30-Year-Old Billionaire Still Shops At Shein, Drives Honda Civic: "I Don't Like Wasting Money"

Lucy Guo, the 30-year-old cofounder of Scale AI, recently dethroned Taylor Swift to become the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire. According to Forbes, her net worth is estimated to be around $1.25 billion, thanks to her significant stake in Scale AI, which was valued at $25 billion in a recent tender offer. Despite her vast wealth, Ms Guo lives modestly, favouring free clothes, fast fashion, and the occasional designer dress. She's also been spotted driving a Honda Civic and flying commercial.

"I don't like wasting money,” the 30-year-old told Fortune. "In terms of like daily life, my assistant just drives me in a pretty old Honda Civic. I don't care. Everything I wear is free or from Shein… Some of them aren't going to be that great quality, but there's always like two pieces or so that really work out, and I just wear them every day. I still literally buy buy-one-get-one-free on Uber Eats," she added. 

Guo, now the founder of OnlyFans competitor Passes, also shared a quote that resonates with her approach: "Act broke, stay rich." 

As one of the few female billionaires under 40, Ms Guo believes that flashy displays of wealth are often a sign of insecurity, typically seen in millionaires trying to prove their success. In contrast, she prefers a low-key lifestyle, dressing down and avoiding extravagant spending.

"Who you see typically wasting money on, designer clothes, a nice car, et cetera, they're technically in the millionaire range. All their friends are multimillionaires or billionaires, and they feel a little bit insecure, so they feel the need to be flashy to show other people, 'look, I'm successful. I'm not showing off to anyone, right?" she explained. 

Ms Guo reflected on her past, noting that many people go through a phase where they're successful but still seeking validation. She believes that billionaires often dress casually because they've reached a point where they no longer need to prove themselves to others. They're confident in their success and don't feel the need to flaunt it. Guo feels she's reached a similar stage, where she's past the need for external validation. 

"And I think that's kind of how I like feel, where I'm past that hump. I don't really have to prove myself to anyone. No one's going to look at me and point at me like, ‘Haha, she's so broke' when I'm pulling up in a Honda Civic because whatever, it doesn't matter," she added. 

Who is Lucy Guo? 

Lucy Guo is an American entrepreneur, software engineer, and social media influencer born on October 14, 1994, in San Francisco, California. Raised in Fremont, California, by Chinese immigrant parents who were electrical engineers, Guo showed an early aptitude for technology, teaching herself to code in second grade and building websites by sixth grade. She attended Carnegie Mellon University to study computer science but dropped out in 2014 after receiving the Thiel Fellowship, a $100,000 grant to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.

She co-founded Scale AI in 2016 at age 21 alongside Alexandr Wang, who was 19 at the time. Notably, Scale AI provides high-quality training data for AI applications. Though Ms Guo was fired in 2018 due to internal differences, she retained her equity, which significantly contributed to her wealth when the company's valuation reached $25 billion in 2025.

Before finding Scale AI, Ms Guo worked as a product designer at question-and-answer firm Quora, where she met Mr Wang. She then left Quora and worked briefly at Snapchat doing product design before she and Mr Wang decided to cofound Scale AI in 2016.

After leaving Scale, she started a small venture capital firm called Backend Capital to invest in early-stage companies. Then, in 2022, she started her own business called Passes, a platform for creators and celebrities to connect with fans, who pay for online chats and videos.