Billionaires Hate This One Simple Trick (Spoiler: It’s Minimalism)

5/15/2025

By Tina Child

It’s true. Turns out if you buy fewer things, work fewer hours, and live more modestly, the economy doesn’t clap for you. Jeff Bezos doesn’t high-five you. You don’t get a trophy. But you do get your life back.

Somewhere along the line, “success” started to mean spending all day working just to afford a home you barely live in, food you don’t have time to cook, and stuff you’re too tired to enjoy. And when it all starts to feel hollow, there’s a flash sale with your name on it. Just a little dopamine boost to tide you over until the next Monday.

I don’t think we were meant to live like this.

Minimalism isn’t just about white walls and clean countertops. It’s about questioning why we’re all so exhausted. Why we’ve traded connection for convenience, time for productivity, joy for efficiency. The more I slowed down, the more I noticed how much of my “need” to consume was actually just a reaction to unmet human needs.

We’re lonely, so we shop. We’re burnt out, so we scroll. We’re disconnected from nature, so we buy plants we don’t have time to water. We’re hungry for meaning, but the algorithm only serves ads.

Choosing to live with less has given me something I didn’t expect: time. Time to cook a real meal. Time to talk to people without checking the clock. Time to sit in the woods and listen to absolutely nothing. I’m not saying I’ve opted out of the system entirely. I still work. I still pay bills. I still get tempted by weird Instagram ads for overalls and art supplies. But my life no longer revolves around earning just to consume. That shift, however small, feels radical.

And maybe the most radical thing you can do today isn’t to hustle harder, but to want less. Because the moment you stop chasing the life you’re told you should want, you can start building the one that actually fits you.

And billionaires really do hate that.