Warren Buffett's Hobbies and the Billionaire's Guide to Living Below Your Means

When you think of how the world’s wealthiest people spend their time and money, images of yacht parties, private jets, and exotic vacations might come to mind. Yet warren buffett, the Oracle of Omaha and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, defies this stereotype in almost every way imaginable. With a net worth around $116.7 billion, buffett stands as the fifth-wealthiest person globally, according to Forbes. But here’s the striking contradiction: despite his extraordinary wealth, his daily life reflects principles of simplicity, frugality, and meaningful connection rather than extravagant excess. What makes buffett’s approach so compelling is that his money-conscious lifestyle isn’t born from deprivation—it’s a deliberate philosophical choice. His hobbies, his purchases, and his relationships all reveal someone who has fundamentally rejected the notion that wealth should translate into constant consumption.

The Foundation of Financial Wisdom: Understanding Buffett’s Core Philosophy

Before examining the specific habits that define warren buffett’s approach to money, it’s essential to grasp the underlying principle that binds them together. In a 2009 Q&A session with business school students, buffett articulated this philosophy with remarkable clarity: “You can’t buy health and you can’t buy love.” This simple statement encapsulates his entire worldview. Unlike many billionaires who view their fortune as a license to acquire increasingly impressive possessions, buffett has concluded that beyond a certain point, additional wealth serves no practical purpose.

When buffett reflects on his personal goals, he expresses indifference toward material accumulation. “I’m not interested in cars, and my goal is not to make people envious,” he has stated. This mindset isn’t false modesty—it’s supported by decades of consistent behavior. His daughter, Susie Buffett, confirmed this perspective when she noted that her father genuinely doesn’t care about accumulating wealth for its own sake. Instead, he channels his emotional energy into family relationships and meaningful pursuits. She recounted how buffett maintains intimate knowledge of his numerous great-grandchildren, keeping detailed mental notes about each one’s life and activities.

A Home That Has Appreciated in Wisdom, Not Just Market Value

Most billionaire narratives include a mansion with multiple properties, but buffett’s residential reality tells a completely different story. He has lived in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska, for over six decades—the same residence he purchased in 1958 for $31,500. When adjusted for inflation, that 1958 purchase price translates to roughly $285,000 in 2020 dollars. Today, the 6,570-square-foot property is valued at considerably more, representing roughly $161 per square foot according to Douglas County’s tax assessor records. Yet despite the property’s appreciation, buffett has repeatedly stated his commitment to remaining there. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he told CNBC, a sentiment he has reiterated multiple times over the years.

The implications of this choice extend far beyond mere nostalgia. By purchasing a home well below what his wealth could justify, buffett avoided the trap of ever-escalating mortgage payments that consume the financial resources of countless Americans. Instead of dedicating a significant portion of his income to housing costs, he preserved capital for investment, philanthropy, and long-term wealth building. When buffett did purchase a vacation property in Laguna Beach, California in 1971, he secured a 30-year mortgage—a financial instrument he considers “the best instrument in the world.” His reasoning reveals his mathematical approach to finance: a fixed-rate mortgage provides a one-way negotiation in the homeowner’s favor. If interest rates plummet below the locked rate, the borrower simply continues paying the lower fixed amount, creating what buffett describes as “an incredibly attractive instrument” for wealth protection.

The McDonald’s Breakfast Ritual: Economical Fuel for the Mind

The image of a multi-billionaire ordering a sausage biscuit at McDonald’s might seem comical, but it reveals something profound about buffett’s relationship with consumption and his recognition of diminishing returns in luxury goods. His breakfast choices have become legendary among those who study his habits. On his five-minute drive to the office most mornings, buffett stops at McDonald’s—not due to necessity, but due to calculation. The fast-food breakfast serves his needs efficiently and economically.

His specific order varies based on market conditions, which reveals his tongue-in-cheek humor about financial consciousness. When he’s feeling optimistic about market conditions, he might treat himself to a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. On days when market indices decline, he downgrades to the more economical sausage, egg, and cheese option. On particularly rough market days, he constructs an impromptu meal from two sausage patties and personally pours himself a Coke. This isn’t deprivation—buffett simply recognizes that breakfast function doesn’t improve dramatically when you pay restaurant prices for the same basic components.

His approach to eating reveals an almost humorous consistency: buffett eats like a six-year-old and proudly embraces this fact. When challenged about his dietary choices, he responded with characteristic wit, claiming he consulted actuarial tables and discovered that “the lowest death rate is among 6-year-olds.” Therefore, he concluded, eating a child’s diet represented “the safest course I can take.” His meals center on hamburgers, ice cream, and Coke—foods he has preferred since childhood. Bill Gates, his longtime friend and Microsoft founder, observed this remarkable consistency and commented that buffett has “basically stuck to eating what he liked when he was 6 years old.”

Transportation Philosophy: Driving Depreciated Value

While other CEOs showcase their status through exotic automobiles and frequent upgrades, buffett’s approach to vehicles exemplifies practical economics. His daughter revealed in a BBC documentary that buffett purchased cars selectively, often acquiring vehicles that had been damaged by hail and subsequently repaired. These vehicles, restored to full functionality despite their hail damage history, became standard elements of the buffett household. As Susie Buffett noted with obvious affection mixed with exasperation: “You’ve got to understand, he keeps cars until I tell him, ‘This is getting embarrassing—time for a new car.’”

When buffett discussed his vehicle strategy with Forbes in 2014, he articulated the economic logic behind his choices. “The truth is, I only drive about 3,500 miles a year so I will buy a new car very infrequently,” he explained. This statement contains wisdom for ordinary consumers: automobiles depreciate rapidly in their early years, making used vehicles or long-term retention of existing vehicles substantially more economical than frequent new purchases. Buffett simply applies this principle rigorously to his own life.

Hobbies That Cost Nothing Yet Deliver Everything: The Buffett Recreation Blueprint

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of warren buffett’s lifestyle emerges when examining his hobbies and leisure activities. The common assumption that billionaires entertain themselves through expensive pursuits—elite golf clubs, exotic vacations, luxury yachts—doesn’t apply to buffett. Instead, his hobbies cluster around activities that deliver profound satisfaction at minimal cost, revealing his understanding that entertainment value bears no correlation with expenditure.

Bridge: The Game That Rivals Business

Buffett’s most enduring hobby is bridge, the classic card game that demands intellectual engagement and strategic thinking. He has described himself as a self-proclaimed bridge addict, reportedly playing approximately eight hours weekly according to a 2017 Washington Post interview. His passion for the game reaches levels that would seem absurd to non-players: “I one time said that I wouldn’t mind going to jail if I had the right three cellmates so we can play bridge all the time,” he confessed during the interview. During a CBS News “Sunday Morning” segment, buffett laughed while describing his focus during bridge: “If I play bridge and a naked woman walks by, I don’t even see her.” This wasn’t crude humor—it was an honest assessment of his total absorption in the game’s intellectual challenges.

The economic advantage of bridge as a hobby cannot be overstated. Unlike golf, which requires expensive club memberships and course fees, or collecting, which demands continuous capital expenditure, bridge requires only willing players and a deck of cards. Yet it delivers the same intellectual stimulation and social engagement that buffett clearly craves.

Music and Other Affordable Passions

Beyond bridge, buffett pursues the ukulele, an instrument he plays with enough proficiency to perform at investor meetings and charity events. In 2016, a video emerged of buffett playing the ukulele alongside Bill Gates, posted on Gates’ blog, capturing the sight of two of the world’s wealthiest people enjoying a simple, inexpensive activity together. Golf represents another of his hobbies, though his approach differs markedly from wealthy competitors. Rather than exclusively frequenting exclusive country clubs, buffett emphasized: “I’d rather play golf here with people I like than at the fanciest golf course in the world.” The statement reveals his actual priority—the quality of human company supersedes the amenities of the venue.

The Technology Paradox: From Nokia Flip Phones to iPhone

Buffett’s relationship with technology provides another window into his decision-making framework. For years after smartphones revolutionized mobile communication, buffett clung to a Nokia flip phone, choosing familiarity and simplicity over cutting-edge capability. Only in February 2020, during a CNBC Squawk Box interview, did he reveal that he had finally transitioned from his long-held Nokia flip phone to an iPhone. Even then, the shift wasn’t driven by buffett’s own desire but rather by circumstances—he had been given several iPhones, including directly from Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. The Nokia flip phone, after years of loyalty, was permanently retired, replaced by an iPhone 11 at the time of the interview.

This gradual transition to newer technology reflects buffett’s principle of upgrading only when necessity demands it. For those tempted by the marketing machinery surrounding each new iPhone release, buffett’s example provides counterweight: technology serves practical functions, and yesterday’s technology frequently accomplishes today’s needs. If new devices must be purchased, buffett suggests exploring economical alternatives such as no-contract phone plans or family data-sharing arrangements rather than premium individual plans.

Clothing Strategy: Quality Over Branding

In a world where luxury fashion dominates the wardrobes of the ultra-wealthy, buffett has consistently rejected designer labels and fashion status symbols. Instead, he wears exclusively suits created by Madame Li, a Chinese sewing entrepreneur he met in 2007. His endorsement of these suits stems purely from function and fit: “They fit perfectly,” he explained in a 2017 CNBC interview. “We get compliments on them. It’s been a long time since I got compliments on how I looked but, since I am wearing Madame Li’s suits, I get compliments all the time.”

The philosophy embedded in this choice extends beyond individual clothing purchases. Buffett advocates selecting quality goods designed to endure, rather than acquiring items merely because they carry prestigious brand names. This approach actually costs less over time, as durable items require replacement far less frequently than fashion-forward purchases that fall apart or become dated.

Relationships as the Ultimate Investment: The Gates Friendship Model

When examining warren buffett’s life comprehensively, his most valuable asset appears not to be his financial portfolio but rather his relationship with Bill Gates. Their decades-long friendship has proven remarkably durable and mutually enriching, yet it was never built through expensive gestures or material exchanges. In 2016, when Gates wrote a blog post honoring buffett, he highlighted the non-monetary nature of their bond: “Of all the things I’ve learned from Warren, the most important thing might be what friendship is all about.”

Gates provided specific examples of buffett’s thoughtfulness: personally driving to the airport to collect Gates during visits to Omaha, making frequent phone calls, and mailing interesting news clippings that he thought Gates and his wife Melinda would enjoy. These actions—personal time, attention, consideration—represent the opposite of transactional relationships based on material exchange. Yet they created a friendship that both men clearly value above most material possessions.

The Coupon-Wielding Billionaire: Valuing Every Dollar

Perhaps no single image encapsulates buffett’s philosophy more perfectly than the photograph Bill Gates shared in the Gates family’s 2017 annual letter. The image captured buffett paying for McDonald’s lunch using coupons during a trip to Hong Kong. The photo, which Gates titled “the big spender,” was shared as evidence that buffett’s frugality transcends wealth levels. “Remember the laugh we had when we traveled together to Hong Kong and decided to get lunch at McDonald’s?” Gates wrote. “You offered to pay, dug into your pocket, and pulled out … coupons!”

Far from being embarrassed by this practice, Gates and his wife found it profoundly instructive. The incident reminded them, Gates explained, “how much you value a good deal.” For ordinary consumers, the lesson is straightforward: discount opportunities exist for everyone at every income level, and utilizing them shouldn’t be viewed as deprivation but rather as smart financial management.

The Unchanging Office: Efficiency Through Constancy

Since joining Berkshire Hathaway in the 1960s, buffett has maintained his office in the same building in Omaha. This represents not mere inertia but deliberate choice. “It’s a different sort of place,” buffett explained in the 2017 HBO documentary “Becoming Warren Buffett.” He noted that the company maintains only 25 office employees—“the exact same 25” for extended periods. More tellingly, he rejected common corporate structures: “We don’t have any committees at Berkshire. We don’t have a public relations department. We don’t have investor relations. We don’t have a general counsel. We just don’t go for anything that people do just as a matter of form.”

This approach eliminates unnecessary expenses and complexity. While ordinary individuals cannot replicate his corporate structure, they can adopt the underlying principle: question whether established practices and purchases actually serve your interests or simply represent unexamined convention.

The Art of Resourceful Thinking: Creating Solutions, Not Buying Them

Early in his parenting years, buffett demonstrated remarkable creativity in avoiding unnecessary expenditures. When his first child was born, rather than purchasing a traditional bassinet, he converted a dresser drawer into a sleeping space. When his second child arrived, he borrowed a crib rather than buying one. While converting a drawer into a sleeping space might seem extreme by contemporary standards, the underlying philosophy proves universally applicable: before purchasing something, examine what existing resources can serve the same function.

The Deeper Lesson: Why Warren Buffett’s Hobbies Matter

What emerges from examining warren buffett’s hobbies, purchases, and lifestyle choices is not a picture of deprivation or miserliness but rather clarity about what actually contributes to human satisfaction. His hobbies—bridge, golf, ukulele—deliver genuine intellectual and social engagement. His home provides shelter and stability. His vehicles provide transportation. His simple meals satisfy hunger. His clothing fits well and serves its purpose. Beyond these basic functions, additional expenditure adds nothing of value to his life.

The universal applicability of buffett’s approach lies in his recognition that the correlation between spending and satisfaction doesn’t remain constant. At lower income levels, additional spending genuinely improves life quality by fulfilling basic needs. But as income rises, additional spending delivers diminishing returns—a principle buffett seems to have grasped intuitively and acted upon consistently.

For those seeking to build wealth while maintaining quality of life, buffett’s example offers concrete guidance: live modestly relative to your means, invest in experiences and relationships rather than status symbols, and remember that the most satisfying purchases often cost the least. His hobbies reveal a person who has concluded that the richest life isn’t the most expensive one—it’s the one lived with intention, surrounded by people you care about, engaged in activities you find genuinely meaningful.