Anyone here grow up wealthy or well off but have not surpassed parents/grandparents/GG Parents wealth or earnings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

The flip side of that coin is that there’s almost always an unhealthy power dynamic between spouses when one spouse vastly outearns or is the sole provider of the other.

Also, let’s not forget that more women go to college than men now, and the wage gap may shrink, adjusting for time out of the workforce for maternity leave.

No there is not an "unhealthy power dynamic" I'm the SAHP/retired spouse of a High earner. They actually appreciate and recognize all the work I have done over the years, that makes their life easier. They were in the C suite by mid 30s, and CEO by early 40s at companies under 2K employees. All but 2 of the men in the Exec teams over the years have wives who don't work. 5 of the women are DINKS (and will stay that way) and the other 2 women have SAHD once they had kids. Because it's hard to get to that level and maintain it without some strong support at home. You either have it with a spouse or you hire a full time nanny or two (nanny/housekeeper/etc) to manage the home front.

Then again, when I quit to be SAHP, our incomes were similar (making 6 figures in late 1990s at age 30). So we were both on paths to being high earners. So that may have something to do with it

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a millennial with Baby Boomer parents. You could say I grew up well off/wealthy, but not super wealthy. One parent came from generational wealth, while the other grew up poor, but had a mixed bag in terms of their extended family (for instance, one parent had a well off uncle and some extended family that was successful/comfirtable).

I have never earned as much money as my dad. He’s the one who comes from generational wealth and through continued hard work earns millions a year. My mom had a more normal job. Although my parents never made me feel bad, and I’m highly successful by most standards, I don’t feel as successful for that reason.

Has anyone else grown up well off but not quite surpassed building greater generational wealth than what was built for you.

Speaking as someone who is building generational wealth for her children, DH and I don’t expect our kids to outearn us. Our hope is that our money will give our kids the opportunity to pursue careers that fulfill them or allow them to spend more time with their families. We are also instilling in them our family values, which include hard work, financial responsibility/prudence and investment in the community/charity.

This ^^^^

Our kids are expected to have careers. But they know $$$ is there if they choose a meaningful "not as high paying path" so they can have a quality of life. Extra for a home down payment, so they can live closer to work, so higher quality of life when you don't have a 45 min commute each way and are still in excellent school district (or have private schools paid for by us). They continue to do charity work (in their 20s) and invest in their communities. But they also work hard at their careers and don't take any of it for granted.

You built more wealth than them. Do you have a lower quality of life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

The flip side of that coin is that there’s almost always an unhealthy power dynamic between spouses when one spouse vastly outearns or is the sole provider of the other.

Also, let’s not forget that more women go to college than men now, and the wage gap may shrink, adjusting for time out of the workforce for maternity leave.

No there is not an "unhealthy power dynamic" I'm the SAHP/retired spouse of a High earner. They actually appreciate and recognize all the work I have done over the years, that makes their life easier. They were in the C suite by mid 30s, and CEO by early 40s at companies under 2K employees. All but 2 of the men in the Exec teams over the years have wives who don't work. 5 of the women are DINKS (and will stay that way) and the other 2 women have SAHD once they had kids. Because it's hard to get to that level and maintain it without some strong support at home. You either have it with a spouse or you hire a full time nanny or two (nanny/housekeeper/etc) to manage the home front.

Then again, when I quit to be SAHP, our incomes were similar (making 6 figures in late 1990s at age 30). So we were both on paths to being high earners. So that may have something to do with it

+1

As a current SAHM I really don’t know how similar your experience is to mine if you were 30 in 1999. I like SAH and know several others but the dynamic is much more complex now - it’s wrong to assume it’s the same as it was that long ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

The flip side of that coin is that there’s almost always an unhealthy power dynamic between spouses when one spouse vastly outearns or is the sole provider of the other.

Also, let’s not forget that more women go to college than men now, and the wage gap may shrink, adjusting for time out of the workforce for maternity leave.

Maybe for you, but not the case in my marriage.

[Anonymous]

I inherited a lot of wealth and it never occurred to me that I would surpass the main people who built it. They were pretty extraordinary. I think I’m a W2 person, and no one gets rich that way.

[Anonymous]

I come from variously wealthy and impoverished aristocrats. The arc of our family history is long, and includes devastating wars, plagues and periods of riotously high living. The earliest recorded knight of my family was a crusader. So. We’re not keeping generational score.

The goal is to keep living.

[Anonymous]

My baby boomer parents made significantly more money than us. They lived large too. Lots of keeping up with the Jonses. They do fine now in retirement, but would certainly have more if they had been a tad frugal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I inherited a lot of wealth and it never occurred to me that I would surpass the main people who built it. They were pretty extraordinary. I think I’m a W2 person, and no one gets rich that way.

+1
Compounding returns is basically the 8th wonder of the world. Unless you are Elon musk or Jeff Bezos, you are just not going to beat money that has been in the market for a long time. I think luck is also a pretty big factor with some of these success stories.

If you inherit 1mil when you are born, you would have over 100 mil by age 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inherited a lot of wealth and it never occurred to me that I would surpass the main people who built it. They were pretty extraordinary. I think I’m a W2 person, and no one gets rich that way.

+1
Compounding returns is basically the 8th wonder of the world. Unless you are Elon musk or Jeff Bezos, you are just not going to beat money that has been in the market for a long time. I think luck is also a pretty big factor with some of these success stories.

If you inherit 1mil when you are born, you would have over 100 mil by age 50.

What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a millennial with Baby Boomer parents. You could say I grew up well off/wealthy, but not super wealthy. One parent came from generational wealth, while the other grew up poor, but had a mixed bag in terms of their extended family (for instance, one parent had a well off uncle and some extended family that was successful/comfirtable).

I have never earned as much money as my dad. He’s the one who comes from generational wealth and through continued hard work earns millions a year. My mom had a more normal job. Although my parents never made me feel bad, and I’m highly successful by most standards, I don’t feel as successful for that reason.

Has anyone else grown up well off but not quite surpassed building greater generational wealth than what was built for you.

Speaking as someone who is building generational wealth for her children, DH and I don’t expect our kids to outearn us. Our hope is that our money will give our kids the opportunity to pursue careers that fulfill them or allow them to spend more time with their families. We are also instilling in them our family values, which include hard work, financial responsibility/prudence and investment in the community/charity.

This ^^^^

Our kids are expected to have careers. But they know $$$ is there if they choose a meaningful "not as high paying path" so they can have a quality of life. Extra for a home down payment, so they can live closer to work, so higher quality of life when you don't have a 45 min commute each way and are still in excellent school district (or have private schools paid for by us). They continue to do charity work (in their 20s) and invest in their communities. But they also work hard at their careers and don't take any of it for granted.

You built more wealth than them. Do you have a lower quality of life?

not sure the question?

I have a much higher quality of life than what I grew up with. And much higher than our kids currently have (20s). But they are much higher than most of their friends/most 20 somethings

[Anonymous]

Yes my spouse and I both grew up wealthy with successful parents and my paternal grandparents were very successful and wealthy. Were very average in comparison and my grandparents paid for all of our tuition, so we’re in quite a different position financially

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inherited a lot of wealth and it never occurred to me that I would surpass the main people who built it. They were pretty extraordinary. I think I’m a W2 person, and no one gets rich that way.

+1
Compounding returns is basically the 8th wonder of the world. Unless you are Elon musk or Jeff Bezos, you are just not going to beat money that has been in the market for a long time. I think luck is also a pretty big factor with some of these success stories.

If you inherit 1mil when you are born, you would have over 100 mil by age 50.

What?

Yes, at 9.5% returns, which is lower than average S&P historical returns. Magic! Hard not to spend that principal though.

[Anonymous]

My great grandparents lost all their money to the state. Rumor has it that they hid their gold in a boot and buried it somewhere in SU before being forced to flee.
My grandparents and parents worked themselves up but under communist regime and their cash went to zero in early 90s.
I retired super early after working hard in US since age 18. I manage my own money and the money I plan to leave to my kids. Some of it is already under their name.
We are working on generational wealth now. Money has been growing without anyone having making a bank.

[Anonymous]

I grew up upper middle class and don't earn anywhere near as much, in real dollars, as my dad did (my wife makes more in real dollars than my mom did, but I suspect our household income is still about half of what it was when I was growing up). I think that was... sort of the point, though? My parents encouraged me to pursue the career I'm in even (journalism) even though it wasn't as lucrative as the career my father was in (law). I was very lucky to have been able to rely on their resources to graduate college with no debt and to have some help with a down payment on my first home, and now I'm doing something I like that pays fine rather than something that I don't like that pays better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

The flip side of that coin is that there’s almost always an unhealthy power dynamic between spouses when one spouse vastly outearns or is the sole provider of the other.

Also, let’s not forget that more women go to college than men now, and the wage gap may shrink, adjusting for time out of the workforce for maternity leave.

No there is not an "unhealthy power dynamic" I'm the SAHP/retired spouse of a High earner. They actually appreciate and recognize all the work I have done over the years, that makes their life easier. They were in the C suite by mid 30s, and CEO by early 40s at companies under 2K employees. All but 2 of the men in the Exec teams over the years have wives who don't work. 5 of the women are DINKS (and will stay that way) and the other 2 women have SAHD once they had kids. Because it's hard to get to that level and maintain it without some strong support at home. You either have it with a spouse or you hire a full time nanny or two (nanny/housekeeper/etc) to manage the home front.

Then again, when I quit to be SAHP, our incomes were similar (making 6 figures in late 1990s at age 30). So we were both on paths to being high earners. So that may have something to do with it

+1

I agree 100%