Self-made millionaire dumps possessions, lives in Airbnbs

A self-made millionaire decided to get rid of everything he owned and leave his two apartments to live exclusively in Airbnbs.

Entrepreneur and investor James Altucher, 48, has built a successful brand for himself of being unconventional, as he often works to normalise what others might feel uncomfortable.

Altucher, who is also a writer and a father-of-two, made the life altering decision roughly one year ago to live in Airbnbs, according to CNBC.

He only uses one bag that has about three outfits inside, and a second bag to carry his computer, Kindle and phone.

At the time of his decision, Altucher, who was formerly the managing director of Formula Capital, paid one of his friends go through all of his personal belongings to sort out what to donate, sell, keep, or trash.

The process took about two weeks and involved an eighteen-wheeler to transport his possessions from inside his two apartments to the garbage.

In addition, Altucher even told his friend to contact him while the huge purge session was happening. But his friend broke that rule and contacted him once when she found his college diploma from Cornell University.

"I said, 'Lisa I have not used that college diploma in the past thirty years. Just throw it out! It's the most useless thing. You can't donate it. It's the most useless thing in the apartment, so just throw it out,'" Altucher, who calls attending college a waste of time and money, told CNBC.

In making the huge decision, he explained that anxiety crept into his life while trying to keep track of physical belongings and hindered him from doing his best work.

"I really like to focus on my own creativity," the entrepreneur, who has had as little as $143 in his bank account and as much as $15m, said.

"I like the freedom in not having that many things and not having a real place to live, a real address, because I think it makes me feel more creative."

His two children live with his ex-wife, but do come to visit him wherever he's staying.

Altucher believes the trade off of giving up all of his belongings to live in Airbnbs is worth it.

"I miss some things that I used to love, but I also gain things which are more intangible, which is an enormous sense or feeling of freedom for me and creativity," he said.