Scale AI’s billionaire founder drives a Honda Civic and shops at Shein — Lucy Guo says it’s how you stay rich

Even though Lucy Guo is the youngest self-made female billionaire, you won’t catch her living like it. The 30-year-old tech entrepreneur co-founded the $25 billion AI startup Scale AI and is one of just five female billionaires under 40, as per Forbes’s latest ranking, yet her daily life looks more like that of an average American, as per a report.

Lucy Guo: A Billionaire Who Hates Wasting Money

Guo told Fortune in a recent interview, “I don’t like wasting money,” as quoted in the report. She means it literally: her assistant drives her around in an old Honda Civic, she wears mostly free clothes or shops from Shein, and she still prefers to avail Uber Eats’ buy-one-get-one-free deals, according to Fortune.

Guo’s estimated $1.2 billion fortune comes from her 5% stake in Scale AI, a company she left back in 2018 but helped build from the ground up, as per the report. At present, she is the founder and CEO of the creator community platform Passes, according to Fortune.


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She splurges occasionally, like flying business class for a 16-hour journey or buying a designer dress for special events—but insists that day-to-day, she spends her money frugally, as per the report. The American entrepreneur revealed that, “But in terms of like daily life, my assistant just drives me in a pretty old Honda Civic. I don’t care,” quoted Fortune.

Guo quoted a saying she came across recently, “It’s like, act broke, stay rich,” as per Fortune.

Millionaires Show Off, Billionaires Don’t Need To, Says Lucy Guo

The billionaire founder pointed out that, “Who you see typically wasting money on designer clothes, a nice car, et cetera, they’re technically in the millionaire range,” adding, “All their friends are multimillionaires or billionaires, and they feel a little bit insecure, so they feel the need to be flashy to show other people, Look, I’m successful," as quoted in the report.

Guo explained that, “I do think that this is actually something that I personally went through, and I think a lot of people go through when you’re in that middle ground of you’re successful, but not as successful as you want to be," quoted Fortune.

She went on to say, “And I think the reason most billionaires dress in a T-shirt, jeans, hoodies is that they can. They don’t need to be in the suit 24/7 because they’re done proving themselves to the rest of the world. The rest of the world is just sucking up to them,” adding, “And I think that’s kind of how I like feel, where I’m past that hump. I don’t really have to prove myself to anyone," quoted Fortune.

The tech entrepreneur also highlighted that, “No one’s going to look at me and point at me like, ‘Ha ha, she’s so broke’ when I’m pulling up in a Honda Civic because whatever, it doesn’t matter,” as quoted in the report.

FAQs

Is Lucy Guo really a billionaire?
Yes. She’s worth about $1.2 billion due to her 5% stake in Scale AI.

Why does she still ride in a Honda Civic?
She simply doesn’t care about showing off and doesn’t want to waste money to prove to people around her that she is rich.