6. Frugal , Frugal , Frugal (The Millionaire Next Door)

FRUGAL FRUGAL FRUGAL

THEY LIVE WELL BELOW THEIR MEANS.

The first time we interviewed a group of people worth at least $10 million

(decamillionaires), the session turned out differently than we had planned. We were contracted to study the wealthy by a large international trust company. Our client wanted us to study the needs of high-net worth individuals.

To make sure our decamillionaire respondents felt comfortable during the interview, we rented a posh penthouse on Manhattan’s fashionable East Side. We also hired two gourmet food designers. They put together a menu of four patés and three kinds of caviar. To accompany this, the designers suggested a case of high-quality 1970 Bordeaux plus a case of a “wonderful” 1973 cabermet sauvignon.

Armed with what we thought would be the ideal menu, we enthusiastically awaited the arrival of our decamillionaire respondents. The first to arrive was someone we nicknamed Mr. Bud. Sixty-nine and a first-generation millionaire, Mr. Bud owned several valuable pieces of commercial real estate in the New York metropolitan area. He also owned two businesses. You would never have figured from his outward appearance that he was worth well over $10 million. His dress was what you might call dull-normal—a well-worn suit and overcoat.

Nevertheless, we wanted to make Mr. Bud feel that we fully understood the food and drink expectations of America’s decamillionaires. So after we introduced ourselves, one of us asked, “Mr. Bud, may I pour you a glass of 1970 Bordeaux?”

Mr. Bud looked at us with a puzzled expression on his face and then said:

I drink scotch and two kinds of beer—free and BUD WEISER!

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We hid our shock as the true meaning of our decamillionaire’s message dawned upon us. During the subsequent two-hour interview, the nine decamillionaire respondents shifted constantly in their chairs. Occasionally they glanced at the buffet. But not one touched the paté or drank our vintage wines. We knew they were hungry, but all they ate were the gourmet crackers. We hate to waste food. How did we dispose of our food and drink? No, we did not have to throw it away. The trust officers in the next room consumed most of it. Of course, the authors helped! It seems that most of us were gourmets. However, none of us was a decamillionaire.

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