The words "humble" and "billionaire" may not seem like a natural pairing. However, these super-rich men and women have shunned glitz and glamour in favour of living a more down-to-earth lifestyle. They may have bottomless bank accounts, but their everyday habits might just surprise you.

The owner of sportswear brand Patagonia enjoyed sales revenues of $1 billion (£788m) in 2018, but Yvon Chouinard still prefers gardening to business meetings. Not only that but the 80-year-old is a long-time activist, stating that he believes capitalism is ruining the planet. Chouinard is not just talk, though. His eco-conscious brand donates 10% of its profits (or 1% of sales depending on which is greater) to environmental charities every year.

As one of India's wealthiest people, you might expect the Infosys co-founder to have a collection of luxury vehicles. However, N R Narayana Murthy actually never learnt to drive. But rather than get a chauffeur, the billionaire, who prefers to keep a low profile, takes the company bus to work along with his employees.

He may have a net worth of $5.8 billion (£4.6bn), but Stanford professor and Google investor Cheriton isn't interested in glitz and glamour. He lives in the same house he bought 35 years ago, takes doggy bags home from restaurants and called himself "spoiled" after taking his first and only vacation.

As the wife of N R Narayana, Sudha Murthy has a mountain of wealth at her disposal, but instead prefers to live humbly. She isn't interested in expensive clothes and jewellery; she says she hasn't bought a new saree for 21 years. Instead, she devotes her time to social work and her career as an author.

With a net worth of $61.5 billion (£48.3bn), Carlos Slim Helú is Mexico's richest person. However, the self-made investor still lives in the simple 6-bedroom house he's owned for 30 years. He also chooses to drive himself to work each day, and doesn't even own a computer, preferring to rely on old-school paperwork.

J K Rowling became a billionaire thanks to her hugely popular Harry Potter series. But in 2012, the humble author lost her billionaire status due in large part to the large sums she had given to charity. She said in an interview with the Telegraph: "I think you have a moral responsibility, when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently." 

Tim Cook's net worth remains unknown, but as the CEO of Apple it's fair to say he's sitting on an impressive fortune. His lifestyle doesn't reflect this, though. He wakes up at 4am to answer emails and get a gym session in before heading off to the office. He's said of staying humble: "I like to be reminded of where I came from, and putting myself in modest surroundings helps me do that. Money is not a motivator for me."

Chuck Feeney made his billions after founding airport retailing company Duty Free Shoppers. The entrepreneur gave away his fortune, totalling $8 billion (£6.3bn), largely through anonymous donations. He and his wife now live humbly in a modest rented apartment, without a car or any luxury items.

Business tycoon Richard Branson has made a $4 billion (£3.8bn) fortune despite struggling with dyslexia in school. Despite his huge wealth, he still enjoys spending time on his canal boat that he bought decades ago. He also shuns the idea that being a CEO gives you a pass to be a diva, saying: "I think if you treat people well, people will come back for more. I actually think that the best way of becoming a successful business leader is dealing with people fairly and well."

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Despite having a fortune of $85.3 billion (£67 bn), the investor has remained famously humble. He lives in the same five-bedroom house in Omaha, Nebraska that he bought in 1958 for just $31,500, the equivalent of $278,000 (£218k) today. Not what you expect from one of the world's third richest men. He also chooses to drive himself to work every morning, picking up a $3 McDonald's breakfast on the way. Buffett is also very charitable. He has given billions of dollars to charity, and helped set up the Giving Pledge with Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010, an initiative that encourages the super-rich to give away half their fortunes to charity.

Find out who else has signed Bill Gates' Giving Pledge

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was reported to have amassed a fortune worth $59 billion (£46.4bn) by the time he died in 2018. He remained humble to the end, however, choosing to fly economy and often using public buses. He was even said stockpile packets of salt and pepper from restaurants.

Ingvar Kamprad: How IKEA's enigmatic founder became a billionaire

Despite sitting on a fortune $65 billion (£57.9bn), the founder of Zara lives a refreshingly normal life. He visits the same coffee shop each morning, eats with his employees in the cafeteria most days, and rarely takes a day off work. This may seem like surprising behaviour for a multi-billionaire, but Ortega's humble beginnings that meant that he had to leave school at 14 to support his family go some way to explain his down-to-earth attitude.

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When steel tycoon Narendra Raval was appointed chancellor of Egerton University, he gave up his entire salary to support needy students at the university. He also takes pride in getting to know each of his employees, saying: "I eat at the ‘kiosk’ with my workers. That gives me joy. When I interact with my workers, I get to know more about them, their families and why they are motivated to work hard."

Broadcast.com founder and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, Mark Cuban might have over $4.1 billion (£3.2bn) in personal fortune, but he likes to remain humble at home. Why? To make sure that his kids aren't spoiled. He told Business Insider: "I’m not the dad that comes home with a ton of presents. I am the dad that says, ‘Pick that up. Take that; put it in the sink. No, you have to earn that.’"

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Christy Walton has a net worth of $8 billion (£6.3bn) thanks to an inheritance from her late husband, Walmart heir John T Walton, who died in a plane crash in 2005. Instead of living frivolously, she has given billions of dollars to charity. After ensuring her son, Lukas, had a normal childhood in an unassuming middle-class neighbourhood, Walton moved to Jackson, Wyoming where she lives very privately. 

Danish fashion retailer Povlsen has a net worth of $7.1 billion (£5.5bn). The owner of ASOS still understands the importance of living modestly, though. He and his wife sent his children to state school, and he reportedly still prefers to drive his "battered" old Volkswagen despite being able to afford multiple luxury cars. Sadly, the family has recently been hit by tragedy, and the billionaire and his wife Anne lost three of their four children – Alma, Agnes and Alfred – in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday 2019.

Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev is infamously frugal. He also prefers to use his wealth to help those in need in his home country, including financing a free cancer hospital for children in St Petersburg. In recent years the outspoken entrepreneur has seen his fortune dwindle, which he claims is down to a campaign against him due to his anti-corruption investigations.

Since selling his telecommunications business in 2005, Mo Ibrahim has dedicated most of his time to fighting government corruption in Africa. He may be a billionaire now, but his humble upbringing made it seem unlikely. He told CNBC: "Because of … my social background … we assume businessmen are crooks or people involved in funny stuff."

The Facebook billionaire has never been one to flaunt his great wealth. Despite his $66.3 billion (£52bn) fortune, he insists on wearing the same clothes every day. He's also admitted that the portrayal of him in 2010's The Social Network was accurate in that he's not a cool person, and he favours functionality. The social media mogul has also signed the Giving Pledge, 

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Despite having enough cash to buy almost anything he wants, Singapore property billionaire Philip Ng is more interested in his faith than spending money. The born again Christian has been an outspoken critic of those who allow money to control them. He's said of finding his religion: "It sure beats a lot of money and material things that you may have...".

Self-made billionaire Charlie Ergen (pictured right) made his fortune through satellite TV. Although he enjoys a personal wealth of more than $11 billion (£8.6bn), Ergen still packs his own lunch for work, complete with Gatorade, and has only recently stopped sharing hotel rooms with his colleagues during work trips. 

The second wealthiest person on the planet may be worth $101.8 billion (£79.9bn), but he says he still does the dishes every night. He remains grateful for his incredible bank balance, admitting: "I don't have to think about health costs or college costs. Being free from worry about financial things is a real blessing." However, he also states that happiness can be found in "small, non-material things".

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Self-made Singapore billionaire Peter Lim came from truly humble beginnings. The son of a fishmonger worked as a waiter and taxi driver in order to fund his degree, eventually going on to make his fortune as a stockbroker. He prefers to live a quiet life, but his daughter Kim has said of her upbringing: "My dad always tells me, ‘Anything can happen to anyone at any time. Maybe next year we will become nobodies so always be humble.’"

Azim Premji is one of the wealthiest people in India, but isn't interested in living extravagantly. The technology tycoon still drives a 1996 Ford and even keeps a watchful eye over how much toilet paper his employees use. In 2019 Premji's net worth dropped from $22.6 billion (£17.8bn) to $5.2 billion (£4bn) after he donated the majority of his assets to education charities. 

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