a multi-millionaire and his kids.

[vash]

let me start off that i do feel a pang of envy.

one of my coworkers..hard working, frugal. i got to know him and befriend his family. his sister married some kid. his dad is some hong kong billionaire. like owns skyscrapers billionaire. none of his children have ever worked a day in their lives. daddy foots the bills.

they each have huge bay area homes..paid free and clear. the sister did the smartest thing ever. she went and got pregnant and had a SON! the windfall really began. bigger house..she quit her job. that baby, i have never seen his feet on the ground. he is aways carried..always handfed.

my coworker always brags about the new Audi R8 or some other supercar. or the new tennis court resurfacing..

i get it. must be nice to wipe your ass with Gucci toilet paper. but man, i cant imagine another generation of spoiled kids.

i know if i was a billionaire..i am 99% sure i wouldnt spoil my kids. i dont get it. i am not a parent. but dont parents feel good when they can be proud of their children? my mom almost cried the first time i grabbed the dinner check from her. (i probably had to charge it )

[onewhippedpuppy]

There is a certain valor in working for a living, it helps give your life purpose. It's why I frequently tell my wife that I'd prefer to not win the lottery. Money and stuff will never make a person feel fulfilled, which is likely why many lottery winners (and rich kids) spend their life constantly pursuing more. It's a black hole.

[vash]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

...... I'd prefer to not win the lottery. .

well, let's not take this thread to crazy town!

[Rick Lee]

One thing you'll notice quickly in Mainland Chinese cities is that no one uses baby strollers. Babies are carried until they can walk and then they walk. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only strollers I ever saw were those pushed by Americans near the US Consulate in Guangzhou, where they process the papers for their adopted babies. They don't use diapers either. They wear crotchless pajamas and do their business just about anywhere like dogs.

Anyway, my Chinese ex's dad is probably worth in the nine figures. Sounds nice to be able to provide for your family and all. But she is not a very happy person because she has no purpose in life, nothing to do, nowhere to be. Her dad had one of his friends in the US give her a no-show job to sponsor her H1, dad reimbursed him for her salary in China. She finally decided to get a real job once she got her citizenship, worked for a major consulting firm for two years, got pregnant and then decided to retire at about 37 yrs. old. She's still a smoking hot MILF, but didn't seem to happy in life last time I saw her. She doesn't work at all, but has a nanny so she doesn't get too busy.

[sc_rufctr]

I hate to say it but if I was a billionaire I'd probably do the same thing.

Non of my kids would work and neither would their kids... They and I would spend our lives travelling he word and meeting up in the most exotic places for a fabulous dinners and fun. Or charter a big yacht and tour the Mediterranean together. I'm sure we could find things to do that are fun and worthwhile.

Why? How long do we live for? Not that long IMO. And how many people have to get up when that alarm clock goes off? No choice there. They have to get up. What does that make you?

What happens when you get a mortgage? Again you have to get up so your can earn the money to pay for it. So really think about it, what does that make you?

Meanwhile with money like that you get freedom and lots of it.

[recycled sixtie]

Which singer was it that said I have been rich and I have been poor but I would rather be rich. Disagree about the lottery though. Would take it if I won it. The way I figure u need enough to be comfortable and anything after that is the law of diminishing returns. No I agree I don't like spoiled kids. Good thread.

[tweezers74]

Have you read the book, "the millionaire next door"? Talks about this in a round about way. It says that most kids who have things handed to them actually do WORSE financially. Those who are forced to figure it out on their own are more likely to have more cash flow. It's like you are handicapping your own by providing. It goes down to the basics of nature. If you don't push your kids out of the nest, they ain't ever gonna fly. Survival of the fittest. If hardship was ever to hit those kids. BAM! They are crippled. Have no idea how to survive. Granted, it may never happen but yes, I agree with you, something to be said about being proud of your children. Flipside, mentally are these children the healthiest/strongest? Maybe not. If they can't be proud of something they have accomplished, I would argue it might ruin the mental psyche. Explains why some rich people commit suicide. Happiness is how you define it. It is all about perspective.

[Seahawk]

Fro the link below:

Wealth, it’s said, never survives three generations.

I think the aphorism’s prediction is best explained in this way:

In the beginning, a family or families become wealthy through hard work, ability, and conviction. The wealth is earned.

The second generation is born into wealth, takes it for granted, and receives it only because of their relationship to the first generation. Without a work ethic, ability, or conviction, the wealth is squandered and/or looted.

Every family, organization, and community faces a similar story arc I think.

Wealth Never Survives Three Generations. Which Generation Is In Control Now? « STERLING LYNCH

I am not sure I agree with the assumption that the wealth may necessarily disappear (especially if the amount is in the billions and well protected) but I have seen the classic second and third generation de-evolution into squabbling idiots with no discernible drive or talent up close.

I went to Prep School with a lot of trust fund babies.

[sc_rufctr]

What about charity? I work for an international charity I can not put into words how rewarding that is. I absolutely love it.

If I was a billionaire I would devote most of my time to this charity. As it is now I devote about 10 hours a week and I feel that's just not enough. There' just so much to do, it's frustrating.

[HardDrive]

I'm not sure how you define 'wealth'. My daughter will be the 4th generation in our family to go to college. She has material resources that I could not have dreamed of as a kid. But she sure as hell isn't being coddled. We're tough parents. Absolute subscribers to the 'Tiger Mom' school of parenting. I don't know if my daughter will succeed, but she won't be leaving our house with a poor work ethic.

I have met many, many trust fund kids. Their not always screw ups, but there is always a hint of sadness in them. They don't have a purpose, and I think on some level they can tell that they have been robbed of something, but they can't put their finger on it. I've meet a few who have basically lost their minds, or fallen into addictions.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

Which singer was it that said I have been rich and I have been poor but I would rather be rich. Disagree about the lottery though. Would take it if I won it. The way I figure u need enough to be comfortable and anything after that is the law of diminishing returns. No I agree I don't like spoiled kids. Good thread.

I think 50 Cent said that.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

Which singer was it that said I have been rich and I have been poor but I would rather be rich.

I think its:


"Money can't buy happiness, but I'd rather cry in a Porsche."

[sc_rufctr]

I'm not buying the "Trust fund babies are not happy" line.

How many teenagers or people in their 20s do you know who have no direction and/or are depressed?
I know plenty and most of them are broke.

Some of the happiest people I know are the people I work with in the charity I support.

[craigster59]

I liked the line from the movie The Descendants "You give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing." I think it may be a Warren Buffet quote, not sure.

[81Kremer930]

This is a good thread i think. I am the second generation of a family that started in the lower middle class, neither of my parents graduated from high school, even though they're both extremely intelligent and gifted. The opportunity to go on in school wasn't available to them because they had to go to work.
My parents have been very successful through decades of hard work. They instilled in us(my 3 siblings and I), that we would have to work for our success. They believe in education, that it's a great foundation for whereever our careers will take us. Good grades were mandatory, I can remember arguing with them that they'd never graduated, but it wasnt until I was older, out in the real world, that they didn't have a choice. They did what they did because it was the only road to take that would lead anywhere.
I came up through their business, and they taught me how to run it. I will do the same thing for my children. I have learned that getting up and going to work to provide for my family is very satisfying, and has caused me to be more personable, responsible, willing, and admirable. The more financially independant I am, the better I feel.
I'd say the what's missing from those trust-fund children is just that.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Tweeze, both "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind" are fantastic reads, especially in the context of our society and focus on instant gratification.

I like the lottery parallel because it's very similar but much more public, and at the core is the same issue - having lots of money given to you vs earning it. Big buck lottery winners have far more sob stories than happy ones, many of them end up divorced and broke with some instances of suicide at the end of the road. I may not have a lot, but I take an immense amount of pride in the fact that I earned it. I grew up in a mobile home and ended up being the first in my family to graduate from college, and am now able to comfortably support my own wife and kids. I think work is core to who we are and our purpose on this Earth, and removing that creates a void that is difficult to fill.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

My best man's father is also Hong Kong rich. "Owns skyscrapers" rich. My bud has always played it down--WAY down. He busted his ass in school and still does working at a well-known tech company doing some sort of research based on his PhD. He has been driving the same car for 10 years. Lives in a very modest home in the Bay Area.

His brother was ROTC in school and served as an officer for some time (not sure what he does now).

There are good ones out there.

[widgeon13]

I have a friend similar to that, does it in spades. Drives me crazy.

[Rick Lee]

It's not necessarily a bad thing to give your kids a lot of money. Some of them can't handle it, but at least they won't be out there competing with the rest of us for jobs. And it's not bad for the rest of us that they have lots of money to spend. They won't become wards of the state either.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

It's not necessarily a bad thing to give your kids a lot of money. Some of them can't handle it, but at least they won't be out there competing with the rest of us for jobs. And it's not bad for the rest of us that they have lots of money to spend. They won't become wards of the state either.

When we had the thread about the big Powerball last week, I did a little reading on past lottery winners just out of curiosity. You'd be amazed how many of them ended up broke and on welfare. Even lots of money doesn't last forever.