Warren Buffett has been one of the richest people in the world for decades.
I love how he still lives and eats like a normal guy. Why? because it makes him the most happy.
In this video, he showed up to his annual shareholder meeting with a McDonald’s bag and revealed that it contains a Quarter Pounder and fries.
In fact, he eats at McDonald’s almost every day for breakfast. Now, you’re probably why he would eat this when he can afford the most expensive burgers and meals.
That is preferred meal of choice. He claims it tastes better than some more expensive foods. It just speaks to how different people have different pleasures and how you shouldn’t pursue someone else’s pleasures thinking it will satisfy what you want.
I have seen a couple pieces of footage of Warren ordering from McDonald’s when he was younger (and therefore unknown and not nearly rich as he is now), so it was quite amazing to see him doing the same thing even now after all this time of being rich.
He has made various references about it but I assumed he would still eat at standard small-class restaurants and diners (which he does) and would have dropped the fast food. But apparently not! Not only that but he has lived in the same house for dozens of years.
A moderate-sized house he bought when he was young. He claims it gives him all he needs and he does not need to buy anything bigger. It’s “warm in the winter and cool in the summer.” He then goes on to say how he has known people with houses 100 times the value of his and saw how their possessions own them rather than the other way around.
Warren lives a standard life. He once told a group of business students he was speaking to that he lives no better than any of them. He eats the same food, drives to work the same (and no, he doesn’t own a million dollar car either), reads the same newspapers, and the only difference really would be his private jet, which he quite enjoys and uses to get around (though he rarely wants to leave Omaha. his hometown).
Nowadays, some rich people like Dan Bilzerian are choosing to live a wild lifestyle quite different from conservative Buffett’s. But it’s always been this way.
One or two flashy multi-millionaires skew stereotypes. If you read books studying thousands of millionaires like The Millionaire Next Door or Eventual Millionaire, you’ll find that most millionaires are thrifty and patient, even when they’re rich.
It does show that you do not need millions to be happy and/or live a satisfying lifestyle.
It is also interesting to note how old he has lived so far despite the junk food he eats on a regular basis and yet how intelligent and quick he and his partner, Charlie Munger, still are.
While some of it has to do with their innate intellectual abilities (Munger said he’d never seen anyone as quick as Warren despite going through Harvard Law and Alice Schroeder, his biographer, noted on Warren’s near-photographic memory), it’s also because of the habits they adopted to constantly train their brains.
In one interview of Buffett I watched, someone asked him how he was able to stay so sharp and not get Alzheimer’s. He joked that if he had nothing to do every week but wonder when he’ll get his next haircut, he’d probably get Alzheimer’s.
Your brain is the most important muscle you have. Keep training it or it will atrophy.
Perhaps their long lives also have to do with the philosophy that they run their lives and their business. It is quite an long philosophy, but it probably allows Warren to take up everyday as happy as can be or as he puts it, he “tap dances to work” everyday. I will spare you the details but his philosophy revolves around only doing business with those who are smart, able, ethical, moral, honest, and great people.
Honestly, it still perplexes me that Warren Buffett still prefers low quality burgers when he could spend more and get better beef quality, at the very least, from Five Guys.
But keep in mind, Warren is almost 90 years of age. When he was growing up, McDonald’s was the premium choice option. He likely grew up with that standard to satisfy his needs and has grown accustomed to it.
He does eat at fairly expensive steak houses and I saw a video of when he went to China with Bill Gates and he was served premium burgers.
I love studying Warren’s life because he teaches so many life lessons beyond just making money. He doesn’t let money rule his life or consume his identity. The way he lives screams the values he teaches and shows that there is more to life than just money.
When Tim Ferriss interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold explained his friendship with Warren over the years and why he loved him.
He said that Warren is so rich but he doesn’t care about the luxuries of money. He would sleep in normal hotel rooms when he could easily buy rooms that were much more expensive.
Likely, some of this is genetic. He is wired to not find pleasure in expensive tastes, which likely helps him get rich: he can save more money and re-invest it in assets that make more money.
But we can all learn from his behavior. He spends by the motto of never holding back from what you want to do in life, but also never buying anything that won’t bring you enjoyment, even if society or other rich people do.
What do you like most about Warren Buffett? Let me know in the comments.
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