If your pockets were as deep as Bill Gates’ what would you drive? A new
Porsche or a seven-year-old one? Each year, Forbes magazine compiles a
list of the world’s wealthiest people.
The cars and trucks driven by those in the Top 10 of the 2005 Forbes
list was, in short, shocking. You won’t find a Bugatti, Ferrari or BMW
driven by these billionaires. But you will find a Lincoln, a Mazda,
even a Dodge and Ford. It seems that for the super-rich, a vehicle is
seen not as a status symbol, but as a means to an end in which to get
from point A to point B. Status is something that these billionaires
need not prove to others. In many cases, the people on our list prefer
to live inconspicuously, avoiding the limelight at all costs. This
might explain why many of their vehicles cost less than your own daily
driver.
William Gates III
Net Worth: $46.5 billion
Vehicles Owned: 1999 Porsche 911 Convertible (pictured above); 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe
Source: State of Washington Department of Licensing
Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $44 billion
Vehicles Owned: 2001 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series
Source: Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
Net Worth: $23.7 billion
Vehicles Owned: Infiniti FX45; Hummer H1; Volvo XC90; Rolls-Royce Phantom (pictured above); Daewoo Matiz
Source: French news magazine program, “Zone Interdite” on broadcasting network M6
Ingvar Kamprad
Net Worth: $23 billion
Vehicles Owned: 1993 Volvo 240 GL
Source: Financial Times
Paul Allen
Net Worth: $21 billion
Vehicles Owned: 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe (pictured above); 1988 Mazda B-Series Pickup
Source: State of Washington Department of Licensing
Lawrence Ellison
Net Worth: $18.4 billion
Vehicles Owned: 2006 Bentley Flying Spur (pictured above); Bentley Continental GT
Source: Business Week magazine
Jim Walton
Net Worth: $18.2 billion
Vehicles Owned: 2002 Dodge Dakota Pickup (pictured above); 2000 Acura Integra; 1998 Mitsubishi Montero Sport; 1999 Chevrolet Silverado Pickup; 1959 Cadillac
Source: Arkansas Office of Motor Vehicles
Alice Walton
Net Worth: $18 billion
Vehicles Owned: 2006 Ford F-150 King Ranch
Source: Texas Department of Transportation
Michael Dell
Net Worth: $16 billion
Vehicles Owned: 2004 Porsche Boxster; 2005 Hummer H2
Source: Texas Department of Transportation
Steven Ballmer
Net Worth: $12.1 billion
Vehicles Owned: 1998 Lincoln Continental
Source: State of Washington Department of Licensing
