Hobbies of AI giants:Zuckerberg feeds expensive dry fruits to cows, Musk has James Bond film’s submarine car

The ‘hobbies’ and ‘obsessions’ of the world’s richest tech billionaires and newly minted AI millionaires are completely different from those of ordinary wealthy people. While old money used to buy gold, diamonds, or expensive paintings, today’s tech giants are spending money like water on some very strange and unexpected things. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts, which are the world’s most expensive nuts. OpenAI’s Sam Altman has prepared to survive a future apocalypse. He has spent crores of rupees on guns, antibiotic medicines, water, and ‘military-grade gas masks’ like those used by the Israeli Defense Force. Altman has stocked up on potassium iodide to protect against nuclear radiation. He has acquired land in the dense forests of California, where he can fly to by private plane in times of crisis. Crazy Elon Musk, known for his miraculous science stories, bought the real submarine car used in a James Bond film for about 9.2 crore rupees. He keeps space rocket debris and parts for decoration in his home. Meanwhile, 50-year-old Vietnamese data scientist Huyen Chip, who overnight became the owner of about 34 crore rupees from Musk’s ‘SpaceX’ shares, doesn’t have a Rolls-Royce in her garage, but an old fire brigade truck worth 4.2 lakh rupees. On the table in her house, there is a meteorite (space rock) worth 9 lakh rupees. Chip says, ‘I don’t know what I’ll do with this fire truck, maybe take children for a ride on my 3-year-old’s birthday. But this new wealth has given me the freedom to fulfill my dreams.’ Trend of investing in experiences, personal quirks According to a recent UBS report, 440,000 people became new millionaires in the US alone last year. But for traditional luxury brands (like Gucci, Armani), these new rich have become an unsolved puzzle. According to Federica Levato, a partner at the consultancy firm ‘Bain Company’, today’s tech-millionaire is investing in ‘experiences’ and ‘personal passions’ instead of spending money on Gucci leather bags or Armani suits. Data from Boston Consulting Group shows that the new tech-rich spend 33% less on clothes and leather items compared to the old rich.