The popular image of a billionaire's lifestyle often involves Great Gatsby-style mansion purchases and spontaneous jet-setting. But the life of an heiress tied to two multibillion-dollar American businesses looks very different.

Mitzi Perdue was born into the Sheraton hotel family. At just 26, she and her siblings inherited their father Ernest Henderson's controlling stake in the business. Henderson had co-founded Sheraton in 1937 and built it into one of the world's largest hotel chains before selling the company to ITT in 1968. The success of the family's $12.2 billion hospitality company left her with a considerable nest egg.

Her fortune grew further after she married her late husband Frank Perdue, the "chicken king" who led America's largest chicken producer, Perdue Farms, from 1971 until 1991, building a national brand through decades of TV advertising built around his personal pitchman persona. The company generated more than $10 billion in revenue in 2024. Despite having the means to retire into extravagance, looking at wealth differently is simply in her nature.

"The Hendersons and the Perdues did not encourage extravagance," Perdue told Fortune in a June 2025 interview. "In both families, nobody wins points for wearing designer clothes."

At 85, Perdue has access to a trust from her family's billion-dollar business along with the wealth of the Perdue empire. Yet she lives much like anyone else: taking her shoes to the cobbler rather than buying new ones, riding the subway, flying economy, and living in a modest apartment instead of a house.

Perdue has led a double life—enjoying access to immense privilege and money from two business empires while holding down a regular job and living frugally. Her stance stands apart from the well-publicized spending habits of some other billionaire heirs, and it echoes a broader debate about how much inherited wealth second- and third-generation family members should spend on themselves.

"My apartment building I lived in for 14 years is very solidly middle-class, and I love it," Perdue said. "If you're always going on private jets, what inkling do you have about the real world?"

A frugal, down-to-earth lifestyle: secondhand clothes, economy flights, and subway rides

Perdue was born in 1941. A war baby and the fifth child of the Henderson family, she grew up wearing hand-me-downs. She attended public school for a period of her life before enrolling in private school and pursuing a Harvard education. When she was in her late twenties, her father died, opening the floodgates of her inheritance. But she was not tempted to simply give up work and live a life of leisure.

"I could have just put everything in the stock market and let somebody else manage it," Perdue said.

Interested in agriculture, Perdue bought land near the University of California—Davis so the college could run experiments on the agricultural property. She spent many hours a day managing the rice farm, but years later decided to become a journalist covering farming practices and mental health.

Beginning in 2022, she wrote about the conflict in Ukraine and sold her $1.2 million engagement ring from her late husband to benefit humanitarian efforts in the war-torn region. She is currently developing an AI trauma therapist for victims in Ukraine, where resources have not kept up with demand. On all of her work trips, she flies economy.

Perdue has also lived for many years in an apartment building in Salisbury, Md., the Maryland town where Perdue Farms is headquartered, alongside working-class residents such as nurses and police officers. She says a full year's rent on her one-bedroom flat costs about as much as her New York City friends pay in a single month.

"Several Perdue employees live in the same building," Perdue explained. "It's nice, but no one would call it posh."

A self-described "low-maintenance badass" who frequently visits New York City, she rides the subway instead of booking Ubers. She has her shoes repaired by cobblers rather than buying new pairs, and she shrugs off designer outfits because she does not like flaunting her wealth. Her frugal philosophy runs deeper than appearances.

"I'm unaware of getting praise for wearing really expensive clothes—you get praised like heck for being an Eagle Scout, or working for Habitat for Humanity," Perdue continued. "You get praise for serving others."

What Perdue gains from tightening her purse strings

People who did not grow up wealthy may wonder why a billionaire would choose to live like everyone else—working nine-to-five and crammed into subway cars instead of calling private drivers. The heiress and journalist says her reasoning stems from the emptiness of taking and the joy of giving.

"I'd sure rather have a life of a feast of unending joy versus not being able to count five happy days," Perdue said. "If you want to be happy, think what you can do for somebody else. If you want to be miserable, think what's owed to you."

Mega-yachts and silk pajamas do not fill the void for Perdue—philanthropy and hard work do. Much of her understanding of having wealth versus living a wealthy life came from both sides of her family. She noted that family businesses able to last 100 years are rare, but the Hendersons and Perdues managed it by putting their best foot forward.

"The families that last learn stewardship," Perdue said. "They're not there to go spend it all. They're there to be stewards for the next generation."

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on June 15, 2025.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.