You May Think Having Billionaire Parents Automatically Mean You’ll Inherit All Their Money. Think Again.
How would you feel if you were born to billionaire parents, and they told you they weren’t going to leave their fortune to you? Possibly a little offended, but at least you’d still be safe and secure financially for the rest of your life, even if you didn’t get billions.
These mega-wealthy parents love their children and don’t want them to grow up thinking money comes from doing nothing… They want their children to work hard, earn their own money and appreciate what they can afford themselves.
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With that, here are 10 Billionaire Kids Who Won’t Inherit Money.
1
The Gates Children
25- year old Jennifer Katherine…21-year-old Rory John and 18-year-old Phoebe Adele are the 3 kids of Bill and Melinda Gates.
Despite their recent divorce, their combined earnings are over $130-billion, and you’d think a cool billion per child wouldn’t be a big deal – but according to their parents, it is.
It’s no secret that the Gates children would not be the recipients of a huge inheritance, as their father has openly spoken about it. At a TED conference in Canada in 2014 he said that each child would inherit $10 million, and that “leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favour to them…”
Someone else who has a similar mindset is….
If you were shocked about Bill and Melinda’s divorce, you may enjoy reading 15 Reasons Why Billionaires Get Divorced.
2
George Lucas’s Children
He is father to three adopted children, Amanda, Jett and Katie – and has one biological son born via a surrogate, named Everest.
With his billions earned from selling the Star Wars franchise to Disney in 2012, you’d expect that some would be left to his 4 children, but that is not the case.
Lucas has taken the Giving Pledge, a campaign launched in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates where they recruited the world’s wealthiest to commit to giving most of their huge fortunes away. George Lucas was all in.
His children will always benefit from his hard work, of course, but they’re off busy living their own lives, and finding their own fulfilment without their father’s financial aid.
3
The Zuckerberg Children
With a net worth of $133.5 billion, Mark Zuckerberg could afford to have his children inherit billions – but he’s choosing not to do it with money.
Mark and Priscilla have two daughters, Max and August, and when Max was born – Zuckerberg also pledged the bulk of his fortune to the Giving Pledge.
In an interview with CNBC on raising grounded kids, Zuckerberg was quoted as saying, “First of all, we don’t give them everything… so, I think that that’s an important piece.” The children also have chores, according to Zuckerberg, and often go with him or Priscilla to work, to see how they contribute to the company, with work also coming home pretty often too.
4
Reed Hastings Children
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Netflix, and he’s worth $5.6 billion… This is Reed Hastings. Both Reed and his wife, Quillen, are not too fond of the spotlight and they’ve divulged very little information about their two children.
The powerful duo are all about making large donations, especially to further education for those with little to no access to one.
Reed Hastings has also pledged his fortune to the Giving Pledge, which will leave little behind for his offspring.
If you’d like some inspiration on what true luxuries really are, we suggest you watch our video – 15 True Luxuries You’re Taking for Granted.
5
Laurene Powell Jobs Children
Laurene is the wife of the late Steve Jobs and she inherited $24 billion when he died. She has openly expressed her thoughts on leaving a huge sum of money for their children, Reed, Eve and Erin to inherit. There is also Lisa, the daughter Steve had when he was just 23, who inherited millions directly.
Laurene told the New York Times that she’s not… “interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.”
And while the 3 children may not inherit a lot of money one day, they’re certainly enjoying a lifestyle that only a billionaire could afford.
6
Warren Buffet’s Children
Susan, Peter and Howard know this famous quote of their father’s too well. He’s going to leave them… “just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing”.
Not that they mind, as they have their own successful careers, which is the whole point of what Buffett was hoping to achieve.
According to CNBC though, “Each child has a $2 billion foundation funded by Buffett.”
Warren was one of the founders of the Giving Pledge campaign, along with Bill and Melinda, and he has agreed to give away 99% of $101.2 billion fortune away.
7
Pierre Omidyar Children
Not a lot is known about the children of eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar. When the platform went public in 1998, Omidyar became a billionaire.
He currently has a net worth of $21.4 billion and is ranked at number 83 on Forbes richest people in the world.
What we do know is that he has 3 children, and that he has pledged to donating the majority of his wealth to the Giving Pledge.
As part of his letter to the pledge, he wrote, “We have more money than our family will ever need. There’s no need to hold onto it when it can be put to use today, to help solve some of the world’s most intractable problems.”
8
Ted Turner’s Children
He is the founder of CNN, and he is a multi-billionaire. Ted Turner has fathered 5 children in his life-time: Laura, Robert, Rhett, Jennie and Beau.
From starting off working for his father’s billboard business, Turner then went on to buy a broadcasting station, and later CNN.
This wealthy man is well-known for giving $1 billion to the United Nations which was used to create the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden U.S. support for the UN.
Every year he has pledged to give $10 million to the UN and he too, is part of the Giving Pledge to donate his wealth when he passes away.
He was quoted as saying that when he dies, all he wants is enough money left to cover his funeral costs.
9
Bernard Marcus’s Children
Home Depot co-founder, Bernard Marcus, is worth around $9.7 billion according to Forbes. To paint a picture of this philanthropic businessman… When he turned 90, he threw a massive birthday party and raised $117 million which he donated to all his favourite causes.
He’s already given away $1 billion to education, hospitals, and Jewish causes and signed the Giving Pledge. On top of that, he donated an aquarium to Georgia – the Georgia Aquarium – that cost nearly $250 million.
He has two children from his first marriage, Frederick and Susanne, and a stepson, Michael from his second marriage.
He doesn’t want his children to inherit large sums of money, for their own good -as he puts it – “It’s simple. I’ve got all the houses I need. I live very well. My kids are taken care of. Everything I live for now is finding the right things to put my money into and that can give me a rate of return in emotion and doing good things for this world.”
10
Michael Bloomberg’s Children
He’s the former mayor of New York City, but he’s no former billionaire. Michael Bloomberg’s net worth is currently at $59 billion. His claim to fame is not being the former Mayor of NYC, but because he co-founded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981.
He recently pledged millions to increase racial diversity in STEM and continues to donate to charitable causes close to this heart.
He has two daughters, Georgina and Emma. Emma leads a relatively quiet life, away from the public eye and has made a career working in the non-profit industry. Georgina is a professional equestrian, author and also involved in many charitable causes.
Their father has pledged to not bestow his large fortune to his children, but rather donate most of it to charities.
There was also a Tweet on Bloomberg opinion, which read, “Not leaving an inheritance to your children doesn’t mean you don’t care about them. It means you can bestow your wealth on them while they’re young and need it.”
In his letter to the Giving Pledge, he wrote “Nearly all of my net worth will be given away in the years ahead or left to my foundation.”
Question:
What are your thoughts on these billionaires not leaving their fortunes to their children? Would you do the same? We’d love to hear from you.
