Last year, Mark Zuckerberg sat down for a meal that, by all accounts, blew his tech-loving mind—and it wasn't at a five-star sushi bar or some underground Tokyo tasting room. It was McDonald's.
"Japanese McDonald's: 10/10. Give these guys a Michelin star," the Meta CEO wrote in an Instagram post, wearing a shearling coat and Meta smart glasses, mid-bite into what looked like a bacon-and-fried-egg burger. His wife, Priscilla Chan, posed outside the restaurant like it was Nobu, not the Golden Arches.
The next slide showed a tray loaded with a teriyaki McBurger, Filet-O-Fish, nuggets, fries, and a corn and edamame cup.
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Zuckerberg's certainly not the first billionaire to act like McDonald's is fine dining.
Warren Buffett has been committed to his breakfast ritual at McDonald's for decades. In "Becoming Warren Buffett," he explained how he decides what to order each morning depending on how the market is doing—$2.61 if it's a slow day, $3.17 if he's feeling flush. "She puts that amount in the cup by me here and that's what I go to McDonald's with," he said, referring to his late wife. His go-to meal? Sausage McMuffin with egg, plus a Coke. Yes, for breakfast.
Then there's Bill Gates, who once stopped at a Hong Kong McDonald's with Buffett and paid with coupons. "Remember the laugh we had when we traveled to Hong Kong together and found a McDonald's?" Gates wrote in a 2017 blog post. "You offered to pay, dug into your pocket, and pulled out coupons!"
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Both Gates and Buffett also hold McDonald's "McGold" Cards, which let them eat there for free.
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So what gives? Why do billionaires with private jets keep circling back to McNuggets?
It could be the reliability. Or maybe it's the price-to-pleasure ratio. McDonald's is one of the few global brands where $5 still buys you a full meal and the same fries you loved as a kid. Even Zuckerberg—whose usual tech diet is more AI than apple pie—couldn't resist the draw.
There's something refreshing about a billionaire choosing McDonald's. Maybe it's the nostalgia. Maybe it's the convenience. Or maybe, deep down, they just like their assets like their meals: low-cost, high-yield, and easy to pick up on the way to global domination.
Whatever the reason, when the rich and powerful want comfort food, they head for the arches. And apparently, in Japan, it's worthy of a Michelin star.
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