Don't let the Rich Kids of Instagram fool you. The typical multimillionaire or billionaire doesn't bathe in champagne or use high-value banknotes as toilet paper. In fact, some of the world's richest people live well below their means, opting for lifestyles that are anything but high maintenance and extravagant. Read on as we reveal the super-rich's money-saving habits that lead to a richer life. All dollar values in US dollars and net worths via Forbes, correct as of 28 March 2022.
The Facebook founder might boast a bank balance of $79 billion (£60bn), but his spending habits show he still hasn't forgotten completely about his humble student days.
Kamprad, whose net worth was around $3.5 billion (£2.5bn) at the time of his death, was often seen eating in cheap-and-cheerful restaurants and haggling down prices at markets. However, his thrifty ways might not have extended to his living arrangements. While it's widely reported that his home in Switzerland contained mainly IKEA furniture, he also owned an 18th-century Swedish mansion, a Swiss villa, and a vineyard in Provence.
If reports are to be believed, Premji runs an extraordinarily tight ship at the firm, even monitoring the number of toilet paper rolls used in its offices and making employees switch off the lights when leaving. One worker (who wisely remained anonymous) told Bloomberg: “Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus.”
That's a belief shared by Brin, who told Moment magazine how he learned to “be happy without many things” from his parents. “It’s interesting – I still find myself not wanting to leave anything on the plate uneaten. I still look at prices,” he said. “I try to force myself to do this less, not to be so frugal. But I was raised being happy with not so much.” That being said, he has reportedly spend some of his $114.2 billion (£87bn) net worth on more than one private jet...
The workaholic fast fashion magnate has lived in the same modest apartment for years despite owning an impressive real estate portfolio, forgoes fancy restaurants to eat in the company canteen with his employees, and didn't take a proper holiday for 25 years while he was building up the business.
Meijer left behind an important lesson: only spend big on the things that matter. Whenever he travelled for business, he would only fly economy class and stay in budget hotels. He would also only drive modest cars. In fact, the only time he would part with large sums of money was when he was donating to the community, according to Forbes.
John Caudwell made the bulk of his money by founding UK phone retailer Phones 4u. He received £1.4 billion in 2006 when he sold the company, and today he boasts a net worth of $3.1 billion (£2.4bn).
Caudwell recognises that spending money extravagantly won't boost your sense of self-worth. Explaining why he bought his clothes from chain stores, he told Forbes: “I don’t need Savile Row suits. I don’t need to spend money to bolster my own esteem.”
Forbes once called Chuck Feeney the “billionaire who wants to go broke”. That's not because he's been frivolous with his cash; the philanthropist has actually given pretty much all of it away to good causes. As the founder of Duty Free Shoppers explains: “I set out to work hard, not get rich.”
Forbes says that Feeney has always been loath to spend cash if he didn't have to, a classic trait of frugal living. He uses public transport, flies economy, and buys his clothes from chain stores, stating “you can only wear one pair of shoes at a time”. He also made his children take summer jobs to learn the value of money.
Yet despite being worth $25.6 billion (£19.6bn), Ma's spending habits remained largely unchanged. Speaking to USA Today, Ma's friend Chen said the entrepreneur still enjoys quiet meditation in the mountains and playing poker with friends. “Ma Yun's lifestyle is very simple and modest,” he said. “His hobbies are still tai chi and kung fu novels. I don't think he has changed much, he is still that old style.”
While the Waltons are the richest family in America, the heirs to the Walmart empire are careful with their cash and refrain from flaunting their multibillion-dollar fortune. Jim Walton, the youngest son of company co-founder Sam Walton, is a prime example.
Despite a net worth of $69.6 billion (£51.3bn), the retail heir keeps costs down by running the family's wealth management company from an unpretentious office in a nondescript building in Bentonville, Arkansas, and driving a sensible budget car.
Charlie Ergen has a more interesting back story than most business moguls. As Forbes tells it, he became a professional gambler after college, but allegedly got thrown out of a Las Vegas casino for counting cards. From there, Ergen began selling satellite dishes from the back of his truck, and from such humble beginnings went on to co-found the multibillion-dollar Dish Network. Today he is worth $9 billion (£6.8 billion).
Despite such a hefty bank balance, Ergen is well-known for his frugal ways. Rather than wasting money buying lunch, he brings in a sandwich from home. According to an India Times report, he also cuts costs by sharing hotel rooms with his colleagues during business trips – though what his colleagues think of this isn't reported.
Villar channelled as much money as possible into his companies to make them a success. “If you’re an entrepreneur, you never have any money... because you put it all in your businesses,” he hold the Inquirer in 2015. “Even my personal cash ended up being invested because I couldn’t pass up the opportunities. We ended up eating at McDonald’s.”
Along with his family, Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim is worth $89.9 billion (£68.7bn) but this huge fortune hasn't stopped him from pinching the pennies. Always prepared to negotiate, Slim is all about getting the lowest price possible for anything he purchases, no matter how small or insignificant.
The late corporate raider and financier T. Boone Pickens had hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank for a reason. The Texas-based tycoon was especially prudent with his money. For instance, he saved cash by buying business clothing only once every five years.
On the rare occasions that Pickens hit the stores, he put together a list of what he needed beforehand, left the credit cards at home, and only brought enough cash with him to pay for the items on the list.
Boasting a multimillion dollar car collection, former The Tonight Show host Jay Leno is far from frugal. However, there are still valuable financial lessons to be learned from the star...
Leno says that he has never touched any of his salary from The Tonight Show – an impressive feat considering he was earning an estimated $30 million (£22.9m) annual salary in his prime. In fact, he's always tired to have two sources of income: one for spending and one for saving.
The world's wealthiest person reportedly believes that possessions weigh you down. In a tweet from May 2020, Elon Musk wrote: “I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.”
The Tesla CEO followed through with his bold statement, selling seven of his properties. He's said that he now rents a 400-square-foot (37-square-metre) house from his second company Space X in Boca Chica, Texas – although journalists at the Wall Street Journal has claimed he's actually been living at an 8,000-square-foot (743-square-metre) mansion belonging to the PayPal co-founder Ken Howery. Musk has denied the claims. Earlier this year, his partner Grimes attracted further criticism for saying: "[Musk] does not live like a billionaire. Bro lives at times below the poverty line."
“My wife and I downsized our home in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, as we got older,” he said in an interview with Reuters in 2012. “We moved into a place that's about a third smaller and with much less property. I didn't take out a mortgage for it because at this point I don't have to borrow money, and I don't like to.”
Now meet the rich and famous people who refuse to spoil their kids