Wealthy Kids and the Money Monster

Inheriting a fortune may prevent a life of financial hardship, but the inheritance may bring other problems. Consider how much to leave your kids by asking some important questions.

A popular belief today is that too much money spoils kids. Over the years several heirs have gone public with their stories about the corrupting influence of large inheritances. Jessie O’Neill, granddaughter of former General Motors CEO Charles E. Wilson, founded the Affluenza Project to provide information and counseling to people having difficulty coping with money. She says that in her case her inheritance led to feelings of guilt, fear, and isolation.

Nelson Aldrich Jr., a fourth-generation Rockefeller and author of Old Money: The Mythology of Wealth in America, says that money taints inheritors in a way that eradicates their individualism. He says it doesn’t matter if you go to college, start a business, or win the America’s Cup—whatever you do is by the color of your money. But since you didn’t earn the money yourself, your victories belong to the ones who did earn it—daddy, grandpa, or whoever. Of course, it’s hard to say if these personal problems are the direct result of the inheritance. O’Neill already had drug and alcohol problems when she inherited $3 million at the age of 28. Aldrich, along with the other Rockefeller cousins, has to live with the “stigma” of the Rockefeller name and the image of the classic “trust fund baby.” Also, it may be said that many inheritors’ problems come from the simple fact of growing up in an environment where the parents’ pursuit of money hampered normal family life. In other words, there’s a lot going on here, so maybe it’s not fair to say that large inheritances in and of themselves are bad.