Frugality is a subjective term. To the average Joe it could mean eating meals at home or scouring the Internet for cheap flights. But to a billionaire it means showing up to work in at-shirt and jeans, driving a Toyota or Volkswagen, and in some instances, foregoing the purchase of a private jet or lavish vacation home.A handful of frugal billionaires appear on our list ofthe richest people on earth,and each one has his own penny-pinching habits.From eating lunch in the office cafeteria with their employees to residing in homes worth a fraction of their wealth, these seven self-made billionairesmany who are also generous philanthropistsknow the secret to keeping their net worths high.SEE ALSO:The 50 richest people on earthSEE ALSO:The 25 richest self-made billionairesWarren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, still lives in the same home he bought for $31,500 in 1958.Net worth: $60.7 billionThe "Oracle of Omaha" is one of thewisest and most frugalbillionaires around. Despite his status as the third-richest person on earth, hestill lives in the same modest homehe bought for$31,500 in 1958, doesn't carry a cell phone or have a computer at his desk, andonce had a vanity license plate that read THRIFTY, according tohis2009 biography.Buffett also has a decidedly low-brow palate, known notjust forinvesting in junk-food purveyorslike Burger King,Dairy Queen, and Coca-Cola but filling up on them as well. The Buffett diet includes five Cokes a day, as well as Cheetos and potato chips.At his annual shareholder's meeting in 2014, Buffett explained that his quality of life isn't impacted by the amount of money he has: "My life couldn't be happier. In fact, it'd be worse if I had six or eight houses. So, I have everything I need to have, and I don't need any more because it doesn't make a difference after a point."Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, drives a manual transmission Volkswagen hatchback.Net worth: $42.8 billionDespite his status as one of the richest tech moguls on earth,Mark Zuckerberg leads a low-key lifestyle with his wife Priscilla Chan and their newborn daughter. The founder of Facebook has been unabashed about his simple t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans uniform. "I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community,"Zuckerberg said.The trappings of wealth have never impressed the 31-year-old; he chowed down on McDonald'sshortlyafter marrying Chan in 2012 in the backyard of their$7 million Palo Alto homea modest sum for suchanexpensive housing market and pocket change for a man worth almost $43 billion. In 2014, he traded in his $30,000 Acura for a manual transmissionVolkswagen hatchback.Carlos Slim Hel, founder of Grupo Carso, has lived in the same six-bedroom house for more than 40 years.Net worth: $23.5 billionRather than spending his fluctuating fortune, Carlos Slim funnels his billions back into the economy and his vast array of companies.He once mused to Reuters that wealth was like an orchard, "what you have to do is make it grow, reinvest to make it bigger, or diversify into other areas."The 75-year-old is byfar the richest man in Mexico, but heforgoes luxuries like private jets and yachts and reportedly still drives an old Mercedes-Benz.Slim runs his companies frugally too, writing in staff handbooks that employees should always "maintain austerity in prosperous times (in times when the cow is fat with milk)."The businessman has lived in the same six-bedroom house in Mexico for more than 40 years and routinely enjoys sharing home-cooked meals with his children and grandchildren.He's got a couple ofknown indulgences, includingfine artin honor of his late wifeand Cuban cigars, as well as an $80 million mansion in Manhattan, which hewas trying to sell last spring.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Click here to read full news..
