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Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, lives a relatively frugal life.
- Frugality is one of the key characteristics of wealth, according to one researcher who studied more than 600 millionaires.
- Those who commit to saving, spend less, and stick to a budget are more likely to become millionaires, she said.
- Many of the world's richest people, like Warren Buffett and Richard Branson, have surprisingly frugal habits.
Many millionaires and billionaires have something in common aside from having multi-figure net worths: They're frugal.
It's this characteristic that helped them become rich in the first place, according to Sarah Stanley Fallaw, director of research for the Affluent Market Institute. She co-authored "The Next Millionaire Next Door: Enduring Strategies for Building Wealth," in which she surveyed more than 600 millionaires in America.
To identify characteristics most predictive of net worth, Stanley Fallaw conducted two studies that included a group of individuals with a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million and a group of high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
She found that six behaviors, which she called "wealth factors," are related to net worth potential, regardless of age or income. One of those is frugality - a commitment to saving, spending less, and sticking to a budget.
That's not surprising when you consider the habits of some of the world's richest people - Warren Buffett is notoriously frugal, and Richard Branson has previously said that displays of wealth embarrass him. The same extends to some A-list celebrities who rake in millions for their movies and TV appearances.
Here's a look inside the lives of some famously frugal millionaires and billionaires.