Nicolas Berggruen had an apartment on the 31st floor of the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan and a house on a private island near Miami.

That is, until he decided to sell both of them 12 years ago and live a simple life out on the streets, homeless.

All he has now is the little he keeps in storage and on him he carries his iPhone, a carryon with a few pairs of jeans, a nice suit or two and some clean shirts, according to Business Week.

In 2008, The Wall Street Journal did a profile on Berggruen, stating that after making billions, he simply "lost interest in acquiring things: They didn't satisfy him, and in fact had become something of a burden."

The 51-year-old said he stays in hotels and admitted that he prefers a life without a load of physical possessions, the latest gadget, the newest toy and the nicest house. He also sold his only car.

"Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world," he said. "But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we're only here for a short period of time. It's what we do and produce, it's our actions, that will last forever. That's real value."

"Maybe in a bizarre kind of way, I don't want to be dependent on it or have the responsibility. I don't get that much enjoyment out of saying 'I own it,' " he added.

When he travels though, do not expect to see Berggruen at a Holiday Inn. He stays in five-star hotels such as the Claridge's in London, the Carlyle Hotel in New York and the Peninsula Beverly Hills when in Los Angeles.

Berggruen is chairman of Berggruen Holdings, a New-York based, privately held equity firm that buys companies facing problems and fixes them up. Think Richard Gere 's job in "Pretty Woman." Currently, his company owns more than 30 such companies and according to their website, the company's annual revenue is $5 billion.

Unsatisfied with material goods, he has been an advocate to putting money toward helping the financial crisis in America. He started the Nicolas Berggruen Institute to help improve global governance and is pushing in California to repair the state's education system.

Berggruen has made a name for himself as a new kind of billionaire.