The considered a billionaire’s way of life might conjure up photos of Nice Gatsby mansion-buying and jet-setting on the drop of a hat. However the lifetime of an heiress with the wealth of two billion-dollar American companies seems lots totally different.
Mitzi Perdue was born into the Sheraton lodge household, and at simply the age of 26, she and her siblings inherited their father, Ernest Henderson’s, controlling stake of the enterprise. The success of her household’s $12.2 billion hospitality firm meant she was now sitting on a substantial nest egg.
Her fortune would solely swell after marrying her late husband Frank Perdue, the “rooster king” who led America’s largest rooster producer, Perdue Farms, which introduced in over $10 billion in income final 12 months. The double heiress has the riches to retire and stay a lifetime of extravagance, nevertheless it’s in her nature to have a look at wealth otherwise.
“The Hendersons and the Perdues didn’t encourage extravagance,” Perdue advised Fortune in a June 2025 interview. “In each households, no one wins factors for carrying designer garments.”
The 84-year-old has entry to a belief from her household’s billion-dollar enterprise, alongside the wealth from the Perdue empire. But she nonetheless lives similar to anyone else: taking her footwear to the cobbler as an alternative of shopping for new ones, driving the subway, flying financial system, and residing in a modest condominium as an alternative of a home.
Perdue has lived a double life—accessing immense privilege and cash from two enterprise empires, whereas holding down a daily job and residing frugally.
“My condominium constructing I lived in for 14 years may be very solidly middle-class, and I find it irresistible,” Perdue says. “If you happen to’re all the time occurring non-public jets, what inkling do you’ve got about the actual world?”
Her frugal and down-to-earth way of life: carrying secondhand garments, flying financial system, driving subways
Perdue was born in 1941 and, as a conflict child and the fifth baby of the Henderson household, grew up carrying hand-me-downs. She says she went to public college for a interval of her life, later enrolling in non-public college and pursuing a Harvard schooling. When she was in her late twenties, her father died, opening up the floodgates of her inheritance. However she wasn’t enticed by the concept of dropping by the wayside and lounging for the remainder of her life.
“I might have simply put every thing within the inventory market and let someone else handle it,” Perdue says.
Involved in agriculture, Perdue quickly purchased land close to the College of California, Davis in order that the school might run experiments on the agricultural space. She spent many hours a day managing the rice farm, however years later determined to develop into a journalist overlaying farming practices and psychological well being.
Beginning in 2022, she started writing about the battle in Ukraine and offered her $1.2 million engagement ring from her late husband to profit humanitarian efforts within the war-torn area. She’s presently engaged on growing an AI trauma therapist for victims in Ukraine, which has lacked the assets to maintain up with demand. For all of her work journeys, she all the time flies financial system.
Perdue has additionally lived in an condominium constructing in Salisbury, Md., for a few years, rubbing shoulders with working-class residents like nurses and cops. She says one 12 months’s lease in her one-bedroom flat prices simply as a lot as what her New York Metropolis pals pay in a single month.
“A number of Perdue staff stay in the identical constructing,” Perdue says. “It’s good, however nobody would name it posh.”
And as a self-proclaimed “low-maintenance badass” steadily visiting New York Metropolis, she rides the subway as an alternative of reserving Ubers. Perdue additionally will get her footwear fastened by cobblers, somewhat than shopping for new pairs. Designer outfits are shrugged off, as she doesn’t like flashing her wealth. Her frugal philosophy is extra than simply skin-deep.
“I’m unaware of getting reward for carrying actually costly garments—you get praised like heck for being an Eagle Scout, or working for Habitat for Humanity,” Perdue continues. “You get reward for serving others.”
What Perdue will get from tightening her purse strings
Individuals who haven’t grown up with wealth might query why a billionaire would wish to stay like the remainder of the inhabitants: working nine-to-five, crammed in like a sardine on subways as an alternative of calling non-public automobiles. The heiress and journalist says her reasoning stems from the vacancy of taking, and the enjoyment of giving.
“I’d certain somewhat have a lifetime of a feast of never-ending pleasure versus not with the ability to depend 5 pleased days,” Perdue says. “If you wish to be pleased, assume what you are able to do for someone else. If you wish to be depressing, assume what’s owed to you.”
Mega-yachts and silk pajamas don’t fill the void for Perdue—somewhat, philanthropy and onerous work make her really feel full. An enormous a part of Perdue’s understanding of getting wealth versus residing a rich life got here from each side of her household. She famous that household companies which can be in a position to final 100 years are a rarity, however the Hendersons and Perdues have been in a position to make it by placing their finest foot ahead.
“The households that final be taught stewardship,” Perdue stated. “They’re not there to go spend all of it. They’re there to be stewards for the following era.”
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A model of this story initially printed on Fortune.com on June 15, 2025.
