Heiress Lives Frugally Despite $22 Billion Fortune

Mitzi Perdue, an heiress to two multibillion-dollar American businesses, lives a remarkably frugal life, eschewing the ostentatious displays of wealth often associated with billionaires. Born into the Sheraton hotel family, Perdue and her siblings inherited their father, Ernest Henderson’s, controlling stake in the hospitality company, valued at $12.2 billion. This inheritance provided her with a substantial nest egg. Her fortune further increased after marrying Frank Perdue, the "chicken king" who led Perdue Farms, America's largest chicken producer, which generated over $10 billion in revenue in 2024. Despite having access to significant wealth from both the Henderson and Perdue empires, the 85-year-old Perdue maintains a down-to-earth lifestyle that contrasts sharply with typical billionaire habits. She told Fortune in a June 2025 interview that neither her paternal Henderson family nor her late husband's Perdue family encouraged extravagance, emphasizing that "nobody wins points for wearing designer clothes" within their families. Perdue's daily life involves practical choices such as taking her shoes to a cobbler for repair rather than purchasing new ones, utilizing public transportation by riding the subway, and choosing to fly economy class on airplanes. She resides in a modest apartment, which she has occupied for 14 years, describing it as "very solidly middle-class" and expressing her affection for it. Perdue believes that a life of constant private jet travel disconnects individuals from the realities of the world, stating, "If you’re always going on private jets, what inkling do you have about the real world?" Her upbringing also contributed to her thrifty nature; born in 1941, she was the fifth child of the Henderson family and, as a "war baby," often wore hand-me-down clothing. She attended public school for a period, further grounding her in everyday experiences. Perdue's approach to wealth management and personal expenditure reflects a deliberate choice to live a life of financial prudence and grounded perspective, even with access to an estimated combined fortune exceeding $22 billion from the Sheraton Hotels and Perdue Farms businesses. This deliberate lifestyle choice highlights a different perspective on inherited wealth and personal values, prioritizing practicality and connection to the "real world" over material extravagance.