In the morning, Mitzi Perdue wakes up, makes a cup of tea, and gets to work as a writer. If she goes out to visit any of her four grandchildren, who also live in Maryland, she might wave to her neighbors, librarians, doctors, etc. who live in the building where she rents an apartment. do not have. She even walks past the chicken factory that bears her name, as her Perdue is actually the heiress worth billions through both the Perdue chicken empire and the Sheraton Hotel Group. maybe.
Chicago resident Elena Nuñez Cooper doesn't have a car, so instead of taking Uber to work and renting expensive commercial space, she works out of a shared office space at a membership club six days a week. Masu.
Brenda Christensen, a technology entrepreneur living in Florida, avoids chain coffee shops, movies, and eating out as much as possible, instead spending her weekends exercising and enjoying the outdoors.
Although neither Mr. Nunez-Cooper nor Mr. Christensen are as wealthy as Purdue, with fortunes in the millions of dollars, they have chosen to keep their finances in check and live modest lives.
Omaha style oracle
Their method is one that legendary investor Warren Buffett has used for years. He lived in a house he bought for $31,500 in Omaha in 1958 and was notorious for driving a 20-year-old car that he felt was safe.
“I don't believe that standard of living matches the cost of living beyond a certain point,” a man reportedly worth $116 billion famously said at a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. . “In fact, it makes sense to get an inverse correlation.
“My life couldn't be any happier…It would be worse if I had six or eight houses or a bunch of different things that I could get. It's just not correlated.”
The data certainly supports Buffett's philosophy. In March 2023, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania set out to answer the question: Can money really buy happiness?
Using two datasets from previous studies, researchers found that increased income was correlated with increased happiness. But exactly up to $100,000.
So what happens when you move beyond that standard and realize the full extent of what you can do with your wealth?
heir giving away property
For the 82-year-old Perdue, a self-described “low-maintenance villain,” her wealth lies in the institutions she stewards, not the ones in charge.
Her parents taught Perdue early on that a person's identity is formed by service, not spending. This philosophy was also followed by her late husband Frank Perdue's family.
“We were married for 17 years before he passed away,” Perdue said. luck In a video interview. “At the time, I think I had the highest bill at a shoe store in Maryland because I was just getting my shoes repaired instead of buying new shoes.
“His name was on the 20,000 paycheck, but we always took economy.”
Perdue had a childhood where frugality and frugality were celebrated, and he grew up with a different mindset than success.
“I have words that guide me,” Perdue said. “And success is measured not by what you can get, but by what you can give.”
Ruslan Kanivka—Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Like many billionaire families, the Perdues are passionate but quiet philanthropists. Among her aid to Ukraine, she also purchased a police vehicle and donated a $1.2 million ring, with the proceeds of which she was able to open a shelter for women.
But Perdue doesn't just want to send money, she's rolling up her sleeves and participating.
Mr. Perdue has visited Ukraine three times, traveling through air raids, interviewing sources in air raid shelters and meeting with top police officials in war-torn Kiev.
Perdue, who focuses specifically on issues of human trafficking and landmines, says she has “looked at evil firsthand” and calls her work in Ukraine “probably the best thing I've ever done in my life.”
One of the many initiatives was to purchase boats for the Ukrainian police named after people who lost their lives in the conflict. Perdue said he met with her family, and he added: And I wanted to help a little bit – and I emphasize the word a little bit – to keep their memory alive and their sacrifices remembered.
“Is there really a better use for it? I know it's not much. For someone who has lost a child, every little bit is just a small part of their grief.”
“I avoid Starbucks like the plague”
Christensen, a mother of one, rose to self-made millionaire status more than 10 times after transitioning from journalism to the technology communications industry.
Christensen sold his stake in Goldmine Software, one of the early companies he worked for, enjoyed two weeks of retirement before boredom set in, and decided to repurpose real estate in California.
In 2015, Christensen, now the CEO of a public relations firm, shocked his co-workers at the time by moving his family from Malibu to Florida, cutting his cost of living by 20% overnight.
What they didn't understand were the principles on which Christensen was raised. The Danish father, a proponent of living simply and well, taught his children to recognize their privilege.
“My father grew up in Puerto Rico,” Christensen said. luck. “He made us realize how privileged we were from a young age. He took us to the slums of Puerto Rico and said, 'Everyone lives in the suburbs of the United States. I want you to know that you are not there.'' This is the life of most people in the world. ”
“He taught me that it's not about things, but about helping and serving others.”
Added Christensen, who is already teaching her 16-year-old daughter the same values she was raised with: I don't go to the movies. I don't go to concerts. I cut my hair.
“I studied medicine in college, so I rarely go to the doctor because I have a good understanding of how to take care of myself, like diet and exercise. I don't go to Starbucks. , I avoid it like the plague. I've always been frugal, so it's also comforting.”
Break away from a luxurious lifestyle
For Nunez Cooper, cutting spending means he can donate large amounts of aid money to international crises whenever he wants.
The 32-year-old founder of Chicago-based Ascend PR, which also serves as an advisor to family offices, said he enjoyed a “luxurious” lifestyle when he was younger.
But Nunez-Cooper and her husband, who share a fortune of more than $4 million, believe that living not just within their means, but well below it, “gives more to others, and gives more.” I knew I could do it.
Cost-cutting includes the use of private jets, which have also been scrapped for environmental reasons, and summer travel budgets have been cut by six figures to a third of what they were before. They mainly stayed in rooms provided by members' clubs. You will be paying for accommodation in a 5-star hotel.
“I've never been happier,” Nunez-Cooper said in an interview. luckShe added that when she decided not to have a car anymore, many co-workers asked her if she was broke.
“I like to live more simply, but richly. My quality of life has not decreased at all.”
