What is the term, please, for somebody who is rich, but chooses to live as if poor?

satcom_tech

Most likely the term you are looking for is "Miser" http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=miser Mar 10 06, 9:29 AM

mementoflash

Or, are you referring to a person who is wealthy and chooses to live poor not out of stinginess but because they simply prefer the poor lifestyle? Mar 10 06, 10:03 AM

xfacilitatorx

Synonyms for Miser: Main Entry: miser Part of Speech: noun Definition: hoarder Synonyms: cheapskate, churl, curmudgeon, glutton, harpy, hoarder, hog, hunks, misanthrope, misanthropist, moneygrubber, muckworm, niggard, penny pincher, pig, piker, pinchfist, pinchpenny, screw, scrimp, scrooge, Shylock, skinflint, stiff, tightwad Antonyms: philanthropist, spendthrift Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Main Entry: churl Part of Speech: noun Definition: creep Synonyms: boor, chuff, clodhopper, miser, mucker, niggard, peasant, provincial, rustic, tightwad, yokel How does this sound? Overview of adj thrifty The adj thrifty has 2 senses (first 1 from tagged texts) 1. (2) thrifty -- (careful and diligent in the use of resources) 2. careful, thrifty -- (mindful of the future in spending money; "careful with money") http://www.synonym.com/definition/thrifty http://www.synonym.com/definition/thrifty Mar 10 06, 10:13 AM

Baloo55th

If they're not one of Xfac's ones, they could be ascetic. Gandhi was one of those, for example. I don't think the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was, though... Mar 10 06, 10:53 AM

helenasykes

i was thinking of ascetic as well. Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) was also an ascetic. He had a priviliged upbringing shielded from the bad parts of life but then decided to RENOUNCE and practise ASCETICISM. Mar 10 06, 10:59 AM

Baloo55th

Great minds think alike, but FT regulars usually argue... Mar 10 06, 11:27 AM

mementoflash

My understanding of ascetic is a person who gives away or leaves their riches to live in poverty, like Bhudda did, therefore they would no longer be rich. Mar 10 06, 12:58 PM

beeaydee

I agree with mementoflash Mar 10 06, 1:21 PM

xfacilitatorx

I think the word Humble may sum it all up. Mar 10 06, 3:22 PM

Baloo55th

Ascetic: (n) 1) A person who practises great self-denial and austerities and abstains from worldly comforts and pleasures, esp. for religious purposes; 2) (in the early Christian Church) a monk. (Times English Dictionary) Mar 10 06, 3:46 PM

mementoflash

But an asetic does not have to be a rich person, a poor man could be one just as easily as a rich man. Mar 10 06, 5:46 PM

lanfranco

Somehow, I think satcom's orginal answer is the correct one -- a miser may not be rich, but he or she has some money (comparatively speaking, at least) and chooses not to spend it. Moreover, a miser need not be "humble" in the least. One of the most famous misers was the notorious Hetty Green, who certainly held firm opinions. And in fiction, there is, of course, Ebenezer Scrooge. Not a humble guy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetty_Green Mar 10 06, 8:14 PM

xfacilitatorx

Misers are usually nasty little persons with severe psychological problems caused by the fear of losing his or her money. This is not the sort of person I was refering to when I said humble. I just know a person who drives a 15 year old car, dresses like a construction worker but always has at least 15 grand in his pocket which amounts to his weekly spending limit. Humble is the word I always think of when I think of him. Mar 11 06, 10:38 AM