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(Financial) Success Of The Genes

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Lidless
Post subject: (Financial) Success Of The Genes
Posted: Thu 31 Jan , 2008 9:12 pm
Als u het leven te ernstig neemt, mist u de betekenis.
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Warren Buffet (Walmart), Bill Gates, Grandfather Hilton and now Nigella Lawson (for the US readers worth USD 200m) have declared that almost all of their inheritance will go to charity rather than their descendants.

Now nobody expects that their descendants will exactly be poor, but this seems to be a new phenomenen - some of the super-rich diverting almost all their money from their descendants to humanity as a whole.

Now normally in humanity money=power=confidence-in-the-future dominant gene. But perhaps humans, at least some of them, have learnt the sort-itermism of "too much money will spoil my immediate offspring"

Short-termism? Long-termism? Is humanity beginning to look at the big picture compared to survival of their own genes? Are these examples too few data points in the world of billionares to make a prediction / conclusion?


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halplm
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Posted: Thu 31 Jan , 2008 9:19 pm
b77 whipping boy
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They could all give their money to me... thus they don't worry about spoiling their offspring, and I'd be happy, so it's a win-win.

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The Watcher
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Posted: Thu 31 Jan , 2008 9:30 pm
Same as it ever was
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MariaHobbit often quotes from a book she read about cyclical trends in society, I cannot think of the name of it right now. I think the super indulgent "me-ism" of the eighties which has continued up to the looming recession on at least the US horizon combined with the highly publicized excesses of too many of the offspring of the rich and famous, if not the rich and famous themselves, tend to lead people to realize that money can be abused just as badly if not worse than drugs, alcohol, or other things not dealt with wisely and within moderation. I think there is also a growing realization that however the current outcome was arrived at, far too much of the world's wealth is in far too little of the wealthiest's hands, and it is time to even out the balances a bit. There is sound financial planning and frugality to be sure, and no one is saying that planning to leave children or grandchildren a nestegg is wrong, but, there is such blatant gross abuse of that concept by way too many. I am glad to see someone like Paris Hilton cut off from grandpa's money. In a way, it is the best thing that could happen to her. In any case, she still will be living a lifestyle that is far above and beyond what most others will ever manage.

In other words, the societal system is managing a bit of self correction, and I do think for at least some, our views have vastly grown beyond family first, neighbors second, then whatever else to maybe going right to the "whatever else" parts that often times can be so brutally ignored. Whether it remains a trend over the next future twenty yars or so? who can say, but as Baby Boomers age and fortunes change hands yet again, it could prove interesting to see what transpires.

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MariaHobbit
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Posted: Fri 01 Feb , 2008 2:39 pm
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"The Fourth Turning" and "Generations" are the books, Watcher. And if this new trend of rich people not leaving money to their descendants is part of the cycle- then it would be part of the dislike of the "13th" generation, I think. The one right after the Boomers. That generation always gets the short end of the stick, in every cycle.

I bet that rich people with kids in their early 20's and younger right now won't even consider such actions because the Millenial generation is just too cool, and the Homeland generation need *protecting*.

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