The lifestyles of those in the top percent are typically reflective of their financial status. Very few people maintain a modest lifestyle and never alter their daily routine as a result of their new wealth. But that is precisely what billionaire Warren Buffett has done. Buffett, for example, bought a house for a very low price in Omaha, Nebraska, where he still resides rather remarkably without all of the amenities and splendor you’d expect.
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Buffett bought the house for $31,500 in 1958, around $250,000 in today’s dollars. The home is now valued at about $652,619 and Buffett considers it to be the “third-best investment he’s ever made.”
Make no mistake, the home is huge and well protected, measuring 6,570 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. There are also fences and security cameras on the premises for further protection. It’s not a mansion like you might expect Buffett to live in; instead, it’s charming but not opulent.
He’s perfectly content with his modest home to which he tells the BBC’s Evan Davis “The World’s Greatest Moneymaker”: “I’m happy there. I’d move if I thought I’d be happier someplace else.”
He continued: “How would I improve my life by having 10 houses around the globe? If I wanted to become a superintendent of housing… I could have as a profession, but I don’t want to manage 10 houses and I don’t want somebody else doing it for me and I don’t know why the hell I’d be happier. “
“I’m warm in the winter, I’m cool in the summer, it’s convenient for me. I couldn’t imagine having a better house,” he said. Could you ask for more? Honestly?
During a 2012 conversation, Buffett revealed why he resides in and runs his business from Omaha, stating: “Well, you know, I was born here. I’ve always been happy here. I’ve lived various other places — Washington D.C., New York… It’s home. And I live five minutes from here. I’ve lived in the same house for 53 years. I’ve been in this building for 50 years. My car just automatically drives back and forth (LAUGHS). If I try to take it anyplace else, it won’t go.”
His explanation continued. He explained how material goods aren’t nearly so essential to him as they are to other people, “I have every possession I want. I have a lot of friends who have a lot more possessions. But in some cases, I feel the possessions possess them, rather than the other way around.”
One person stated People were amazed by the billionaire’s modest lodgings, and others praised his way of life: “This is so nice to see that when you can have whatever you want one can be satisfied with just some modest things. Knowing that you can and helping others is much more gratifying.”
Another commenter said: “Yeah, well considering that he’s worth billions he could have spent half a billion easy on a house… with a ranch…. on a private island.”
One person added: “Though he has the means, Buffett doesn’t live ostentatiously like many millionaires and billionaires. Buffett is a smart, unpretentious gentleman — unlike the current occupant of the White House.”
