Generational wealth. What's behind the obsession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is something extraordinary about knowing your basic needs will be met regardless of your employment. The freedom to quit a job you hate or take a job you love that does not pay as much is a true gift.

Exactly! We say this to our kid all the time. They are hardworking, caring, and likely will work for a nonprofit. We want to encourage this and not have them stress about cost of living or resort to working for a paycheck.

[Anonymous]

My half-sister had college debt because her dad, who was a physician, refused to pay for most of it. Maybe because he was angry at my mom for divorcing him. The rest of us went to school on my father’s GI bill. All of stayed in state. Her debt has saddled her with extreme financial stress and probably her under earning.

I can’t imagine turning down help for a child with skyrocketing costs, even if they go to cc for two years. It’s an unnecessary burden. Don’t have to give spending $$, or house help, or anything, but that’s just cruel if you or a family member can afford it and is willing to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Building generational wealth is fine I guess...My neighbor is 29 and a "TikTok content creator". He is a product of "generational wealth".

I think people who are aiming for generational wealth should (and hopefully) do put some serious conditions. A relative down the line choosing to create content filming people farting because they don't have to worry about money is kind of ridiculous.

The flip side of that is that a lot of people have jobs that are genuinely valuable because they don't have to worry about what's marketable. Most of my friends who are academics are able to do that because they come from money. My kid will need to work for a living, but if I could hand her enough money to go teach Latin to college students without worrying about retirement, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Building generational wealth is fine I guess...My neighbor is 29 and a "TikTok content creator". He is a product of "generational wealth".

I think people who are aiming for generational wealth should (and hopefully) do put some serious conditions. A relative down the line choosing to create content filming people farting because they don't have to worry about money is kind of ridiculous.

The flip side of that is that a lot of people have jobs that are genuinely valuable because they don't have to worry about what's marketable. Most of my friends who are academics are able to do that because they come from money. My kid will need to work for a living, but if I could hand her enough money to go teach Latin to college students without worrying about retirement, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Again, it's one thing if you are the kid of someone worth $250MM+...quite another if it's just say $25MM.

Generational wealth isn't just one generation builds it and then every successive generation just lives off it, unless that one generation does massively well.

Wealth nearly always disappears by the 3rd generation if nobody decides they are going to build off it. It gets split among too many heirs, a bunch of those heirs (usually, the first descendants) just blow their portion, etc.

FYI...at least when they did a study of Harvard demographics, the poorest students were actually the most likely to pursue academia and NPO work because they were able to attend Harvard for free and did not come from a dynasty of PE or hedge fund people. The wealthiest students actually were the ones most likely to go into finance, consulting, hedge funds, etc...part of that is they probably had connections/family history for those jobs.

[Anonymous]

I thought that generational wealth, at least in the discussion of Black families not having it, it isn't about huge multi-million dollar estates.

Rather it's about parents being able to help kids with college, or down payments or just even being there as a backstop.

Kids who go out into the world without this are in a much more precarious place than those who have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its rocket ship building. Once you reach a certain point of wealth where your portfolio compounds faster than you need or want to spend you've built a rocket that has achieved escape velocity from problems money can solve. Paycheck to paycheck is living on the ground. A nice bonus is a puddle jumper plane ride. But the pratical definition of "wealth" is a rocket ship, even if it just can carry you into space. Then you think, can I build one to carry my family? Many generations of my family? Can we maintain it and stock it and make it self sustainable forever?

But no rocket can last forever. The population of inhabitants will either eventuually grow exponentially and no fuel will be enough, structural issues will emerge and internal and external forces will wear it down. Or the population will dwindle and the rocket eventually dismantled and sold for parts or is an antique inhabited by a paid crew who select people for short rides to space to briefly feel what zero gravity is like.

Great analogy

[Anonymous]

Our first goal is to have enough to send our own kids to college and to live a comfortable retirement. Honestly generational wealth can start as simply as paying for yourself and your needs until the day you die and then being able to leave a little left. It doesn't have to be millions of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Supporting yourself well until you pass is a huge gift to your kids. So start there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Building generational wealth is fine I guess...My neighbor is 29 and a "TikTok content creator". He is a product of "generational wealth".

I think people who are aiming for generational wealth should (and hopefully) do put some serious conditions. A relative down the line choosing to create content filming people farting because they don't have to worry about money is kind of ridiculous.

The flip side of that is that a lot of people have jobs that are genuinely valuable because they don't have to worry about what's marketable. Most of my friends who are academics are able to do that because they come from money. My kid will need to work for a living, but if I could hand her enough money to go teach Latin to college students without worrying about retirement, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Again, it's one thing if you are the kid of someone worth $250MM+...quite another if it's just say $25MM.

Generational wealth isn't just one generation builds it and then every successive generation just lives off it, unless that one generation does massively well.

Wealth nearly always disappears by the 3rd generation if nobody decides they are going to build off it. It gets split among too many heirs, a bunch of those heirs (usually, the first descendants) just blow their portion, etc.

FYI...at least when they did a study of Harvard demographics, the poorest students were actually the most likely to pursue academia and NPO work because they were able to attend Harvard for free and did not come from a dynasty of PE or hedge fund people. The wealthiest students actually were the ones most likely to go into finance, consulting, hedge funds, etc...part of that is they probably had connections/family history for those jobs.

This. My guess is that most people who think they are building generational wealth are not aware that that wealth will probably last 1/2 generation. Yes leave money to your offsprings but don't make it an obsession. Enjoy your life. When you are dead and didn't get to sleep certain things because you were so preoccupied with leaving a lot of money that's kind of sad.

[Anonymous]

I come from a pretty poor family (factory workers, smallholder farmers) and I'll say that anything you can pass on can be a huge leg up. My great grandpa was not rich, but saved enough money to buy a little house and some land over a century ago. My mom built a house on the land, my grandma lived in the little house her entire life, and now my mom still owns it and rents it out. And hopefully this gets passed on to the next generation (my brother, then his ds...We live in different countries). All of this has been very beneficial even though it's not millions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because poverty sucks. I can from wealth and my wife does not. For the first time in my life I got to experience someone who was actually poor and crying while telling me how much they struggle. I still don't truly understand poverty. But I'll do everything I can do so that our kids have more than we did.

Jeez you’re not too bright are you? It’s very easy to understand poverty. Maybe visuals would help you. Watch some documentaries about families struggling.

I don’t know how people can go through life and not know people who are poor, people who are rich and middle class. It must be stifling to live in such a small box.

I'm sorry but watching a documentary, giving money to a bear or watching some poor kids with big bellies and flies over their head dones not meet you understand poverty dumb dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought that generational wealth, at least in the discussion of Black families not having it, it isn't about huge multi-million dollar estates.

Rather it's about parents being able to help kids with college, or down payments or just even being there as a backstop.

Kids who go out into the world without this are in a much more precarious place than those who have it.

That’s middle class. Generational wealth is when your kids are already wealthy on the day they are born, not just supported.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because poverty sucks. I can from wealth and my wife does not. For the first time in my life I got to experience someone who was actually poor and crying while telling me how much they struggle. I still don't truly understand poverty. But I'll do everything I can do so that our kids have more than we did.

Jeez you’re not too bright are you? It’s very easy to understand poverty. Maybe visuals would help you. Watch some documentaries about families struggling.

I don’t know how people can go through life and not know people who are poor, people who are rich and middle class. It must be stifling to live in such a small box.

Okay my kids are growing up very privileged in a nice suburb. They will likely go to to a top private college. Now, you tell me, at what point are they going to actually understand poverty. Knowing is not the same as understanding.

And I'm the US we have a powerful thing call property taxes. You can pretty much shelter your life by living in exclusive neighborhoods, going to exclusive restaurants, flying business, etc. you can actually spend your entire life and not know a single person who is is dirt poor. This is not Nigeria where a billionaire may have a beggar as neighbor. This is the US. Poverty is well hidden here. So whether the trust is uncomfortable to you or not, many of us who live in these "exclusive" suburbs live in a box. Woohoo OMG Becky someone got shot where where look at Channel 9 OMG .....so ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought that generational wealth, at least in the discussion of Black families not having it, it isn't about huge multi-million dollar estates.

Rather it's about parents being able to help kids with college, or down payments or just even being there as a backstop.

Kids who go out into the world without this are in a much more precarious place than those who have it.

That’s middle class. Generational wealth is when your kids are already wealthy on the day they are born, not just supported.

This. But Urban DC Moms folks think their kids will have the same life as the Billionaires' kids lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to understand the obsession behind generational wealth. If your retirement is on target, your kids college education funded and you own a home then why are you obsessively stressing over the generation beyond your kids?

I don’t want to just live, but live really really well. I want to my kids to build on that and live even better. Life is short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not obsessing over it, but it would give me joy to see my grandchildren have their college tuition paid for like I had mine paid for--by my grandparents.

Having your grandchildren’s college tuition paid for is not what is meant by generational wealth.