Ya, I would agree with your comment about financing purchases, and I read that slightly incorrectly. My point, even for bill gates, is that if your rate of return on capital, or expected rate of return, is higher than the rate at which you can borrow capital, than you should borrow. That differential is what's important, with the tax break being icing on the cake.

And on the handbag question, haha, I think you're likely correct.

I am less sure about cars, since if you are going to buy and dump a car, it seems like you should lease it, no? I don't know...

I think the other important thing to realize is that the rich aren't, like any large group, unified in their behavior, which is something that article like this always avoid. There is no one way to become a millionaire and there certainly isn't one set of behaviors they exhibit.