A Japanese man in his 70s, known as the ‘God of Free’, is making headlines for his frugal lifestyle.
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 2nd (local time), Hiroto Kiritani (75), a former professional shogi player, is famous for living only with ‘shareholder preference’ coupons. Shareholder preference is a Japanese stock market system in which listed companies provide shareholders with benefits for their products or services in addition to dividends.
Kiritani owns more than 1,000 shareholder-friendly stocks and boasts net assets of over 100 million yen (about 933.26 million won). However, he eats food sent by the listed company, buys clothes using coupons sent by the listed company, and travels on a bicycle sent by the listed company.
Kiritani was not good at stocks from the beginning. He bought hundreds of millions of yen worth of stocks before the 2008 global financial crisis, but lost 200 million yen (about 1.86652 million won) when the stock price plummeted. Determined not to waste money again, he changed his mind to enjoy shareholder preferential treatment.
Kiritani starts his day by riding the bicycle he bought with a shareholder discount coupon through the streets of Tokyo. He gets a free meal using a shareholder discount coupon and then uses services such as movies, saunas, and the gym. They even use rides such as bungee jumping and roller coasters.
Kiritani expressed his philosophy by saying, “It’s a shame to let coupons expire.” He said that making the most of all the coupons given to him is a source of great joy in his old age.
Kiritani’s unconventional lifestyle quickly spread through Chinese media. Chinese netizens who heard the story argued, “Chinese companies should learn from this,” and “If stock prices fall, they should at least compensate with shareholder benefits.”
[서울=뉴시스]
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