4 ms·

Well, Bill Gates is a bit of an odd example. He's very thrifty. He could certainly afford $50 hamburgers, but due to the cost decides he doesn't want them. Eve

by jfoutz 10y ago

Well, Bill Gates is a bit of an odd example. He's very thrifty. He could certainly afford $50 hamburgers, but due to the cost decides he doesn't want them. Even if MicroSoft didn't take off, he'd still be wealthy. He's the kind of guy that waits to get the absolute maximum value out of each dollar he spends. That's not a bad thing, by the way, just unusual.

Retric 10y ago
He lives in a 'thrifty' 66,000-square-foot house. Sure, he could spend 10x as much on his lifestyle, but there is a point where more expencive does not mean better. As to being rich, sure he inherited millions. But, connections, background, timing, and luck only go so far. You really can blow any amount of money.
- jfoutz 10y ago
  In 1988 Gates was a billionaire. spending 6% of his net worth on a house really doesn't seem crazy. Most americans, well, most americans don't own a house. Those that do, it's their biggest asset. And his house has nearly tripled in value. Of course it has taken 25 years, because real estate is like that. I've never met the guy. By all accounts he's smart, dedicated and hard working. I think he'd be doing just fine regardless of the field he went into. He got very lucky, so he's a billionaire 80 times over. And, yes. The prince of Brunei is a great example of not thrifty. 14 billion in just 10 years. [1] [1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/07/prince-jefri-201107 http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/07/prince-jefri-201107
  - Retric 10y ago
    He did spend 28 billion at one point. Which is my point. It's natural to think of spending in morale term so donations or gifts don't count or relative to income. Which makes finding a reasonable limit on the absolute scale meaningless. Supose he had 10 trillion and spent 1% on a house would a 100 billion be extravagant in that context?
    - jfoutz 10y ago
      I don't understand. I asserted that Gates was thrifty. As in "using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully." I guess you're saying he's just doing whatever he thinks is fun from moment to moment, like prince Jefri. It seems like there's a subtle difference there, but I don't know how to articulate it.
      - Retric 10y ago
        I don't think thrifty simply implies someone lives well below their means. I think thrift applies in both a relative and absolute terms, so living a multi million dollar a year lifestyle you can easily afford does not count. I make good money as a developer and live well below my means, but I am not thrifty. I simply don't have much interest in buying most things, but I can point to 10's of thousands of dollars in wasteful spending.
slededit 10y ago
Bill Gates bought a Porsche 959 for $225,000 (in 1987 dollars) and left it in customs bonded storage for 13 years while he and his buddies successfully lobbied for a law blocking its importation to be changed [1]. The idea of BillG as some thrifty philanthropist isn't born out by reality. Being the richest man in the world makes pretty much everything appear a trivial expense, but there has to be a limit somewhere. 1. http://blog.dupontregistry.com/celebrity-cars/bill-gates-americas-richest-porsche-959/ http://blog.dupontregistry.com/celebrity-cars/bill-gates-ame...
- jfoutz 10y ago
  I don't know how much he spent on lobbying. A low milage 959 is a 1.4 million dollar car. 9% rate of return? edit I get what you're saying. I just don't see the millions thrown away into nothing. Drugs, parties, wrecked cars, pissing away cash. Mike Tyson was worth $400,000,000. now he has nothing. It's easy to find people that got rich and lost it all. Lottery winners and pro athletes are prime examples. Granted, spend one dollar less than you earn, and you're winning. He just seems like the kind of guy that has a hard time parting with cash for any reason.
  - Retric 10y ago
    Insurance, and inflation eat into that return. So, no it's not good ROI as a 30 year treasury bond from 1987 beats it let alone the stock market. The real difference is often positive vs negative investment returns. Most sports stars lose more money from poor investments than they do spending.

by jfoutz 10y ago

Retric 10y ago

He lives in a 'thrifty' 66,000-square-foot house. Sure, he could spend 10x as much on his lifestyle, but there is a point where more expencive does not mean better. As to being rich, sure he inherited millions. But, connections, background, timing, and luck only go so far. You really can blow any amount of money.

jfoutz 10y ago
In 1988 Gates was a billionaire. spending 6% of his net worth on a house really doesn't seem crazy. Most americans, well, most americans don't own a house. Those that do, it's their biggest asset. And his house has nearly tripled in value. Of course it has taken 25 years, because real estate is like that. I've never met the guy. By all accounts he's smart, dedicated and hard working. I think he'd be doing just fine regardless of the field he went into. He got very lucky, so he's a billionaire 80 times over. And, yes. The prince of Brunei is a great example of not thrifty. 14 billion in just 10 years. [1] [1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/07/prince-jefri-201107 http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/07/prince-jefri-201107
- Retric 10y ago
  He did spend 28 billion at one point. Which is my point. It's natural to think of spending in morale term so donations or gifts don't count or relative to income. Which makes finding a reasonable limit on the absolute scale meaningless. Supose he had 10 trillion and spent 1% on a house would a 100 billion be extravagant in that context?
  - jfoutz 10y ago
    I don't understand. I asserted that Gates was thrifty. As in "using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully." I guess you're saying he's just doing whatever he thinks is fun from moment to moment, like prince Jefri. It seems like there's a subtle difference there, but I don't know how to articulate it.
    - Retric 10y ago
      I don't think thrifty simply implies someone lives well below their means. I think thrift applies in both a relative and absolute terms, so living a multi million dollar a year lifestyle you can easily afford does not count. I make good money as a developer and live well below my means, but I am not thrifty. I simply don't have much interest in buying most things, but I can point to 10's of thousands of dollars in wasteful spending.

slededit 10y ago

Bill Gates bought a Porsche 959 for $225,000 (in 1987 dollars) and left it in customs bonded storage for 13 years while he and his buddies successfully lobbied for a law blocking its importation to be changed [1]. The idea of BillG as some thrifty philanthropist isn't born out by reality. Being the richest man in the world makes pretty much everything appear a trivial expense, but there has to be a limit somewhere. 1. http://blog.dupontregistry.com/celebrity-cars/bill-gates-americas-richest-porsche-959/ http://blog.dupontregistry.com/celebrity-cars/bill-gates-ame...

jfoutz 10y ago
I don't know how much he spent on lobbying. A low milage 959 is a 1.4 million dollar car. 9% rate of return? edit I get what you're saying. I just don't see the millions thrown away into nothing. Drugs, parties, wrecked cars, pissing away cash. Mike Tyson was worth $400,000,000. now he has nothing. It's easy to find people that got rich and lost it all. Lottery winners and pro athletes are prime examples. Granted, spend one dollar less than you earn, and you're winning. He just seems like the kind of guy that has a hard time parting with cash for any reason.
- Retric 10y ago
  Insurance, and inflation eat into that return. So, no it's not good ROI as a 30 year treasury bond from 1987 beats it let alone the stock market. The real difference is often positive vs negative investment returns. Most sports stars lose more money from poor investments than they do spending.