I learned about a similar concept in my high school world history class of all places. Except that was for nomadic traders in north Africa and the Arabian penin

I learned about a similar concept in my high school world history class of all places. Except that was for nomadic traders in north Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The first generation could traipse endlessly across the desert and build a fortune. The second generation could maintain it. The third generation couldn't. The phrase was "losing the desert", though Googling indicates this isn't a common term after all.