Frugal.... or.....lavish....?
A recent news item caught my eyes. A very rich person in India has splashed money like anything to send his daughter to a British University. He has bought a palatial mansion for about 10 crores (just for her stay). He has employed about 12 dedicated staff to assist her in her daily chores. A chef, some people to serve her, a gardener, chauffeurs and the like... Their monthly pay will add up to around 25 lakhs. Not to speak of the other routine monthly expenditure....
I cannot desist myself from knowing the frugal ways of some extremely rich multi-billionaires in the world. Take for example, Warren Buffet, the investment mogul well-known the world over. He still lives in a modest house bought in 1958 (almost 60 years now). He drives his Cadillac (a simple model), whereas he can afford a fleet of the most expensive cars of the world. And the best part is that he has pledged the majority of his wealth to charity. He is neither a miser nor a spendthrift. Bequeathed most of his wealth for charity. Something to be emulated by the extremely rich people.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of 'facebook' does not own a house, but rents the house near his headquarters office. He does not wear tailored suits but prefers to wear jeans and t-shirts. No expensive hand-made leather shoes, but wears only sneakers and sandals. He is worth about $ 66 B (around 4.6 lakh crore rupees). He too has pledged 99% of his fortune for charitable causes.
Even Carlos Slim, the Mexican tycoon has a modest living despite his enormous wealth. Lives in a modest home, drives his car, buys his wardrobe from the retail shops. Carlos Slim too has donated a substantial part of his wealth to charity.
There are other billionaires who may not have a frugal way of living, nonetheless, they are philanthropic. That too is quite commendable. Take for example, Bill Gates. Though Gates live in a spacious mansion and may be leading a luxurious life, most of their earnings are given to charity through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In India too, we have such high-net-worth individuals who have pledged most of their earnings to various avenues of charity. (Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar and so many others.....)
Though nothing can be said about the way one spends his money, it is the frugality of his lifestyle that gets etched in the minds of the people. A majority of such frugal billionaires donates most of their wealth to charity. It is the attitude that sets apart such rich people from the other wealthy guys. They think that the money earned should be given back to the society in a fitting way and not frittered away in a lavish way.
Another incident comes to my mind in this context. A wealthy Gujarathi diamond merchant (Savji Dholakia) who is a classic example of 'rags-to-riches' story is well-known for his philanthropy (especially to his employees). He used to donate houses, cars and jewelry to motivate them and to recognize their contribution to the company. He sent his son Dravya Dholakia with just Rs. 7,000 (which can be touched only in case of emergency) to Kerala to survive in the alien territory for a month. He had to fend for himself by earning his bread the hard way and in the process not to use his influential background. That was an acid test for his son to learn life, the hardest way. No pampering of the highest level.....! No extravagance...
Only after being exposed to the harsh sun, one can appreciate the comfort of the shade.....The beneficiaries of extravagance and lavish spending will be a few already rich people, whereas justified spending will reach far and wide to the really needy...
I cannot desist myself from knowing the frugal ways of some extremely rich multi-billionaires in the world. Take for example, Warren Buffet, the investment mogul well-known the world over. He still lives in a modest house bought in 1958 (almost 60 years now). He drives his Cadillac (a simple model), whereas he can afford a fleet of the most expensive cars of the world. And the best part is that he has pledged the majority of his wealth to charity. He is neither a miser nor a spendthrift. Bequeathed most of his wealth for charity. Something to be emulated by the extremely rich people.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of 'facebook' does not own a house, but rents the house near his headquarters office. He does not wear tailored suits but prefers to wear jeans and t-shirts. No expensive hand-made leather shoes, but wears only sneakers and sandals. He is worth about $ 66 B (around 4.6 lakh crore rupees). He too has pledged 99% of his fortune for charitable causes.
Even Carlos Slim, the Mexican tycoon has a modest living despite his enormous wealth. Lives in a modest home, drives his car, buys his wardrobe from the retail shops. Carlos Slim too has donated a substantial part of his wealth to charity.
There are other billionaires who may not have a frugal way of living, nonetheless, they are philanthropic. That too is quite commendable. Take for example, Bill Gates. Though Gates live in a spacious mansion and may be leading a luxurious life, most of their earnings are given to charity through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In India too, we have such high-net-worth individuals who have pledged most of their earnings to various avenues of charity. (Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar and so many others.....)
Though nothing can be said about the way one spends his money, it is the frugality of his lifestyle that gets etched in the minds of the people. A majority of such frugal billionaires donates most of their wealth to charity. It is the attitude that sets apart such rich people from the other wealthy guys. They think that the money earned should be given back to the society in a fitting way and not frittered away in a lavish way.
Another incident comes to my mind in this context. A wealthy Gujarathi diamond merchant (Savji Dholakia) who is a classic example of 'rags-to-riches' story is well-known for his philanthropy (especially to his employees). He used to donate houses, cars and jewelry to motivate them and to recognize their contribution to the company. He sent his son Dravya Dholakia with just Rs. 7,000 (which can be touched only in case of emergency) to Kerala to survive in the alien territory for a month. He had to fend for himself by earning his bread the hard way and in the process not to use his influential background. That was an acid test for his son to learn life, the hardest way. No pampering of the highest level.....! No extravagance...
Only after being exposed to the harsh sun, one can appreciate the comfort of the shade.....The beneficiaries of extravagance and lavish spending will be a few already rich people, whereas justified spending will reach far and wide to the really needy...
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