We have certain expectations for the fabulously wealthy.
Warren Buffett's frugality is part of what marketers would call his brand identity. His apparent personal disregard for the money he so excessively accumulates reinforces his credibility: he's not greedy, he's just good at what he does.
Buffett, it is safe to say, has a different relationship to money than you and me. For us it's a means to an end. For him, it's a vocation. He is called to it. If it's for anything, it's for getting more of. The man is a collector. He just happens to collect dollars.
It's as if success is a corollary of obscenity: you know it when you see it.
And "seeing" may be the most crucial variable of all.
In our unending search for panaceas, we believe that happiness and "success" -- which, loosely translated, means money -- are the things to strive for. People are constantly surprised that, even though they have acquired material things, discontent still gnaws.
