36 Famous Celebrities and Successful People Who Meditate (The Ultimate List)

Lately, there’s a lot of buzz about how meditation can improve your life. Over a thousand scientific studies have been done on the effectiveness of meditation and the results are strong, like this study that found that meditation makes brains several years younger than their counterparts.

But are there any successful people coming forth admitting that they meditate?

I’ve compiled the ultimate list of successful or famous people who meditate with links to sources.

Successful People Who Meditate

Here are some famous meditators and links to proof:

• Bill Gates
• Will Smith
• Kobe Bryant meditates every morning to anchor himself and control the day
• Michael Jordan
• Jennifer Lopez

In this 1999 interview with Oprah, Jennifer explains how meditation helps her stay on top of her hectic celebrity life.

In this 2017 interview, she reveals she does it in the morning and the night.

• Phil Jackson, coach of Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers, is the one who introduced and instituted a daily mindfulness meditation practice to all the team players, including Scottie Pipen, Shaquille O’Neill, Dennis Rodman, and more. This is detailed in his book Eleven Rings.
• Russell Simmons, music icon and founder of Def Jam Records. He wrote a whole book on meditation called Success Through Stillness.
• Kendrick Lamar
• Arnold Schwarzenegger
• George Lucas, billionaire and creator of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones
• Lilly Singh, #10 on Forbes highest paid YouTubers with 13+ million subscribers and estimated $10.5 million (source: Chapter 12 of her book, How To Be A Bawse)
• Sheryl Crow
• Paul McCartney

• Clint Eastwood has been practicing transcendental meditation for 40 years.

• Mario Batali
• Jerry Seinfield
• Jessica Alba
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Arianna Huffington
• Katy Perry, Transcendental Meditation changed her life.
• Rick Rubin has been called “the most important [music] producer of the last 20 years” by MTV. He admitted he meditates in the book Tribe of Mentors:

“When I was 14 years old, my neck hurt, and my pediatrician suggested Transcendental Meditation. The time spent meditating since then has been my most worthwhile investment … Some of the more specific effects it’s had on my life include the ability to focus — to be one-pointed. It’s also a way to get yourself out of the way and see things for waht they are, without the narrative that we put on them.”

• Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn
• Eric Ripert is one of the best chefs in the world. He has maintained a New York Times’s highest four-star rating for twenty years, the longest a restaurant has been able to do so. Here’s what he said in Tribe of Mentors on meditation:

“To avoid feeling overwhelmed or unfocused, I spend about one hour meditating each morning. It’s taught me to make space for happiness and calm in my day.”

• Clay Collins, founder of an 8 figure SaaS company, Leadpages, admitted in this podcast interview (11 minutes from the end) that he meditates and that he attributes a lot of his success of his company to it because it has prevented him from saying stupid stuff when he’s angry.
• Ray Dalio has said similar stuff about the impact of meditation in his success for emotional control, which is crucial to making good investment decisions in the financial markets.
• Pat Flynn is an online entrepreneur who makes six figures net profit every month. In this episode on turning 35 years old, he explains how he was first skeptical of meditation but then tested it and learned how it helped him manage an overwhelming amount of tasks and responsibilities.
• Timothy Ferriss
• Joe Rogan
• Kristen Bell
• Heather Graham
• Russell Brand
• Howard Stern has practiced transcendental meditation since 18.
• Big Sean, famous rapper, mentioned in an Instagram video that he meditates. His colleagues ask him how he’s able to clear his mind so easily, and he said it’s not as hard as you think.

As you can see, there are plenty of famous people who meditate, most of which found out about it on their own, sometimes decades ago. As far as celebrities who meditate go, this list isn’t a list of barely recognizable names. From famous athletes who meditate to A-list entrepreneurs, these are names we recognize at the top of their craft where every second of their time matters.

• Daniel Negreanu, one of the world’s best Poker players. He’s won millions of dollars playing Poker professionally, and his article emphasizes the value of mindfulness, meditation, and yoga for keeping calm in stressful situations and being present while playing Poker.

“When people start with meditation they often think they are doing it wrong because they are unable to clear their mind of thoughts. There is no wrong way to do meditation, thoughts will come and go, the mind is designed to have thoughts. Over time, the thoughts don’t go away, but you become better at simply noticing them and separating yourself from your minds thoughts.” -Daniel Negreanu

• RuPaul has talked about the power of meditation a few times, including in his MasterClass. Known as the world’s most famous drag queen, he says if praying is talking to God, meditating is listening to God.
• Faker, widely regarded as the best player to ever play in competitive League of Legends esports.

Successful People Who Don’t Meditate

Meditation isn’t some magic key that guarantees success in every area of your life. Yes, it can enhance your focus, empathy, control of your emotions, but those are simply levers that increase your chances of success, not guarantee it.

Therefore, here are some successful people who have mentioned they don’t meditate.

My morning routine

I don’t:
– Meditate
– Make matcha tea for 34 minutes
– Do affirmations
– Do yoga

Sorry “gurus” I know I am going to hell https://t.co/BICKVDxOGu

— Ramit Sethi (@ramit) March 7, 2018

Ramit Sethi is the founder of a multi-million dollar online business and best-selling author.

Some successful people like Richard Branson (in his blog articles) and Jackie Chan have come on camera to say they don’t meditate.

For example, I’ve studied Warren Buffett’s life in detail over various biographies and documentaries and there is no indication that he meditates.

So is meditating worth it for you? I think it’s worth testing out consistently for at least a year before labeling it as something that doesn’t work. If you never try, you’ll never know for sure. As you can see, it works for many people.