.
Jacobs believes alignment between employees and shareholders is non-negotiable. Without it, performance inevitably drifts. Ownership encourages long-term thinking and disciplined capital allocation. Over decades, that consistency compounds.
Jacobs’ fortune reflects thousands of decisions guided by subtraction rather than addition. He doesn’t believe scaling requires doing more. He believes it requires removing what gets in the way of great people doing meaningful work. That philosophy explains why his companies repeatedly outperform peers.
In a business world obsessed with expansion, Jacobs’ “womp womp” rule feels almost contrarian. Yet the results speak clearly. By relentlessly eliminating waste, simplifying structures, and aligning incentives, he has built billions. Sometimes the smartest move isn’t adding another strategy. It’s saying no—and moving on.
Array