I am a Billionaire and I drive RUBBISH

Lawrence Ellison: Net Worth: $18.4 billion: Drives 2006 Bentley Flying Spur Bentley Continental GT

Paul Allen: Net Worth: $21 billion: Drives 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe 1988 Mazda B-Series Pickup

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud: Net Worth: $23.7 billion Drives Infiniti FX45; Hummer H1; Volvo XC90; Rolls-Royce Phantom; Daewoo Matiz NOTE: buys 2 of every car he owns; one for himself one for bodyguards

Rubbish??!!
 
Im not surprised; the worlds millionaires are cheapskates; there is a story of a Japanese millionaire who, when staying at different hotels, would steal the towels, toilet paper and grab all the free bathroom products.
 
There is saying in Sweden (and probably everywhere else too) that says: You don't get rich by having a big income but by having small expenses.
 
I wonder how many people on that list own Yachts and/or private jets? Because it seems to me that buying expensive cars to flaunt your wealth is something you could do with only 1% of the net worth of these people, which means it isn't a very good way to say you're worth $18b. ;)

Well, that and they didn't get to be rich by wasting money.
 
Im not surprised; the worlds millionaires are cheapskates; there is a story of a Japanese millionaire who, when staying at different hotels, would steal the towels, toilet paper and grab all the free bathroom products.

so would i. and i still would download songs from p2p clients except now i'll be able to pay the fine! of course, i'd also buy the original CD
 
Isn't Ingvar the IKEA owner?

Yes.

Heard hes a real cheapskate but that it transfers over into his business life and thats why hes filthy rich.

Whats frightening is all the American mega millionaires who drive American garbage - How can you own / lead a international company and not know that the rest of the world has a car industry.. They probably have the "I buy American" sticker on their crap.
 
Whats frightening is all the American mega millionaires who drive American garbage - How can you own / lead a international company and not know that the rest of the world has a car industry.. They probably have the "I buy American" sticker on their crap.

Because when you make more money in a year than most people make in a lifetime, it makes absolutely no difference what you drive. You don't have to impress anyone, your money does the talking. So, if you're rich and want to drive a 1985 Yugo, well shit, go ahead.
 
Or like in Saudi Arabia its the little things to show off wealth: A rolex watch, Dunhill lighter, Steuben crystal, etc.
 
Because when you make more money in a year than most people make in a lifetime, it makes absolutely no difference what you drive. You don't have to impress anyone, your money does the talking. So, if you're rich and want to drive a 1985 Yugo, well shit, go ahead.

Sure. But why not drive stuff like an S-class, for instance, for 99% that's the same as a C180K, sure looks alike.

I think the point is, why do they drive cars that aren't as good as other cars? There are good yank cars, CTS, for instance, but many very bad cars.

Still, I don't think the starter referred to the fact that SOME of the rich guys drive rubbish, not all of them.
 
Because when you make more money in a year than most people make in a lifetime, it makes absolutely no difference what you drive. You don't have to impress anyone, your money does the talking. So, if you're rich and want to drive a 1985 Yugo, well shit, go ahead.

I dunno, but most people I know drive cars they like and not cars that are best for showing off. Only idiots do that.
 
Both Paul Allen and Bill Gates (founders of Microsoft) bought 959's. Gates fought for YEARS to get his 959 roadlegal in the US, and only in 1999 did he finally get an exemption from the import laws. After all that: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/19/washington-environmental-crackdown-hits-bill-gates-959/
Washington is trying to get those exemptions revoked...because of pollution.

Paul Allen spends his money on cool things, he created a few different museums such as the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. They've got Captain Kirk's chair from the Enterprise there! 8) Also he sponsored the SpaceShip One which is that "commercial spacecraft"
 
Thats funny. Like a few other people said though, they're (with the exception of Gates and Allen) not car people. If I had 18 billion, lol i'd drop at least 1 billion on a garage.

I don't get the F150 though. I mean, i'm broke, and I wouldn't drive an F150.
 
I read (on Wikipedia, no less) that Ballmer drives the Lincoln as a sign of respect to his former-Ford-manager father and Detroit hometown. I thought to myself, why not a Ford GT then? =)
 
I can understand why these people have low key cars. As famous as they are, I can see how all the extra attention that comes with a flashy car could be too much. I too would want to have a normal car just for getting around town sometimes. But I'd definately have a flashy car for fun. :D
 
These people are not famous enough like Hollywood celebrities to have their faces noticed at every corner. You don't become rich by spending excessively, but you won't become poor either if you buy an expensive car. Maybe these people just don't care about fancy cars in general.
 
Im not surprised; the worlds millionaires are cheapskates; there is a story of a Japanese millionaire who, when staying at different hotels, would steal the towels, toilet paper and grab all the free bathroom products.

It's like that with a lot of truly wealthy people.

Most of the time, I find a portion of people who drive the nice cars don't actually own them - they are leased. Spend a few grand a year just to pay for something that isn't yours (just the privilege of driving it and paying for the depreciation? no thanks). Some of them who look like they got all the money are really financed to the hilt i.e. owing a good amount to consolidated loans, 2nd mortgages and credit lines.

A penny saved is a penny earned, no matter if you got $1 or $1-billion in the bank.
 
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