The heiress of $10 billion Perdue farms and the $12 billion Sheraton hotel empire wore hand-me-downs, still rides the subway, and flies economy

Mitzi Perdue (Credit: Chance Yeh—Getty Images)

• Mitzi Perdue, the double-heiress of Sheraton Hotels and Perdue Farms, grew up wearing hand-me-downs and getting a public education. She’s quick to draw her purse strings by flying economy, riding the subway, and living in a modest  apartment—despite sitting on a fortune from two billion-dollar American businesses. The 84-year-old journalist and philanthropist says it helps her understand “the real world.”

The thought of a billionaire’s lifestyle may conjure up images of Great Gatsby mansion-buying and jet-setting at the drop of a hat. But the life of an heiress with the wealth of two billion-dollar American businesses looks a lot different.