15 Super Rich Billionaires Who Stay Grounded & Humble

David Cheriton’s Net worth: $1.3 billion

David Cheriton, the Stanford professor who has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion from Google shares, hates the idea of living like a billionaire.

“I’m actually quite offended by that sort of thing,” he told the Edmonton Journal in a 2006 interview. ”These people who build houses with 13 bathrooms and so on, there’s something wrong with them.”

Cheriton called himself “spoiled” for taking a windsurfing vacation in Hawaii, and in a recent Forbes profile said that his biggest recent splurge was his 2012 Honda Odyssey.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

Tony Hsieh’s Net worth: $1 billion

After selling a company to Microsoft for $265 million, Tony Hsieh could have lived in the lap of luxury. Instead, he has invested $350 million of his own money into his online business to transform downtown Las Vegas into a tech hub.

And by all accounts his lifestyle hasn’t changed since his early days in business.

“Money is just a way for Tony to get to his endgame,” said Erik Moore, an early Zappos investor. “Money just doesn’t matter to him. If he only had a million dollars left, he’d spend $999,999 to make Vegas work. He would be just as happy with a dollar in the bank and being around people he cares about and care about him.”

Karl Albrecht, co-founder of Aldi

Karl Albrecht’s Net worth: $25.4 billion

Aldi is to Europe what Walmart is to the US. Albrecht founded the company with his late brother Theo, and together the two made billions building the notoriously no-frills chain.

Raised by a shopkeeper mom and a miner father, they remained true to the vision of frugality that drove both their stores and their lives. When Theo was kidnapped for 17 days in 1971, his brother negotiated a bargain ransom of  $4 million — which he then wrote off as a business expense.

Christy Walton, heir to Walmart fortune

Christy Walton’s Net worth: $27.9 billion

Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Despite their wealth, Walton wanted a normal upbringing for her son, so she raised him in an 1896 Victorian home in National City, Calif., outside of San Diego.

After her husband died in a plane crash, Walton donated the home to the International Community Foundation – Center for Cross-Border Philanthropy.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg’s Net worth: $9.4 billion

As the mastermind behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is a billionaire many times over. But the 28-year-old leads a surprisingly low-key lifestyle.

He recently upgraded to a $7 million house in Palo Alto, but The Los Angeles Times called the home “still well below his means.”

Zuckerberg reportedly drives an Acura “because it’s safe and not ostentatious,” and famously wears the same gray t-shirt and hoodie to work every day.

His wedding to longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan took place in his backyard, and the pair was seen digging in at a McDonald’s on their Italian honeymoon.

David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby

David Green’s Net worth: $4.5 billion

While he could easily afford a Gulfstream of his own, Green, founder of arts and crafts retail chain Hobby Lobby, prefers to fly coach.

Instead of spending his billions on himself and his family, Green has famously become the largest individual donor to evangelical causes in America. He’s given upwards of $500 million in charitable contributions over his lifetime, according to Forbes.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Alexander Lebedev, Russian businessman

Alexander Lebedev’s Net worth: $1.1 billion

Unlike many Russian oligarchs who flaunt their wealth buying apartments, yachts, and jets, Lebedev is notoriously frugal.

From a Guardian profile:

“Indeed, the most striking difference between him and other oligarchs is his social activism. Lebedev has used his large fortune to improve the lot of ordinary Russians. He talks enthusiastically about such unfashionable themes as flat-pack housing and potatoes.”

He is staunch in his beliefs; Lebedev was charged with “hooliganism” after punching a rival on a talk show last year.

Carlos Slim Helú, chairman and CEO of Telmex

Carlos Slim Helu’s Net worth: $69 billion

Carlos Slim may be the wealthiest person on the planet, but that doesn’t mean he’s an extravagant spender.

The self-made billionaire lives in the same modest six-bedroom house he has owned for the past 30 years, and still drives himself to work, according to The Week.

As far as we can tell, he does not own a yacht or a private plane.

Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara

Amancio Ortega’s Net worth: $57.5 billion

2012 was a good year for Zara founder Ortega, whose net worth rose by $22.2 billion last year.

Even so, he hasn’t let the success go to his head. Ortega and his wife live in a discreet apartment building in La Coruña, Spain, and he’s a simple dresser, wearing a uniform of blue blazer, white shirt and gray pants every day.

He goes to the same coffee shop every day and eats lunch with his employees in the Zara cafeteria. And Ortega drives an Audi A8, not some fancy supercar.

One major indulgence: Ortega owns The Global Express BD-700, a private jet designed by Bombardier that carries price tag of $45 million.

Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Limited

Azim Premji’s Net worth: $12.2 billion

As the owner of the technology-service giant, Wipro, Azim Premji is worth more than $12 billion.

Regardless, he is said to monitor the number of toilet-paper rolls used in Wipro facilities and demands that employees switch off the lights when leaving their offices.

Premji often takes a three-wheel auto rickshaw from the Bangalore airport when returning from business trips, and drives a 1996 Ford, according to a 2003 Businessweek profile.

“Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus,” said one Bangalore tech executive.

Jim C. Walton, Walmart heir and chair of Arvest Bank

Jim C. Walton’s Net worth: $19.2 billion

Jim C. Walton may belong to one of the wealthiest families in the world, but he has followed in the frugal footsteps of his father, Walmart founder Sam Walton.

The youngest and most private of the Walton siblings, Jim still resides in Bentonville, Ark., where he runs the family’s personal wealth management company from the upstairs office of “a plain old brick building” in downtown Bentonville.

In 2007, it was reported that Walton drove a 15-year-old Dodge Dakota.

Question for the readers: How would you act if your net worth was in the billions? Would it change who you are? Would you be able to live a normal life?

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