The Billionaire Mindset: Why True Wealth Starts With Frugality

Today's Oracle of Finance, Harvey Sawikin, believes the healthiest attitude one can have towards money is frugality, even for those who have achieved unimaginable wealth.

He's a fan of what he calls the "Why pay more?" philosophy, epitomized by billionaire Warren Buffett, who saves money by buying cars with hail damage.

Sawikin was one of the earliest American fund managers to focus on the former Soviet bloc and has distributed billions of dollars to his investors. Here, he describes an acquaintance of his, a billionaire and Wall Street legend:

I remember the time I was leaving a dinner to celebrate this man’s nine-figure charitable donation and saw him hailing a cab on the street like anyone else: no wasting money on limos for this icon.

It came out that he’s a Costco member, and he and his wife go there to buy dental floss, among other things. (He’s also almost 90 and in great shape, making him my hero for that reason as well.)

— Harvey Sawikin

Sawikin himself says his own wealth has not changed his core frugality. He might go out of his way to save $20 on a purchase and then invest or donate thousands without much deliberation.

Frugality is not the same as miserliness. What the "Why Pay More" practitioner hates most is waste. Paying staff fairly or helping out someone in need, says Sawikin, is not waste.

Sawikin explains all this and more in his recent essay, which you can read for free.

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