Billionaire José Elías (Image: Instagram/jose_elias_navarro)
A billionaire entrepreneur, who claims his monthly grocery expenditure is roughly six times that of a typical household, has revealed there’s a compelling explanation for such substantial spending.
José Elías states he spends up to €3,000 [approximately £2,600] monthly on his supermarket shopping. For a couple, José estimates the typical amount would be closer to €500 [£440] per month.
However, he clarifies, his household uses a good deal more food than the average home: “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 commercial expertise through a regular Spanish-language podcast, mentions he similarly spends considerable sums on his holiday for similar reasons.
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José thought his luxury holiday on Ibiza was reasonably priced (Image: Getty Images)
José’s latest summer holiday, a fortnight’s break in Ibiza and Formentera, cost him around €35,000 [just under £31,000]. Of this total, roughly half went towards his €8,000-per-week villa, which accommodated eight guests.
He maintains that figure was “very normal for Ibiza” and, working out at approximately 1,000 euros per individual per week, appeared to him a “reasonable” rate. He also splashed out roughly €15,000 on a trip to the Seychelles, with a further €10,000 spent on various other holidays throughout the year.
All told, his yearly expenditure on getaways can reach as much as €60,000.
Despite the eye-watering cost, José has mixed feelings about his Seychelles experience. He noted there wasn’t a great deal to keep him occupied, and the trip quickly became monotonous.
José on one of his many holidays (Image: Instagram/jose_elias_navarro)
“More of the same, you know? It’s like the Maldives, one island, pretty beaches.”
He was equally underwhelmed by the weather: “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.
He reflected: “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.
José was quite disappointed by his trip to the Seychelles (Image: Getty Images)
“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 whilst they were watching you.”
Whilst José, 49, cherishes the time he spends with his children on family breaks, he acknowledges that work frequently takes him away from them. “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.”