"I don't have money for McDonald's": Why do billionaires claim they are broke?

YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, better known as "MrBeast", holds an estimated fortune of about $2.6 billion, but recently surprised the web by declaring that he has no liquid cash. Donaldson explained that all his money is invested in his company, which is valued at $5 billion, and that he is forced to borrow money to survive. According to him, every one of his viewers has more money in their bank account than he does, since the value of his company cannot buy him breakfast at McDonald's.

"It's funny to talk about my personal money, because no one ever believes anything I say," Beast told the Wall Street Journal, noting that his personal bank account is in the red. "I borrow money. That's how little money I have," he added in an interview with the Journal.

Why do billionaires remain without cash?

According to the financial magazine Moneywise, Donaldson's situation is not unusual in the world of wealth. Billionaire Mark Cuban, whose fortune is estimated at more than $10 billion, recently explained that most billionaires have at most 5% of their wealth in liquid assets. Cuban noted that many entrepreneurs prefer to continue investing their profits in their businesses at the expense of their personal liquidity. In addition, selling their company's shares to obtain cash could lead to a sharp drop in the stock price on the market.

However, there is a profound difference between the lack of liquidity of the super-rich and that of the general public. While "cash-poor" billionaires can easily borrow funds against the shares and assets they own to finance their lives, ordinary citizens living from paycheck to paycheck are forced to deal with a much more complex reality. For them, any unexpected expense, such as medical treatment or car repair, becomes a real financial crisis.