The Children of the Rich Will Always Be With Us
The wealthy can stop worrying: Their heirs won’t burn through their inheritances for many generations.
Next week, Sveti Stefan.
Photographer: George Silk/LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
In the popular imagination, dynastic wealth is a fragile thing indeed. The old adage — “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” — captures the conventional wisdom: Founders of family fortunes are doomed to watch their idle children fritter away the money, leaving nothing for the grandchildren.
But how true is this? It’s a question worth asking, given the debate about growing inequality. Some $30 trillion in the U.S. will reportedly be passed from the baby-boom generation to their heirs over the next 30 years, and recent changes in the tax code make passing along inherited wealth all the more easy.