Billionaire says Gen Z 'too busy on TikTok' to grow careers

Billionaire John Catsimatidis criticised Gen Z for being 'too busy on TikTok' to kickstart their careers.

Catsimatidis, known for being the CEO and owner of New York grocery chain Gristedes Foods, told the Daily Mail in an interview 'one of the problems we are having in our country these days, the kids are busy playing TikTok.' Going on to describe those who work three days a week as 'failures'.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The 74-year-old shared that when he was younger he worked up to 70 hours week to get himself where he is today after his mother 'threw' him off the couch, despite wanting to 'sleep on the couch the whole summer and watch television'.

Photo by Shingi Rice on Unsplash

He began working at a local grocery store, he explained the job 'taught me the responsibility of a little bit of perfection.' A skill he saw as being fundamental to his eventual success.

Catsimatidis went on to study at New York University, but dropped out despite being only 8 credits away from graduating, to take part-ownership in his first supermarket.

Gristedes now has over 30 stores across New York, with Catsimatidis opening 10 stores by just age 25 claiming to have made his first million at only 24 years old. Catsimatidis' wealth is also a result of his company Red Apple Group, a real estate and aviation company. Now, the businessman is valued at $4.1 billion by Forbes.

The interview, originally published on Mail Online, sparked debate across generations.

One comment criticised Gen Z's lack of interest in 'training, studying, development.' Other commenters said Gen Z are 'lazy,' and just want 'everything handed to them.'

However, some hit back, saying that Gen Z's priorities are different from that of previous generations, choosing happiness and a good work-life balance over career growth. Many younger people also cite factors such as the cost of living crisis, the Covid-19 Pandemic, economic recessions and more as to why they are struggling to build up wealth.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.