When you think of celebrities, images of private jets, gold-plated dinnerware, and opulent lifestyles where they don’t have to lift a finger (thanks to the heavy jewelry, of course) often come to mind. But surprisingly, there are some celebrities who collect McDonald’s coupons and even sleep on worn-out mattresses despite the billions in their bank account. Here’s a list of celebrities who have been called out for their thrifty ways in the past.
#1 Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan was once embarrassed at a hotel in Las Vegas by former ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky for the way he tipped a cocktail waitress, according to Rich Strafella, former VP of Hard Rock Hotel in Sin City.
“I remember a night when Wayne Gretzky insulted Michael Jordan at the table. It was a private salon game. Michael had ordered a drink from the cocktail waitress, and he gave her a five-dollar chip,” Rich said.
“Wayne took it off the cocktail waitress’s tray, gave it back to Michael, grabbed a hundred-dollar chip from Michael’s stack, and put it on the cocktail waitress’s tray. Then he said, ‘That’s how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael,’” Rich added.
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
#2 Rachael Ray
Fans of the show ‘$40 a Day’ would agree that Rachael Ray, indeed, showed fans how to visit the most touristy places and still enjoy the best food the destination has to offer with a food budget of only $40. However, some reports say that she managed to do so by tipping poorly.
She reportedly left behind tips of less than 10% on some occasions and even stood by the idea of 7% being a good enough tip on the show.
Image credits: Rachael Ray Show
#3 Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks previously revealed that she was promised a lifetime supply of products from the brand while she was a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
However, after she retired her angel wings in 2005, she said the deal only lasted for a year after her departure.
“The president of Victoria’s Secret promised me a lifetime supply of Victoria’s Secret products, even after I decided to leave the company,” Tyra told Andy Cohen on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live.”
“But once I left, he only let me have it for a year. So I have a bone to pick,” added the “America’s Next Top Model” creator.
Image credits: Tyra Banks
#4 Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone mistakenly thought a $400,000 necklace, loaned to her by Harry Winston for an event, was a lavish gift.
After the brand asked for the necklace to be returned, the misunderstanding escalated to a lawsuit, with Sharon dragging the jeweler to court. The settlement ended with Winston agreeing to make a donation to the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
Image credits: CNN
#5 Jeremy Piven
When it comes to showing appreciation in the service industry, sticking to the traditional way of giving cold, hard cash is often the best. But Jeremy Piven once ditched this idea and wrote his own script on tipping by giving an Entourage DVD to the waiter instead of money.
At the time, it was reported that the actor was no longer allowed back to any of Nobu’s restaurants.
“I’m such a fan of Nobu and all of his restaurants. I had a great dinner at the Nobu in Aspen. As always, the meal was excellent, and the service was great,” he said in a statement.
Image credits: DreamWorks Pictures
#6 Tana Mongeau
Internet personality Tana Mongeau once decided to use “exposure” as a currency after offering makeup artists in LA the chance to use her face as their “canvas.”
“Looking for an MUA in LA that would wanna work together frequently in exchange for an abundance of promo!” she wrote in her Instagram Stories.
Her unconventional barter idea had “promo as compensation” included.
“Wanting to get my makeup done more often for simpler stuff/work. you can also use my face to try out new looks/be your canvas for your instagram!! we can always try new stuff. looking for someone available a lot/flexible/willing to accept mainly promo as compensation,” she wrote.
Image credits: Tana Mongeau
#7 Kim Kardashian And Kanye West
Pete Davidson once shared an awkward story on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about how he was stuck with the tab after Kanye West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian showed up to a birthday dinner he was treating Kid Cudi to.
The plot unfolded during Kid Cudi’s birthday dinner, which the comedian was invited to. Pete thought he was setting the stage for a fun treat when he arrived at the restaurant Nobu early and gave his card so he could treat the birthday boy. But the first shocker for Pete was when Timothée Chalamet walked in fashionably late. The second, and more burdensome on his pocket, was when Kanye West and Kim Kardashian waltzed in and asked for the “special room in the back.”
Kanye also ordered some “CRAZY stuff,” leaving Pete to pick up a hefty bill.
“We’re sitting in there, and I’m, like, texting my touring agent, and I’m like, ‘Yo, you gotta book more shows.’ […] It wasn’t actually as bad as you would think, but, you know, it’s not like it’s Applebee’s. It’s Nobu, you know? Which is like 77 Applebeeses,” Pete told Jimmy on the show.
Image credits: Kim Kardashian
#8 Paul McCartney
Heather Mills, the ex-wife of Beatles member Paul McCartney, once showed disdain over the musician being too cheap to do charity.
Paul’s net worth in 2024 is estimated at $1.2 billion, and he continues adding wealth to his bank account with his tours.
But ex-wife Heather said, in 2007, that he would refuse to part ways with his fortune for charity, and this was one of the main issues they fought about while they were together.
“How can anybody have that kind of money and not do more for charity?” she told TODAY. “That’s what we argued about all the time.”
Image credits: Heather Mills
#9 Warren Buffett
He may be comfortably sitting among the top billionaires on the list of the world’s richest people, but the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, is known for his frugal ways. He still lives in the same house he bought in Nebraska’s Omaha all the way back in 1958 for $31,500.
Bill Gates also once revealed that he unexpectedly saw Warren reach into his pocket to pull out coupons while they were once having lunch at McDonald’s in Hong Kong.
When it comes to his drive, the billionaire buys cars at reduced prices, such as those that are hail-damaged but can still be fixed up, his daughter Susie Buffett said.
“You’ve got to understand, he keeps cars until I tell him, ‘This is getting embarrassing — time for a new car,'” she was quoted saying in a BBC documentary.
His wife, Astrid Buffett, seems to complement his thriftiness and was once seen complaining about having to pay $4 for some coffee.
She said she “could get a pound of coffee” for the same price at other places.
Image credits: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/02/24/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-berkshire-hathaway-ceo-warren-buffett.html
#10 Tiger Woods
Legendary golfer Tiger Woods is apparently notoriously cheap, according to his former coach Hank Haney.
“Whenever we got takeout food from outside the club, I’d go pick it up, and I always paid,” Hank wrote in his memoir The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods.
“He seemed to think it was funny to be cheap,” he added.
But Hank admitted he absolutely didn’t mind Tiger’s frugality: “The truth is, I probably would have paid Tiger just to teach him, it meant that much.”
Image credits: No Filter Network
#11 Elon Musk
Canadian musician Grimes, who shares two children with Elon Musk, once revealed that the Tesla founder does not live like a billionaire.
During their on-again, off-again relationship, Grimes said Elon wouldn’t even buy a new mattress despite her side having a hole in it.
He suggested they replace his mattress with the one from her home, she told Vanity Fair.
“Bro does not live like a billionaire. Bro lives at times below the poverty line,” she told the outlet. “To the point where I was like, ‘Can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house? Where the neighbors, like, film us, and there’s no security, and I’m eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?'”
Her comments were met with widespread criticism, with people pointing out to her that there is a difference between being cheap and living “below the poverty line.”
“Is anyone going to break the news to Grimes that being cheap is not the same thing as being in poverty oh my God,” one user said.
Another added, “Worst part is she doesn’t know the different [sic] between being CHEAP and POOR.”
“Very curious what Grimes’ idea of what poverty is,” one tweeted, while another wrote, “Everyone talking about grimes baby no ones talking about the fact that she voluntarily ate peanut butter eight days in a row and said she and a billionaire are living below the poverty line.”
Image credits: Grimes
#12 Alyssa Milano
Actress Alyssa Milano was recently criticized for creating a fundraiser and asking the public for money for her son’s baseball team.
“My son’s baseball team is raising money for their Cooperstown trip. Any amount would be so greatly appreciated,” she wrote on social media.
Although Alyssa received plenty of backlash, her fundraiser managed to exceed its goal of $10,000 and raise $15,437 for her son’s baseball team’s trip.
Image credits: Alyssa Milano
#13 Kim Kardashian
It’s no secret that being a Kardashian comes with plenty of perks.
Kim Kardashian once unabashedly revealed that it was the freebies she loved the most about being herself.
“The free shit. No, free trips. Free planes. Free everything,” said the reality TV star during the Create & Cultivate conference in Los Angeles in 2018. “But I do love to share when I get free stuff. I literally give it to all my friends and family.”
Image credits: Kim Kardashian