Anthony Bourdain: 'Until I was 44, I never even had a savings account'
For most of his life, Anthony Bourdain wasn't big on putting money aside.
"I don't want to sound like I'm bragging about this, but the sad fact is, until 44 years of age, I never had any kind of savings account," he told Wealthsimple magazine. "I'd always been under the gun. I'd always owed money. I'd always been selfish and completely irresponsible."
The "Kitchen Confidential" author and "Parts Unknown" host said that job-hopping, perpetual debt, and drug use marked the earlier part of his career.
"I didn't put anything aside, ever," he told Wealthsimple. "Money came in, money went out. I was always a paycheck behind, at least. I usually owed my chef my paycheck: again, cocaine."
He said he became more cautious and started really thinking about saving money after quitting his job as a chef and committing to the show "Kitchen Confidential." Still, while he might save more nowadays, Bourdain said that his net worth is still "about ten times overstated" in the press.
"I think the people who calculate these things assume that I live a lot more sensibly than I do," Bourdain wrote. "I mean, I don't live recklessly - I have one car. But I don't deprive myself simple pleasures. I'm not a haggler. There's not enough time in the world. I tend to go for the quickest, easiest, what's comfortable. I want it now. Time's running out."