C-Suite Insider: A Day in the Life Of Google’s Eric Schmidt

The tech giant's executive chairman gets more than 8 hours of sleep a day.

ByABC News
September 23, 2014, 11:25 AM

— -- Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman and former chief executive, makes it his routine to get 8.5 hours of sleep every night. Jealous?

Schmidt revealed what his typical day is like to kick off ABC News' digital series, "C-Suite Insider," in which we ask CEOs and other executives about their routines.

The father of two daughters, Schmidt, 59, joined Google in 2001 and served as chief executive for a decade before handing the title to co-founder Larry Page in 2011.

Schmidt and Google's former product chief Jonathan Rosenberg have published a new book called "How Google Works," released today by Grand Central Publishing.

Google's Eric Schmidt Calls Julian Assange 'Paranoid' and Says Tim Cook Is Wrong

Google Seeks Help Defining 'Right to Be Forgotten'

Google's EU Antitrust Woes Extended

Here are 10 things you probably didn't know about Eric Schmidt:

1. Wake-up time:

Eight in the morning.

2. How much sleep does Schmidt get?

Eight and a half hours.

3. What does Schmidt Google?

It should come as no surprise Google is Schmidt's home page. When asked, he said the first thing he Googles in the morning is his schedule and "What's going on in the world."

4. Go-to snack?

"Anything chocolate. Which is forbidden under my diet, I should add," he said.

5. Favorite drink?

Iced tea.

6. Would he rather have a meal with entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban or Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg?

Schmidt revealed he has had a meal with both and while they are both great people, he said, he has more in common with Zuckerberg.

"Because we have a lot more to do with Facebook than to do with Mark Cuban," he said.

7. Favorite app?

YouTube.

8. Last song he downloaded?

Julien Jabre's "Swimming Places."

9. What’s the last thing he bought online?

"A book on the Flatiron building."

10. How does Schmidt prefer to get his news? On his mobile phone or hard copy newspaper?

"I like hard copy books. I also read newspapers in printed form."