Renewable energy tycoon José Elías has built a massive fortune throughout his career – but he says he spends a lot too, because so many people turn up at his house at mealtimes
A billionaire businessman, who says he spends around six times as much as an average family on his monthly grocery bill, has explained that he’s got a very good reason to have such massive outgoings.
José Elías says he spends up to €3,000 [about £2,600] a month on his supermarket shop. For a couple, José guesses the normal amount would be more like €500 [£440] a month.
But, he explains, he gets through a lot more food at home then the average person: “I think spending 500 euros a month at the supermarket would be normal for a couple, whether or not you cook all your meals at home. I spend between 2,500 and 3,000 euros a month on food.
“Everyone comes to my house to eat. People come around like bees to honey. People come and stay for lunch, my children bring people too…” he added.
José, who shares his business insights in a regular Spanish-language podcast, adds that he also spends a small fortune on his holidays for a similar reason.
José’s most recent summer holiday, a two-week break in Ibiza and Formentera, set him back around €35,000 [a little under £31,000]. Of that, about half of the cost was his €8,000-a-week villa, which slept eight. He says that price was “very normal for Ibiza” and, coming out at around 1,000 euros per person per week, that seemed to him to be a “reasonable” price.
He also spent roughly €15,000 on a trip to the Seychelles, with another €10,000 on various other holiday throughout the year. In total, his annual outlay on holidays can reach €60,000.
Despite the sky-high expense, José doesn’t have very fond memories of his time in the Seychelles. He said that there wasn’t all that much to do, and things soon got rather repetitive. “More of the same, you know? It’s like the Maldives, one island, pretty beaches.”
He added that the weather was a disappointment too: “It rained every afternoon, man. A little bit of sun in the mornings.”
But while José, 49, gets to spend a lot of time with his kids on family holidays, José admits that he can spend a lot of time away from them too, because he’s working: “We parents are too hard on ourselves,” he said.
“We think that if we’re not with our children 24/7, we’re bad parents. There’s no direct relationship between the hours you spend sitting on the couch and the love you give them. Life isn’t black and white. It’s not perfect. And trying to sell children a story where everything is wonderful is the worst thing we can do for them,” he said.
“The day you’re gone, they’re going to be frustrated,” José added. “They’ll realise that life is hard, that the neighbour can be a jerk, and that if someone can screw you over, they will. What matters is what’s ingrained in them: loyalty, honesty, the value of hard work.”
He recalled: ”I remember my father as a hardworking and loyal man. I don’t remember how many hours he was home. But I do remember who he was and what he taught me by example. That’s the true intergenerational transmission.
“Enjoy your children, especially the first seven years, which are paradise. But don’t torture yourself. You won’t be remembered for the hours, but for the kind of person you were while they were watching you.”
