Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants

As the saying goes, watch the pennies and the pounds look after themselves. But as it turns out, even some of the wealthiest people on the planet follow the money-saving mantra, well after they’ve made it. IKEA’s billionaire founder, Ingvar Kamprad, took his love for budget furniture home with him—literally.

Despite having an estimated $58.7 billion net worth and being one of the richest men alive, the late businessman would buy his clothes at flea markets and drove an old Volvo. 

“I don’t think I’m wearing anything that wasn’t bought at a flea market,” Kamprad said in a 2016 documentary on Sweden’s TV4. “I want to set a good example.”

Kamprad could have bought himself anything. But like many average Joes, he’d sneak home little packets of salt and pepper from restaurant visits. 

Taking his frugality one step further than most, he reportedly even recycled tea bags, ate at his own cafeterias, and flew economy.

He once revealed to the newspaper Sydsvenskan that the €22 haircut price in the Netherlands was above budget and that he’d........

© Fortune