Thanks For Nothing, Dad!

Very few of them left their children with nothing - they simply chose not to make their offspring filthy rich without working for it.

For people like Gates and Buffet - the good that will come of the money they donated to trusts will have more effect than producing a bunch of entitled heirs. But - the heirs aren't left with nothing.

Warren Buffett's kids seemed to turn out OK...his kid that is set to take over BH would rather be digging in the dirt than making dirty money...

I remember Buffett Jr. saying, growing up, he and his sister had no idea what dad did for a living - he said he was a "securities analyst", and when they were asked "what does your father do" in school, they said he was a "security guard"

Bill has a few more "toys" than Warren...but for the most part, the money is not the goal - just part of the game, and even though they can hit home runs...they don't feel a need to run the bases -

Though sometimes...I do wish Warren was a little more like Jimmy (btw, they are not related)

Well, I don't even know how much my father has, though he IS friends with a few billionares that are on the list. At least 3 are pretty famous. But I never asked him for anything, except little birthday presents sometimes, or for christmas. And I don't know if I stand to get any money.

I DO agree with what they credited "Andrew Carnegie" with having said. I think I would do BETTER if I had a billion dollars. But I have known people that even with $1000, they just WASTE it. AND, of course, there are those famous RICH people that don't seem to understand how money is earned or strived for. And they seem to not understand much of anything else.

BTW, like Kay said, their quotes are deceptive. Like the one that says the billionare gave his son $1,000,000! That is a GREAT start! Buffett apparently gave his son a FARM! A good sized one! His son is expected to pay like rent, but can get all the income and apparently buffett treats him ok.

Howard Graham Buffett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So you REALLY have to read between the lines!

I once knew a guy that got a modest $5000/month allowance from HIS father! His father is a multi billionare and a magnet in a product from greece that may be one of their most exported products ok, one site implies it is the 3rd most popular class. SUPPOSEDLY, if you buy that product, HE gets a cut! Yet he only gives his son $60,000 a year!?!?!? CHEAP! Well, I don't know about YOU, but I think that is a good deal! You can live anywheer you want, do anything you want, and KNOW you will get at least $60,000 a year! BTW HE seemed knowledgable, was definitely fluent in greek and english, but I don't know what other languages, and had a nice job where he probably earned over $100K/year extra.

It's ALL relative.

Funny how you want to charge those people more, but then say they are generous, etc....

Steve

It's not the money...it's what you DO with the money...

My grandfather inherited a fortune and squandered it in an irresponsible playboy lifestyle. He was lots of fun. I miss him, though there wasn't anything left for me to squander.

Take it from Jim - he used to live in a van - down by the river...:rolleyes:

Love this quote by Buffet:

"A very rich person," he said, "should leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing."

Also Vladimir Potanin:

"A million [dollars] handed over from inheritance helps a person to receive a good education, find employment without haste and find himself. A transferred billion [dollars] kills him and deprives him of the sense of life,"

Andrew Carnegie:

"The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son."

Eugene Lang:

“Inheritance dilutes the motivation that most young people have to fulfill the best that is in them. I want to give my kids the tremendous satisfaction of making it on their own,”

Yu Pngnian:

“If my children are competent, they don’t need my money. If they’re not, leaving them a lot of money is only doing them harm.”



I guess I relate most to Warren Buffets idea, but they all make sense.

There's a parable in a book I'm not allowed to mention here, where a rich man gives each of his 3 servants some money. Later when he asks them what they did with the money, the first 2 said that they doubled the money, so they were rewarded with more. The last one said he wanted to save his so he burried it. He was punished and not given any more.

That's probably what I'd do. I'd give them just enough to do something with. And then I'd wait and watch what they do with it.

But with all of the charity scams going on today, I'd rather see my kids squander the money I make, than watch someone else squander it.