JOIN HAMPTON:
This episode came directly out of conversations happening inside Hampton, a private community for founders and CEOs with $3M+ in revenue or $10M+ exits. Members range from $5M net worth to billions. They wrestle with these same questions off the record. Apply at http://joinhampton.com/mw.
HOW FOUNDERS ARE BUILDING WEALTH:
How much do founders actually make, spend, invest, work, and keep in net worth? Hampton surveyed founders directly and put the answers into one report. Download it for free here: https://joinhampton.com/mw-wr
THIS EPISODE OF MONEYWISE:
70% of wealthy families lose all their money by the second generation. 90% lose it by the third.
The data is even worse for the kids themselves. Children from households making $200K+ have rates of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse 2 to 3 times the national average. 22% of affluent suburban girls show clinically significant depressive symptoms.
So how do you raise a kid in a wealthy household without breaking them?
In this episode of MoneyWise, I went back through every conversation we've had on the show about parenting and money. Doctor Becky. Taylor Adams (from a multi-generational billionaire family in LA). Alex Peikoff. Shane. Jane. Hank. Neil Patel. Scott Galloway. The pattern they all kept landing on was uncomfortable. Most parents with real money are accidentally setting their kids up to fail. Not because they're bad parents. Because they're doing exactly what their instincts tell them to do.
I'm a dad of two. I'm trying to figure this out in real time. Here's what the research, the experts, and the founders who already screwed it up are telling us.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Why "entitlement" is actually a fear of frustration, not a character flaw
- The Carol Dweck Columbia study that should change how you talk to your kids
- Why your kid is running on your behavior, not your rules
- The "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" trap (and why it's not about money)
- How allowance teaches financial trade-offs (and why unlimited Amazon access kills it)
- The single biggest regret of founders after a life-changing exit
- Why downsizing your house might be the best parenting decision you ever make
CHAPTERS:
00:00 The 16-year-old in the airport
02:57 Frustration tolerance is the most important life skill
05:30 Why wealthy kids have 2-3x higher anxiety and depression
08:00 Monkey see, monkey do: the emulation problem
11:00 70% lose it in 2 generations. 90% in 3.
14:00 Praise effort, not traits (the Dweck study)
18:00 Just because you love business doesn't mean your kid will
21:00 Why allowance only works if money is finite
25:00 The Scarsdale busboy who sees $300 sweatshirts as 30 hours of work
28:00 Scott Galloway's moving goalpost
30:17 The presence problem (the hardest one for me)
33:00 The 5 rules I'm taking with me
REFERENCED EPISODES:
- Taylor Adams: How a multi-generational billionaire family thinks about wealth
- Doctor Becky on parenting through money
- Hank: Inside a 24,000 sq ft home
- Neil Patel on going from 10,800 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft
- Alex Peikoff: The Macedonian milk family
- Jane: Finding out about a $20M inheritance in her late 30s
- Pete: $80M exit, rock bottom after
ABOUT MONEYWISE:
MoneyWise is the podcast where wealthy founders open up about the real numbers behind their lives. Net worth. Monthly burn. Portfolio allocation. The stuff nobody talks about in public. Hosted by Daniel Berk and produced by Hampton.
SPONSORS:
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