After 35 years as a wealth manager, James D’Amico was used to dealing with rich families and their privileged lifestyles but he never lost his fascination for one aspect of their lives — their children.
While some wealthy families raise successful, well-adjusted children, others produce sons and daughters who seem incapable of functioning in the world outside their gilded gates and, with their parents watching, careen out of control.
“I was disappointed in the level of dysfunctionality in way too many of the families we dealt with,” D’Amico, retired president and CEO of Genesee Valley Trust Company in Rochester, says.
“They just could not meet the challenge of developing a value system in the next generation in the face of affluence and all the distractions that goes with it.”
To explore this, D’Amico spent a year interviewing several wealthy families who had raised successful children, as well as, studying findings by researchers, educators, psychologists and other wealth managers.
From his research he developed a list of traits to avert what he calls the devastating infection of “affluenza.”
I admit, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to see how I would handle that situation!
4 comments:
Something I don't have to worry about either.
I have heard this over and over. by the time the third generation comes around, it is flat out failing in being a decent, contributing member of society. The first generation works hard and makes something which the second generation takes over and also works hard but wants their kids to have a better life than they had so they ease up on discipline and requirements. The third generation loses most of the wealth to bad living.
Money can't buy happiness, but it's probably pretty fun to give it a try.
My family lives on the edges of a very affluent community. The amount of money is no object and the things accumulated by very young teens is astounding. My son has driven around and found working televisions simply left for trash as new flat screen or HD televisions take their place. I've seen nine year olds with Iphones and new drivers with cars bearing names like Lexus and Acura and Mercedes. I have to wonder if Mommy and Daddy intend on subsidizing their children for life because there are certainly few expectations in terms of work ethic or responsibility from this particular group. In the meantime, average kids who work and go to school and make good grades are penalized because they don't fit into specific demographics for grants or scholarships. I've seen relative rich boneheads go to college only to be dropped after two desultory years while good students struggle through community college and heavy workloads in order to just get by. There's something terribly wrong here, but I don't know how to fix it.
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