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I guess it really depends on what your view of the world, and your place in it, is. I was very surprised when my parents basically said that whatever wealth the

by pm90 9y ago

I guess it really depends on what your view of the world, and your place in it, is. I was very surprised when my parents basically said that whatever wealth they accumulated, their goal was to leave that to me. I think they view it as their duty as parents, for that to be the right thing to do. Others have a view of propagating their genes to the next generation and view inherited wealth as the way to do so (Yes, I realize my parent's view of good parenting indirectly coincides with this view). Yet others believe in the strengthening of their community, and not just their own genetic offspring. e.g. I believe Carnegie established libraries, Universities etc. for the "people of Pittsburgh".

robalfonso 9y ago
Those views are rather strictly tied to the number of 0's in ones bank balance I feel. Even 1% of Bill gates worth is many hundreds of millions. Where as the average person who seeks to leave everything to their children might be in the millions. But possibly even less.
- akcreek 9y ago
  This is from 2013[0], but the avg. inheritance in the US at that time was $177K according to an HSBC survey. [0] http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/13/retirement/american-inheritance/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/13/retirement/american-inherita...
jcranberry 9y ago
I think for Carnegie it was more of a philosophical point. His belief (if I remember correctly) was that the idea of a birthright was fallacious and possibly counter-productive. Rather than pass his holdings down to his descendants, he believed that we all have an ethical prerogative to use what we've earned in our life to benefit society at large.
majani 9y ago
It's very hard for people to fathom this, but there is a level of wealth where it is rational to blow most of your money and set aside only a small percentage for your loved ones. If Bill Gates blows 99.999% of his wealth, his kids still get 9 million dollars inheritance!

by pm90 9y ago

robalfonso 9y ago

Those views are rather strictly tied to the number of 0's in ones bank balance I feel. Even 1% of Bill gates worth is many hundreds of millions. Where as the average person who seeks to leave everything to their children might be in the millions. But possibly even less.

akcreek 9y ago
This is from 2013[0], but the avg. inheritance in the US at that time was $177K according to an HSBC survey. [0] http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/13/retirement/american-inheritance/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/13/retirement/american-inherita...

jcranberry 9y ago

I think for Carnegie it was more of a philosophical point. His belief (if I remember correctly) was that the idea of a birthright was fallacious and possibly counter-productive. Rather than pass his holdings down to his descendants, he believed that we all have an ethical prerogative to use what we've earned in our life to benefit society at large.

majani 9y ago

It's very hard for people to fathom this, but there is a level of wealth where it is rational to blow most of your money and set aside only a small percentage for your loved ones. If Bill Gates blows 99.999% of his wealth, his kids still get 9 million dollars inheritance!