When people think of hand-me-down clothing, flying coach, and keeping a small apartment, they typically don’t think of heiresses. But Mitzi Perdue will surprise you. An heiress to the Sheraton (hotel) and Perdue (chicken) fortunes, she prefers a modest lifestyle to the lap of luxury, using her wealth instead to create opportunities for and act in service of others.
“If you want to be happy, think what you can do for somebody else,” she said in a recent interview with Fortune. “If you want to be miserable, think what’s owed to you.”
Mitzi Perdue discusses the words that help her define success for herself. Building Bridges, www.youtube.com
From the time she was a young woman, Perdue made an active choice to participate in the world and see how she can help others. This started with her time purchasing a rice farm, which she’d also manage, for the University of California-Davis to use for agricultural coursework. She’d later work as a journalist “covering farming practices and mental health,” Fortune shared.
Her advocacy goes all the way forward to today. In 2022, for example, Perdue became actively involved in chronicling the war in Ukraine as a journalist, and even auctioned her 400-year-old emerald engagement ring, from her late husband Frank Perdue, for over $1M and donated it all to Ukrainian aid. She also contributed funding to the HALO Trust, which clears landmines; her video advocating for the organization's work in Ukraine is below. Her advocacy for many other worthy initiatives in mental health and social justice is ongoing as well.
Mitzi Perdue advocates for clearing landmines in Ukraine. Mitzi Perdue, www.youtube.com
As Fortune reports, she always flies coach for business trips and keeps a low-key one-bedroom apartment in Salisbury, Maryland, which she rents. She walks up and down the stairs for exercise, she told Thrive Global. “Perdue also gets her shoes fixed by cobblers, rather than buying new pairs,” Fortune continues. “Designer outfits are shrugged off, as she doesn’t like flashing her wealth.”
“I have a definition of success, which is success is working on a cause you believe in at your highest and best abilities,” Perdue said in a recent interview with CEO Michael Hershman on his podcast Building Bridges. “You don't have to get there right off. No, it's that you're moving towards it. And I think that means happiness and a good feeling.”
Indeed, there are many wealthy people like Perdue who seek to use their means for service. Abigail Disney, daughter of Roy E. Disney, has used her means to produce lauded social justice documentaries, foster creative opportunities for filmmakers, fight poverty, advocate for peace around the world, and more. Bill Gates’s Gates Foundation distributed nearly $8B in funding in 2023 alone, and even more since it began 25 years ago to global health, equality, economic development, and education organizations.
There are also people of high economic standing who actively seek to live below their means like Perdue does. Actress Keke Palmer, for example, earned her first million as a 12-year-old child actress. She saved her money, rented an apartment for some $1500, and drove a Lexus, Fortuneshares. Multibillionaire Warren Buffett has lived for nearly 70 years in a home he bought for a little over $30K. It's now worth about $1.5M, in comparison to his approximately $151.5B fortune.
Mitzi Perdue’s more frugal living habits are a reflection of how she was raised, which wasn’t about flash, but dedication. Citing Mother Teresa in a recent interview, Perdue believes if a person can produce a positive change, they should. (And you don’t have to be wearing Chanel to make a difference.)
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