Jeff Bezos Is the World’s Richest Person But Still Drives This Surprisingly Cheap Car

Jeff Bezos is a great many things. He’s an electrical engineer, a generous philanthropist, a CEO and, of course, the current richest person in the world.

But did you know that he’s also a very frugal person? In fact, he’s so committed to living a frugal lifestyle he has opted to drive some surprisingly affordable cars ever since the launching of Amazon in the 1990s.

A Perfectly Good Car

One of the more modern versions of the Honda Accord Bezos drives. The latest edition of the Honda model retails for just around $23,700.

When Bezos founded the now-multibillion company, he was driving a modest 1987 Chevy Blazer. When the company found success and finally went public three years later, he decided to ‘upgrade’ to a Honda Accord.

Asian car manufacturers may have a good reputation for the quality of their vehicles, but they’re still not up there yet with other famed and more expensive ones like Audi, BMW and Rolls-Royce.

So, why did Bezos choose this particular car when he can afford just about any luxury car in the market?

Bezos has a simple answer: it’s a perfectly good car.

This preference for the not-so-luxurious things in life also reflects the image he wanted Amazon to have ever since its foundation.

In fact, during the late 1990s, when Bezos and his company were already worth the big bucks,  he opted to place the Amazon headquarters in a relatively unconventional part of town among pawnshops and other similarly small businesses.

He also revealed how he and his employees used desks made from wood scraps and repurposed doors to save costs.

Amazon and Maintaining Frugal Practices

Although their frugality has been a positive for the company overall, it has also become a point of contention among blue-collar employees working in less than ideal warehouse conditions.

All of these frugal practices were intentional though.

According to Bezos, it’s important to show customers how the company is spending money on things that matter instead of things that really don’t. Thus, employees still use door desks and Bezos is still seen driving Honda cars until today.

This frugality has even been enshrined in the company’s ‘14 Leadership Principals’ highlighting the belief that frugality results in self-sufficiency, invention and resourcefulness.

The motto is perhaps best seen in action in the annual ‘Door Desk Award’ given to Amazon employees who are able to come up with the best ideas on how to save money for the corporation.

Even executives aren’t exempt from this practice. The company only pays for economy class flights for its senior executives. And should they want an upgrade to business class, they need to pay for it out of their own pocket.

Amazon has also ventured into online streaming with Amazon Prime Video.

Other admirable real-life applications of this motto include the company’s DIY approach to acquiring their software and hardware technology needs.

Instead of buying things like computer servers, network routers and other networking equipment, Amazon engineers strive to design and build their own at arguably lower costs.

Because of this, the company only has to pay for product features which they absolutely need.