Strangely, I've observed the same behaviour with people on the exact opposite side of the spectrum too (i.e. UHNW).
A friend of mine worked on superyachts which were £400k a week to rent. He said that without fail the owners would be penny pinching at the end over a few £ here and there (on food, drink, suncream etc.) Same with upper-class Brits who had hundreds of years of intergenerational wealth but won't turn their heating on until November.
Not sure what to make of this; I've often wondered if it is a form of bell curve.
Rich penny pinching is often all about forcing counterparties to give you more favorable terms-- using the copious other economic options you have as leverage.
Poor penny pinching is often about doing what's necessary to survive, even if it's a terrible outcome in the medium term.
I wonder how much of that is because at those wealth levels, you start to feel you don't have much in the way of agency (you're not bargaining for the cost of the superyacht, someone does that for you, etc) - and you want to feel "in the game".
Now if by "owners" you mean the owners of the yacht, then it makes more sense as it's a business and they're controlling costs, especially the ones they see as "variable".
A friend of mine worked on superyachts which were £400k a week to rent. He said that without fail the owners would be penny pinching at the end over a few £ here and there (on food, drink, suncream etc.) Same with upper-class Brits who had hundreds of years of intergenerational wealth but won't turn their heating on until November.
Not sure what to make of this; I've often wondered if it is a form of bell curve.