People tend to think of yachts, supercars or private jets when they imagine billionaires’ toys. But some superrich have been shown spending their leisure time with unexpectedly common items that can be easily found in local stores.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. chairman Warren Buffett are known to enjoy table tennis in their down time. The two were seen playing a peculiar game of ping pong on one occasion at the annual Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders meeting in Nebraska in 2012.

During the meeting, Gates and Buffett entertained the audience by playing as a team against professional players, using comically oversized paddles.


Besides playing table tennis, Bill Gates, whose assets are worth about $79.2 billion, is also known to enjoy playing with other simple toys. Gates, who has stated in interviews that he does not play modern games such as PC or Xbox games, occasionally unwinds the old-fashioned way, with toy soldiers that cost about $5 each.

Another superrich who was shown enjoying toys is Carlos Slim of Mexico’s major telecommunications company Telmex. Its total assets are worth around $77.1 billion. At the World Wildlife Fund at Mexico in 2013, where he announced his alliance with the WWF to conserve the country’s jaguar population Slim played with a balero, a traditional cup-and-ball toy played using a flick of the wrist.

Slim is said to have played with the toy in his childhood. A balero costs about $5-$10.

Warren Buffett, whose assets are worth $72.7 billion, is known to play the ukulele. While the ukulele is also considered relatively cheap compared to other instruments, Buffett can also be seen entertaining himself with something that barely costs any money. Buffett, who is a fan of cola and drinks five cans a day, has a habit of playing with his paper cup and straw.

By The Korea Herald Superrich Team (sangyj@heraldcorp.com)

Kwon Nam-keun, Hong Seung-wan, Sung Yeon-jin, Bae Ji-sook, Yoon Hyun-jong, Min Sang-seek, Kim Hyun-il, Sang Youn-joo