How Much Inheritance Will Ruin Your Kid?

How generational wealth impacts productivity and happiness

Sean Kernan

When my family lived near the Cavalier Country Club in Virginia Beach, we were the token middle-class family in the neighborhood. Many of the houses had hedged bushes, carefully carved into eccentric geometric shapes, and sports cars sitting unashamed in their driveway, announcing their owner’s achievements to all.

And despite this clear class divide, I got along great with the boys around me. Some were only 10, but had fathers that were entirely grey haired, and mothers who looked barely out of high school. I noticed the peculiarity of it but never connected the dots on what these unions meant.

Some of these boys were well-adjusted and great. Others were quite spoiled, and I often wonder what came of them. They were agitated and disobedient in school, often getting into fights on the playground.

Had wealth bestowed a sense of privilege upon them? Did they already feel exempt from the rules and any acts of discipline?

Per the Global Health Report for 2023, the United States has 22.7 million millionaires (38.2% of the global total, with China in second at 10.2%). Many of these people are well past one million and cruising into eight and nine figures of net worth. And it leaves us with an interesting predicament: Many scions of vast fortunes are quite young.

And while this might not be a problem many of you sympathize with, it should nevertheless invoke thought about how your worldly assets should be addressed with your children, or the lack thereof.

How should we think about our inheritance?

Lynn Chen-Zhang’s 8-year-old son came home from school one day and said a student asked him, “Why do you study so hard?”

Classmates were saying his parents were rich, so there was no need to work so hard. Her son was on to something. Their father, Charles Chen-Zhang, owns one of the largest financial advisory firms in the country and was already a known philanthropist.

Realizing these questions were continuing, as classmates knew of their family (mainly through gossiping parents), the Chen-Zhangs decided to sit their children down and have the money talk.

They told their two boys, “We’ll support you both in getting as much education as you’d like, but from then on, you are on your own.” Which translated to zero inheritance.

Whether this was a scare tactic or a true threat, they worked. Both sons are now thriving in their finance careers, independent of their father’s company.

This trend is common. I spoke with a peer, Matthew, who is 49 and runs a successful medium-sized business which he just sold for a substantial sum. He told me, “My children don’t even know how much money I just made. Nor do I intend to let them know.” Of note, he lives a humble life and does not flash his wealth by any means.

But most parents don’t face this severe of a dilemma. The average inheritance in the US is “only” $46,200 per census data, with 85% of inheritances being below $250,000. Which isn’t nothing.

The game changes with the ultra-wealthy

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/how-much-inheritance-will-ruin-your-kid-003747274.html