[mikemike]

Hopefully this is a problem my children will face

If you ask the rich about the biggest problem created from their wealth, they will usually say their kids.

Most of today’s self-made rich didn’t grow up with money (surveys show 75% of millionaires didn’t inherit their wealth). And today’s rich parents expect their kids to grow up with middle-class values– just as they did.

It’s a noble goal. But when those parents are flying the kids around on a private jet or giving them a Mercedes for their Sweet 16, it should come as no surprise that their kids lack the same work ethic and hustle as a middle-class kid.
[...]
She added that the kids are “manifestly unsuitable” to manage the fund and that it would be in the “best interests of the beneficiaries to force them to go to work.”

Ms. Rinehart may well be right. But it raises a natural question: who raised these kids? And if Ms. Rinehart played a role, isn’t she basically using her own parenting as the reason to cut them out?

Granted, kids are only partially shaped by the parents. But for a rich parent to criticize their kids as lacking a work ethic seems, well, a bit rich.

Do you think it’s fair for rich parents to criticize their kids for being spoiled?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-says-her-kids-aren’t-fit-for-inheritance.html

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Last edited by mikemike; 03-14-2012 at 11:26 AM. Reason: fixed link

[GeneV]

Well, since she inherited all the money,...No she is not in a position to criticize.

The subject of that article was a billionaire, but I also think it is a little weird to have a survey about "millionaires," today. A millionaire is basically a person who had a decent, upper middle class income during their working life and saved enough to retire. They are probably not leaving large fortunes to their children after spending the savings to live on. We need a new term for people with tens or hundreds of millions.

[mikemike]

Well, since she inherited all the money,...No she is not in a position to criticize.

The subject of that article was a billionaire, but I also think it is a little weird to have a survey about "millionaires," today. A millionaire is basically a person who had a decent, upper middle class income during their working life and saved enough to retire. They are probably not leaving large fortunes to their children after spending the savings to live on. We need a new term for people with tens or hundreds of millions.

She inherited a business and it seems that she has driven major growth in that business during her tenure. I had actually never heard of her until this story yesterday (I thought Rupert Murdoch was the wealthiest Australian) but did a little reading. At the time of his death, her father's estimated net worth was A$125MM and 20 years later her estimated net worth is A$10B. So she has achieved a 24% rate of growth at her company over 2 decades, a rare feat that puts her up there with other people who went into the family business like Warren Buffet or the Koch brothers.

Liz: Hank Hoooper. Is that the guy who outbid no one for NBC.

Liz: I’m sorry your new rival is a 9th grade girl? How old is Hank’s wife? Is it a second marriage? Why do men always marry someone younger? Because they can, Liz!

Jack: Her parent’s generation was lost to trust funds kids disease. The aunt smokes pot and “paints.” Her father is trying to sail an inflatable castle across the Atlantic.

Jack: I’m trying to guide a 14 year old. Maybe I can help her realize another life goal. To become a doctor’s nurse. Or a lawyer’s mistress. Or even the president of the United States… Shopping Association.

-30 Rock

But you are right, a million dollars ain't what it used to be, but it is still pretty rich when you consider that the cumulative net worth of the 25% least rich people in the USA is $0 and how upset a segment of the country is about that fact.

[GeneV]

She inherited a business and it seems that she has driven major growth in that business during her tenure. ....

But you are right, a million dollars ain't what it used to be, but it is still pretty rich when you consider that the cumulative net worth of the 25% least rich people in the USA is $0 and how upset a segment of the country is about that fact.

Yes, but she inherited a huge amount of a natural resource. That is not quite the same thing as building a business from the ground up. It is not clear to what extent her wealth increase is due to that resource increasing in value with world demand.

The point about the millionaire is only that there won't be much for most people to inherit if their parents retire with a million or two. Someone who retires from a pensionless upper half middle class income, with a million in the 401k will still be looking at reverse mortgages and spending their savings to retire for 20-30 years with even half the six figure lifestyle which earned them those savings. It is much better than the vast majority, and I am not for a minute lamenting the plight of a person who retires with that bank account, but there still won't be much of a trust fund to fight over when that person passes on.

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Last edited by GeneV; 03-15-2012 at 08:25 AM.