{Poll} Which celeb is the stingiest?

We hear so much gossip about the lavish lifestyles of loaded stars, but, talk is cheap…and so are these 4 FOF celebs. In your opinion, who is the stingiest?

Barbra Streisand

The frugal facts: Barbra is the veteran of vintage. A 1997 New York Times article about the rising popularity of vintage clothing credits “Babs” as the first female celeb to perform in thrifted togs.

The multimillionairess allegedly left $10 on a $457 bill at a New York restaurant. Shortly after she was heard singing all the way to the bank….
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Madonna

The frugal facts: Everyone knows “we are living in a material world” but did someone forget to tell the “Material Girl”?  A 2007 novel by a New York waitress exposes Madonna for not leaving a tip after being served in a restaurant. Hey, Madonna, we have a tip for you: Pop icons aren’t excused from dining etiquette!

In a book about Madonna, her own brother calls her “stingy” for giving their grandmother only limited financial help: “But my sister –who in 2008 is worth in excess of $600 million…opted at the time to send our grandmother just $500 a month and to pay her monthly household bills, for Madonna, a drop in the ocean,” wrote her brother. “When I think of Madonna’s wealth, I can’t help but think she’s being stingy with the grandmother who helped raise us.”

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Teri Hatcher

The frugal facts: Almost-FOF Teri Hatcher plays a well-off Desperate Housewife on television, but in real life this single mom desperately pinches pennies. The actress, estimated to be worth $50 million, told People magazine, “I’m a very conservative person. I drive my cars for 10 years until they have 100,000 miles on them….I don’t spend my money on sports cars or new million-dollar houses. To me, feeling comfortable means having way more than I need in the bank.”

And there’s no costly outsourcing for this Supermom, who “stayed up half the night to turn out such extravaganzas as 300 individually wrapped homemade chocolate butterfly lollipops” for her daughter Emerson’s school, according to an article in Vanity Fair.
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Queen Elizabeth

The frugal facts:
The recession has even Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s largest personal landowner tightening her royal purse strings. According to FrugallyMinded.com, “The British tabloids frequently allude to the Queen’s passion for turning-off the lights around Buckingham Palace, and tongues have wagged about her cautions to the princes, saying that she sternly has warned them not to flaunt the royal wealth.”

A royal Thriftmas? In 2008 the queen cut back with £7.95 crown decorations to decorate her Christmas tree and by having her presents made in China to save money. “It’s not just at Christmas but right throughout the year that she tries hard to keep costs down.” A spokesperson told Britain’s Hello! magazine. “The queen has been extremely thrifty all her life and jokes that it’s her Scottish blood.”

The spokesperson may not have been kidding about thriftiness being in the queen’s blood… Her mother had a reputation for frugality. According to a recent Telegraph article the Queen Mother “refused to buy a TV…and relied on an ‘antiquated’ video recorder to watch horse racing.” She also “regarded her favourite Burberry jackets as “old friends” from whom she was unable to part. He [her aide] said he did not see her wear a new raincoat during his 28 years of service.”
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Images via Zimbio: Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Teri Hatcher, Queen Elizabeth

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0 Responses to “{Poll} Which celeb is the stingiest?”

  1. evensonpaul says:

    I don’t know any of these women, but, I don’t think the Queen of England should be put down for being frugal – she takes a lot of heat in the media- so good for her!! And why the heck don’t they come down on the rest of the royalty in Europe and the Sheiks in the desert countries??
    The other women who earn their living, should try to remember what it was like and be more gracious and, at the very least, be reasonable in tipping and treating people with respect.
    And oh yeah, I thought Barbara was going back to the simple life -HAH!!

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  2. Chris M. says:

    Don’t believe everything you read. Unless you experienced these celebrity actions firsthand, then it’s probably not true or the facts are twisted.

    Beware, someone might be gossiping about you this very minute!

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  3. Jones says:

    This is a silly article. If you get crap service of course you leave little or no tip and celebrities are no different from the rest of us. Anyone can find someone who wasn’t happy with a celebrity’s tip!

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  4. Debbie says:

    The key word was stingy, not frugal. I feel that Madonna takes the cake. I love rooting in thrift stores for treasures so that doesn’t qualify Babs for the title of STINGY!

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  5. Alene says:

    Leaving a small or no tip at all is simply a reflection on the tipper. And the waitperson won’t have a terrible evening because of it, or shouldn’t. Life is too short. Buying inexpensive things and being thrifty is not cheap to me. That’s just a learned habit. But not taking care of the person who loved you and raised you is the worst of all. All we have in life is our family. Who loves you unconditionally? Your family. Where else can you get that love? From your fans? I doubt it. Madonna, if the above is true, deserves a good slap across the face! We had a situation like that in our family, and I never respected that person again. She should be ashamed of herself.

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  6. Kelly says:

    Tips are based at least to some extent on service, and liking your vintage and quality clothes is a question of taste ..
    but taking good care of the person who raised you if you can, that is just being a decent human being
    Shame on Madonna for not caring for her grandma.

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  7. Cathy says:

    Sometimes it is less insulting if you leave nothing at all. At least it MAY look as if you forgot. The other way requires some thinking and shows what you think of the real working class citizens.

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  8. Ruthie B says:

    Years ago my daughters girlfriend in college was waitressing part time at a very good restaurant in downtown Wilmington NC. Donald Sutherland came in & ordered the most expensive dinner on the menu, proceeded to get drunk, belittled daughters girlfriend & walked out the door leaving NO tip! Talk about cheap!

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  9. Auntie M says:

    Not leaving a tip is cheap, turning out lights, having purchases last their lifetime and making hand made treats are frugal. BUT not supporting a family member (who is beyond working age and needs some support) and who raised you? When that support wouldn’t make a ripple in your pool?? That is stingy….also note that the definition of stingy also has a bit of meanness and self serving in it.

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  10. Lee says:

    Hmm, don’t know about the tips. What if they had lousy service and thought that was what the server deserved? I tend to be a generous tipper but some times the service is extremely poor.
    Have been out to eat with family at times and at certain restaurants that always charge a tip for a “large” party, the service is bad because the staff believes that they will get the tip no matter what.
    Once the service was so lacking that I called the manager over and told him that I would not pay the tip because the service had been terrible.

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  11. Ruth says:

    I believe it is the queen. She has been in the news a lot lately and the media speaks of the fact that even she must cut down on her expenses.

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  12. Lydia says:

    I have no personal experience observing these people but from the stories above, the stingiest are the ones who eat extravagantly and then diss the waitstaff. In NY, waitstaff can make as little as $5.00 an hour (less before 1/1/11). When multimillionaires do not leave tips, they are flaunting their own narcissistic egotism.

    And frankly, if it is true, sending your grandmother $500 a month when you are worth hundreds of millions of dollars — come on. THAT is beyond stingy.

    I don’t see anything wrong with driving old, usable cars or making things for your child.

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  13. Kailyn says:

    BTW whoever wrote this article is really talented and witty. “Talk is cheap”…. lol priceless

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  14. Kailyn says:

    Sorry but Barb is the chepest… $10 on a $457 bill. Thats insulting, and offensive to the waitress. Its the same as leaving a penny on a $100 tab. At a certain point don’t leave anything at all! BTW, she also shops at thrift stores even though she’s wealthy. WOW!! Barbra Streisand SMH!

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  15. Marguerite says:

    I don’t think it is bad to make stuff for your child’s school yourself. And driving the same car for a long time leaves a smaller carbon footprint than buying a new one every year. She is probably more of a control freak bitch than cheap.

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  16. Michaela says:

    Teri Hatcher is not only cheap, but she treats people who work for a living like crap. A friend of mine was the doorman in her building and she treated him and his co-workers like they were so much beneath her. She plays that innocent role, but she really is a class A b****!!!

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