The thought of a billionaire\u2019s lifestyle may conjure up images of Great Gatsby mansion-buying and jet-setting at the drop of a hat. But the life of an heiress with the wealth of two billion-dollar American businesses looks a lot different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mitzi Perdue was born into the Sheraton hotel family, and at just the age of 26, she and her siblings inherited their father, Ernest Henderson\u2019s, controlling stake of the business. The success of her family\u2019s $12.2 billion<\/a> hospitality company meant she was now sitting on a considerable nest egg.<\/p>\n Her fortune would only swell after marrying her late husband Frank Perdue, the \u201cchicken king\u201d who led America\u2019s largest chicken producer, Perdue Farms<\/a>, which brought in over $10 billion<\/a> in revenue last year. The double heiress has the riches to retire and live a life of extravagance, but it\u2019s in her nature to look at wealth differently.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hendersons and the Perdues did not encourage extravagance,\u201d Perdue told Fortune in a June 2025 interview. \u201cIn both families, nobody wins points for wearing designer clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n The 84-year-old has access to a trust from her family\u2019s billion-dollar business, alongside the wealth from the Perdue empire. Yet she still lives just like anybody else: taking her shoes to the cobbler instead of buying new ones, riding the subway, flying economy, and living in a modest apartment instead of a house. <\/p>\n Perdue has lived a double life\u2014having access to immense privilege and money from two business empires, while holding down a regular job and living frugally.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy apartment building I lived in for 14 years is very solidly middle-class, and I love it,\u201d Perdue says. \u201cIf you\u2019re always going on private jets, what inkling do you have about the real world?\u201d<\/p>\n Her frugal and down-to-earth lifestyle: wearing secondhand clothes, flying economy, riding subways<\/p>\n Perdue was born in 1941 and, as a war baby and the fifth child of the Henderson family, grew up wearing hand-me-downs. She says she went to public school for a period of her life, later enrolling in private school and pursuing a Harvard education. When she was in her late twenties, her father died, opening up the floodgates of her inheritance. But she wasn\u2019t enticed by the idea of throwing in the towel and lounging for the rest of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI could have just put everything in the stock market and let somebody else manage it,\u201d Perdue says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Interested in agriculture, Perdue soon bought land near the University of California, Davis so that the college could run experiments on the agricultural area. She spent many hours a day managing the rice farm, but years later decided to become a journalist covering farming practices and mental health.<\/p>\n Starting in 2022, she began writing about the<\/a> conflict in Ukraine and sold her $1.2 million engagement ring<\/a> from her late husband to benefit humanitarian efforts in the war-torn region. She\u2019s currently working on developing an AI trauma therapist for victims in Ukraine, which has lacked the resources to keep up with demand. For all of her work trips, she always flies economy.<\/p>\n Perdue has also lived in an apartment building in Salisbury, Md., for many years, rubbing shoulders with working-class residents like nurses and police officers. She says one year\u2019s rent in her one-bedroom flat costs just as much as what her New York City friends pay in one month.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSeveral Perdue employees live in the same building,\u201d Perdue says. \u201cIt\u2019s nice, but no one would call it posh.\u201d<\/p>\n And as a self-proclaimed \u201clow-maintenance badass\u201d frequently visiting New York City, she rides the subway instead of booking Ubers. Perdue also gets her shoes fixed by cobblers, rather than buying new pairs. Designer outfits are shrugged off, as she doesn\u2019t like flashing her wealth. Her frugal philosophy is more than just skin-deep.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m unaware of getting praise for wearing really expensive clothes\u2014you get praised like heck for being an Eagle Scout, or working for Habitat for Humanity,\u201d Perdue continues. \u201cYou get praise for serving others.\u201d<\/p>\n What Perdue gets from tightening her purse strings\u00a0<\/p>\n People who have not grown up with wealth may question why a billionaire would want to live like the rest of the population: working nine-to-five, crammed in like a sardine on subways instead of calling private cars. The heiress and journalist says her reasoning stems from the emptiness of taking, and the joy of giving.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d sure rather have a life of a feast of unending joy versus not being able to count five happy days,\u201d Perdue says. \u201cIf you want to be happy, think what you can do for somebody else. If you want to be miserable, think what\u2019s owed to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Mega-yachts and silk pajamas don\u2019t fill the void for Perdue\u2014rather, philanthropy and hard work make her feel full. A huge part of Perdue\u2019s understanding of having wealth versus living a wealthy life came from both sides of her family. She noted that family businesses that are able to last 100 years are a rarity, but the Hendersons and Perdues were able to make it by putting their best foot forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe families that last learn stewardship,\u201d Perdue said. \u201cThey\u2019re not there to go spend it all. They\u2019re there to be stewards for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Success:<\/p>\n Billionaire Telegram founder leaves his $14 billion<\/a> fortune to the 100+ children he\u2019s fathered<\/p>\n Founder who sold two companies to Coca Cola\u2019s warning<\/a> to would-be entrepreneurs <\/p>\n Alexis Ohanian walked out<\/a> of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to Waffle House, and founded Reddit<\/p>\n Warren Buffett\u2019s advice for Gen Z<\/a>: It\u2019s about the company you keep<\/p>\n \u00a0A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com<\/a> on June 15, 2025. <\/p>\n