Multi-millionaires who continue to work

[Isthatananpple]

Now I know it’s none of my business at all but I’m curious as to if anyone can shed some light.
I work for a private bank, the owners/shareholders are rumoured to be worth 100 million plus. It’s 2 brothers who between them have 4 kids (this is already the 5th generation I think).
The 4 kids are all being primed to take on roles within the company and eventually take over. Why? Surely with 100 million plus you just walk away?
The are earlier 20s, 2 work at massive banks
I would guess for experience? One is at uni and one is at uni but models and seems fo
make a fair bit on her own.
This is all triggered by having been for dinner with one of them tonight and he was talking about how his daughter had gone to the Super Bowl, a little research suggests that would be bloody expensive?!

They also seems to always have boxes at the F1 etc.

AIBU to wonder why at this point they still prime their kids to take over the business rather than moving on?

They will have been brought up to respect the business and the benefits that gives them.
I'm sure they see themselves as custodians of the business for future generations and they'll work hard to preserve that.

Mental health reasons.

Living on a trust fund without direction is extremely unhealthy. Many parents know this and therefore encourage their children to work and have a more fulfilling life. Many young people in these situations get sucked into drug and alcohol issues, depression because everyone needs a purpose.

I see both sides of this in my work.

In some cases, I see the trust fund kids blowing through huge amounts of capital that was acquired over generations. All the family wealth gone. Their kids and grandkids won't have anywhere near as nice a life as the previous generations.

In others, I see parents and children working together in the family business to preserve it and keep it working for years to come. Their grandchildren and great grandchildren will enjoy the benefits too if they work hard.

It depends whether you'd rather have one big party or leave a legacy which takes care of your family for generations.

Personally I know which one I'd rather have.

I know multiple families in this wealth bracket (and well above).

There are different patterns. The most common is that the first generation makes it, the second pisses it away, the third tries to get it back and by the fourth it's mostly gone (although often the fourth and fifth still have enough that they don't actually have to work for a living).

Occasionally, you get families where the work ethic is passed down the generations. They don't view their money as theirs, but as the legacy they have been handed and pass on, hopefully having added to it. They live well and have all the luxuries, but usually not quite as extravagant as the other type of family (less likely to have the multi million yacht, though some do have the planes - which they generally dress up as a business 'need'). They are also usually better adjusted and happier than the first type (although obviously there are exceptions, some toxic dynasties out there).

My old boss is nearly 75 and has a pension pot of over £1m (as he kept telling us). He still works despite having cancer and even when he had Covid. He built his business up from nothing and couldn’t bear to see it in the hands of somebody else. He’s a massive control freak.

Some people can’t imagine not working. Work seems to be the focus of their lives. It’s like those people who win millions on the lottery and say they’re not giving up their job. It’s like they can’t imagine life without work.

I think that’s sad, but each to their own.

Sounds like the family has instilled a work ethic in all the generations. Good for them for doing so.

@BirdIsland Weatherbys has been around since 1770. Founded by James Weatherby and still has Weatherbys in charge. That’s surely more than 5 generations mentioned by OP?

What would they do all day? After 3 weeks of making forts and Nutella triple decker sandwiches you'd probably get a bit bored and want to do something. Plus they want power presumably.

• I don't think it's healthy for the average person not to work - not everyone would find a focus. You learn things through work you might not necessarily find elsewhere, it's good for your brain and in the case of super rich kids, making sure you stay in touch with the real world!
• For older business types, they have probably kept their eyes open at the world around them, seen a lot of people retire at 55 to 'relax', not seek a purpose/stimulation like fitness or volunteering or DIY or further learning whose brains and bodies just atrophy from lack of use.

The devil makes work for idle hands, as the saying goes.

Being rich is hard work in itself even with no job. You still have responsibilities managing your assets and those you have employed to manage certain things. Having too much money is also as stressful as having too little.

I know someone who sold his successful company and got half that amount, part of the contract was still having to work there for 5 more years. He said he would get bored doing nothing all day.

It may come as a surprise but most people I know absolutely love their job. Not to mention that 100m won't stretch as far as supporting 4 generations of family for a lifetime.
I earn a very modest income but, honestly, even if I banked 1m a year, I would still continue to work. I would most definitely go down to 4 days a week but I would continue to work because it gives me purpose in life.
I can't recall now the name of the footballer who, when asked what he would do if he couldn't make a living playing football, said that he would be broke but he would still play football.

Presumably a lot of that wealth is tied up in the business, so unless it/their shares are sold, it's very different from cash in hand?

You have to do something in life - it can't be healthy to be brought up with no expectations of working at all.

If I won the Euromillions, I'd still turn up for work the next day - not working would be awful for my mental health.

£100m could support many generations, assuming it's invested wisely and not spent.

It might not be a lifestyle that is the pinnacle of luxury, but you could generate a couple of million pounds a year off that, after tax, if you have a good investment manager and don't blow half of it on silly houses and holidays.

Being rich is very expensive. Without a steady and high income coming in none of those Super Bowl tickets, amazing holidays and business class tickets can happen. I mean look at the lottery winners, £100million or so win and becoming bankrupt in 10 years.

So what would they be doing with their day if they can't travel and they live in a 2 bed semi in Yorkshire? We are talking a couple of millions shared between multiple generations of family so really no more than 100k a year per person/household, I would imagine. Which doesn't really strike me as amount of money allowing someone to fill their day with exciting and purposeful things.

If the company is worth 100m the kids sell it and get 25m each. Then they spend some of it and their kids get maybe 5m each. Their kids might get 1m if they’re lucky. And within 3 generations they’re back to being regular people who aren’t rich. It’s better to keep the company going and pocket a few million a year forever. As pp said, you don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

I worked for the owner of a company that sold for £50m. He was well into his late 70’s when he sold the company. Loved working in fact thrived on it and gave him shelter from his ex wives and mistresses 🤣. Gave lots of money to his six children.

If they don’t keep working hard the business will be gone within a couple of generations by which time the descendants will have multiplied significantly.

because It’s not about the money, it’s the business, the adrenaline, the busy brain all these things

i could retire tomorrow at 50 and live an extremely comfortable life. Not a chance I would even consider it. I’m driving my career forward in a way I haven’t for 20 years. I have 65 in my radar to retire and I want to work for that time. I have an interesting and good job, I’m bored after a weekend, my brain needs to be stimulated, I need to be around interesting people I need to learn . I get that from work. Obviously I could get that elsewhere but currently work does it for me

£100k after tax a year for a person / household without having to work is a phenomenal amount of money. You could please yourself with whatever hobbies you wanted. Have a couple of nice but not crazy holidays per year. Volunteer in something you find inspiring. Learn new languages or musical instruments. Take that degree you always wanted to study. Do that part time job you always wanted to do but could never afford to because you needed to work full time.

You'd have to have a pretty dull imagination to be able to shrug off £100k per year as boring.

I used to work for a wealth manager dealing with ultra high net worth families (£100m+).

We actually ran courses for parents in how to manage generational handover. The key to this was always that just giving massive handouts is really bad for the next generation’s mental health. Being handed money means that the kids (i’ll call them kids even though i know we are talking about adults) end up directionless and massively more likely to end up in bad relationships, with drug problems etc. The thing to do is help them find a purpose. Look at Richard Branson - his daughter practiced as a doctor for many years in the NHS, now she’a getting more involved in the business.

So the first thing is structure and purpose.

The second is that if you’ve built a business you want it looked after. Just like - i dunno if i’d built a house with my bare hands i’d want to pass it to my kids and know they weren’t going to trash it and let it go to rack and ruin. People feel the same about their businesses. Many also feel responsibility to those they employ. A business isn’t just a personal bank account. As business owners, other people’s livelihoods depend on them and the business will be contributing to the economy through taxes etc. Many business owners feel that the business they’ve built is a ‘good thing’ for these reasons and want to make sure it keeps going when they are gone.

interesting topic x