A Stitch in Haste

To review: The income effect simply says that, ceteris paribus, the more money you have, the more (of most goods) you will purchase. Somewhat more loosely: The more money you have, the more you will splurge.

Armed with that:

Ikea's pennywise founder is famous for being cheap. He flies coach, drives a 1993 Volvo and often dines at lower-tier restaurants. He also reportedly furnishes his home with Ikea's affordable merchandise. [Ingvar] Kamprad was recently quoted as saying that the only luxuries he splurges on are the occasional upscale cravat and Swedish fish roe.

To ABC, such billionaires are "frugal." To Boing Boing, they are "cheapskates."

Notice the sour grapes trap such malcontents lay for these hyper-rich individuals (who, for the most part, are self-made entrepreneurs). If they spend their money, they are damned for their "wasteful," "opulent" "conspicuous consumption" on "positional goods." If they don't spend their money, they are damned for being "cheapskates." All that matters is that they are damned. Details are irrelevant.

Meanwhile, the simple notion that all tastes and preferences are subjective, and that there is generally no "right" or "wrong" way to spend (or not spend) one's money — no matter how much or how little of it you have — is too difficult a concept for the malcontents to absorb.