30-Year-Old Billionaire Says She’s Frugal, Shops Uber Deals

Lucy Guo, 30, noticed her internet value reach $1.3 billion in April. However the entrepreneur, who’s now the world’s youngest female billionaire, is dedicated to discovering the perfect offers — even when she will afford to pay full value.

Guo informed CNBC on Wednesday that she stays “frugal,” admitting that she has completed issues like reserve flights on the airport and cancel them later so she might have a meal without spending a dime within the Amex lounge. She additionally rides UberX, the budget-friendly, low-cost model of Uber, and compares costs for meals earlier than shopping for one thing to eat. Her closet consists primarily of $10 items from stores like Shein.

“I am frugal at some issues, and I spend extra on different issues,” Guo informed CNBC.

^{Lucy Guo. Photograph by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Photos for Passes}

Guo’s fortune was constructed through Scale AI, the AI information labeling startup she co-founded with Alexandr Wang in 2016. Meta made a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI in June, buying 49% of the startup and permitting the corporate to realize a $29 billion valuation.

Associated: These Are the AI Skills You Should Learn Right Now, According to the World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

Although Guo left Scale AI in 2018, she has held onto a virtually 5% stake within the firm, which has grown to be value $1.25 billion. Regardless of her billionaire standing, Guo says that her life has remained the identical.

“My life pre-money and post-money, it hasn’t actually modified that a lot,” Guo informed CNBC Make It earlier this month.

Whereas Guo could also be frugal on the subject of her closet, her meals, and her rides to work, she nonetheless has the means to spend lavishly in key areas with out eager about the fee.

For instance, on the subject of houses, Guo purchased a newly constructed mansion in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills for $29.5 million earlier this yr. She acquired it at a reduction: The 5-bedroom, 13,500-square-foot mansion was first listed for $43 million in January 2024.

Associated: Sam Altman’s Mansion Was Once the Most Expensive Home Listing in San Francisco. A New Lawsuit Says It’s a ‘Lemon.’

Guo can be the owner of a $6.7 million apartment in Florida, which she bought in 2021, in addition to one other L.A. residence, which she purchased for $4.2 million final yr.

Guo moreover owns a Ferrari in a classic rose colour, which she admits was a “splurge.” A Ferrari can value upwards of $230,950. In relation to transportation, she additionally typically flies through non-public jet to skip the strains on the airport.

Guo is a university dropout who studied laptop science and human-computer interactions for 2 years at Carnegie Mellon College, per her LinkedIn. She left to pursue a Thiel Fellowship, which rewards younger entrepreneurs for following non-traditional paths and selecting to construct a enterprise over going to school. Thiel Fellows obtain a $200,000 grant and entry to a community of founders to develop their firms.

Associated: ‘We Don’t Believe in Work-Life Balance’: A Newly Acquired Startup Just Offered Its 200-Person Team a Choice — Work Weekends or Take a Buyout

Guo nonetheless places in lengthy hours at her startup, the creator commerce and monetization platform Passes, which she based in 2022. Passes has raised a complete of $66 million throughout three funding rounds. She says that the traditional working day for her stretches twelve hours, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“9 a.m. to 9 p.m., to me, that is nonetheless work-life stability,” Guo informed CNBC.