Warren Buffett purchased a house in Omaha, Nebraska for $31,500 in 1958.
It’s been a long time since he became a billionaire, but he still lives in the house.
When people asked why he wasn’t moving into his new house, he said with a smile.
“If you buy a bigger house, you’ll only have more room to clean. All you need is one bedroom, so why buy one castle?”
A more interesting episode came at the 2017 general shareholders’ meeting.
One shareholder asked.
“The return on investment will be huge just because house prices have risen.”
Buffett replied with a smile.
“My average annual return in my house is only 7%. Berkshire Hathaway stock returns are over 20%, so am I being a fool?”
Then he added seriously.
“But a house is not an investment, it’s a living ground. I raised my children in this house and I’m growing old with my wife.”
Buffett also left this comment.
“The secret to becoming rich is not to reduce the cost of living, but to abandon unnecessary vanity.”
His philosophy of home is simple.
“A house is a place to live, not a place to show off.”
Even now, he has breakfast with a McDonald’s hamburger and lives in his old house.
And added.
“This house I love reminds me every day that I’m really rich. Not because of money, but because of the fact that I have the freedom to choose.”