5 Billionaires Who Still Drive Cheap Cars

Most people imagine the rich driving around in fancy cars with huge houses, maybe a yacht, and while you’re at it might as well throw in a private plane.

But some of the world’s wealthiest people -- billionaires who can afford whatever their heart desires -- do quite the opposite.

Instead, they opt for a simpler lifestyle, one in which frugality is maintained despite great accumulation and monetary success.

Believe it or not, several high-profile billionaires drive around in cars that you and I see on the road every day (even some far older).

I'm so frugal, you wouldn't believe it.

– Serena Williams

Who are they and why do they drive cheap cars? You’re about to find out…

1. Alice Walton

The wealthiest women in the world valued at nearly forty-five billion dollars, Wal-Mart co-heir Alice Walton is as frugal as they come, but her reason might be a bit more sentimental.

Her father and founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, drove a 1979 Ford F-150 before his passing. Now, Walton drives a newer, but still quite old, 2006 Ford F-150 King Ranch.

2. Mark Zuckerberg

Somewhat characteristic of millennial software moguls, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t place much stock in what he drives.

In fact, his reasons for choosing a modest Acura TSX valued at just $30,000 (in addition to a Volkswagen GTI) are that it’s "safe, comfortable and not ostentatious."

3. Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, has a sentimental connection to his affordable sedan, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid originally valued at about $28,000.

Ballmer’s father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Company. For that reason, Ballmer has strictly owner Fords throughout his entire life and even had his Fusion delivered personally by Ford’s then CEO Alan Mulally.

4. Ingvar Kamprad

The founder of Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad, is notoriously frugal, claiming once that nearly everything he wears was bought at a flea market.

He even became angry when he found out that the old furniture at the Ikea head office had been replaced with higher-end furniture -- Ikea’s very own product.

For nearly twenty years, Kamprad drove the very same 1993 Volvo 240 GL. He only recently replaced it due to a friend convincing him that his car was now so old it was dangerous to drive.

5. Warren Buffett

The king of frugal himself, anyone who’s studied Warren Buffett knows just how frugal he is.

He methodically orders the same one of three different options from McDonald's every morning for breakfast, $3.17 on the top end when the market is doing well and he wants to really splurge.

In addition to that, Buffett drove the same 2006 Cadillac DTS for nearly a decade before his daughter convinced him (out of embarrassment) to upgrade to a new Cadillac XTS with a retail value of $45,000.

Always methodical in his actions, he told Forbes, "I only drive about 3,500 miles a year so I will buy a new car very infrequently.”