Rich parents have rich children. That’s how it used to be, but today that’s no longer the case in many instances. Even though offspring enjoy significant advantages if their parents are successful entrepreneurs, actors, musicians, and the like, once they leave the nest—or after the death of a father or mother—they may no longer be so fortunate.
Billionaires have long been concerned about how their children behave, spend their time, and spend their money. That is why more and more of them are deciding to bequeath their finances to charitable organizations, to cancer research, or, like Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, to support and develop human potential and equality for young people in future generations. How much have they decided to donate elsewhere, and how much will their children receive? Let’s look at two specific examples.
John Caudwell
This entrepreneur made his fortune through the Phones 4u chain of mobile phone stores. They aren’t very well known in the Czech Republic, but almost everyone in the world knows them. His current net worth is estimated at 1.85 billion pounds (nearly 53 billion crowns).
The entrepreneur has stated that he will bequeath only 30 percent of his total assets to his five children. This means that instead of several billion, they will receive a few hundred million. He declared that even so, they will be obscenely rich and will be able to ruin their lives with it. 70 percent of his wealth will go to charity.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
The owner of Facebook and his wife have committed to donating at least half of their wealth—both during their lifetimes and after their deaths—not only to charity but also to philanthropic causes. Many other wealthy individuals have joined this movement. Warren Buffett came up with this concept and named his initiative the Giving Pledge.
The Giving Pledge involves entrepreneurs donating the money they’ve earned to organizations that strive to save lives, improve education in poor countries, and so on—in other words, organizations that help others. They find this (rightly so) more useful than giving money to their daughters and sons, who will only buy expensive cars and houses, take drugs, and enjoy a carefree life at parties.
