Does anyone here have super rich parents ($50m+) and what do they do

Bump

Nice try, IRS.

https://www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/Aircraft/Models/7X/Pages/overview.aspx

Bought one ^^ just to die penniless @$50 Million.

Dated a girl once whose dad had 9 figures. Not sure if he even finished college, started some manufacturing businesses. Retired in his 50s to travel the world.

Of course, her parents were divorced, the dad shacked up with some newer/younger meat, she had major daddy issues and talked to either of her parents pretty much never. Ran up credit card bills just so her dad would call her to complain about them. Was really wild in bed, relationship ended in absolute disaster. 8/10 experience overall

they claim welfare and reinvest the dividends

bump

My dad struck it rich after I was already a grown adult living on my own. I suppose I'll see some of that in the form of an inheritance one day but who knows. I've never given it much thought.

- Investors in Alternatives
- Dropped out of HS and left communism.
- Advice - America is the land of the Free and Home of the Brave. Anything is possible in life! Work as hard you can to get it.

~500m created a hedge fund. Both parents grew up with broken families and actually incurred debt/ had to support their families.

I'm in an MBA and was in IB , no one knew, and no one continues to know that knows me outside of close personal friends. I think the truth of the matter is many individuals that reach that level of wealth sacrifice everything and are warped personalities. As a result, their kids grew up essentially without parents or with parents who constantly argue due to their parents having a messed up relationship from one of the parents always prioritizing work over their significant other and children. This creates kids that don't have the same work ethic as their parents. There also is many times cuddling or just a warped perspective that results from growing up with wealth. I think it's hard to parent and you almost need to actively parent/ remind kids of their privilege consciously.

I didn't have this bad dynamic because my dad retired very early in his career because he didn't want to be a shitty father. In his words, "I could have made 1 Billion in a single year and I wouldn't have stayed an extra year. The way I eventually outcompeted my competition was by knowing that I wasn't going to raise POS kids who hate me, while they were, and that makes me incredibly happy."

From my experience, there actually are a very large amount of 2nd generation kids from parents who made their money in finance who have similar work ethic to their parents. It isn't a majority for sure, but I've been surprised in school and professional life how often you find rich kids who work their ass off despite in all reality "not really needing to". I think these individuals are just ultra competitive or intrinsically driven.

Do rich parents spank their children with finer leathers?

I was best friends with someone who was rich growing up, his dad was an EP at some big law firm and I remember he would always get home around 1 AM when I would stay over and was never at dinners with us. But, his dad never ever missed a game for his son. Rain or shine, I would see his dad sprint over to our game with a homemade sign and always cheer the loudest. I especially remember this one game, nearly hurricane, rain pouring, wind shaking everything (don't know how this wasn't cancelled) and his son hit a grandslam and I saw his dad, soaked in his suit, going crazy in the stands and hugging everyone around him. Between him and my dad, I hope I amount to something even half of what they are.

Posting anonymously as I think a handful of people who read this site know who I am.  Warning - long post.

Growing up I knew my parents were well-to-do, but didn't have any idea of the extent of it due to the milieu I grew up in.  I went to private schools in NYC where almost everyone had money (my two best friends from K-8 had 2 houses, parents in finance/biglaw).  I didn't realize how different my family's situation was from "normal", because normal for me was 2 houses or a big apartment on the UES.  This persisted off and on through college, and it wasn't until the recession of 2008 that I really understood how different my family was.  That was also around the time my parents really started talking about money/inheritance with me.  Found out my parents are worth ~$60MM, also that my brother and I both had trusts set aside (we both inherited them at 30 with a value of ~$3MM apiece).  My dad's idea for the trusts was so that we never had to do anything solely for the money - we had "f*@k you" money.  My dad made all the money himself (nothing from his parents - he grew up LMC, scholarships to all schools, etc) in investment management (HFs and other types of asset management ).  My mom's parents made a huge amount of money later in life (when she was 25+) from a combination of entrepreneurship (industrial business) and lucky investing (a random investment in CA that made ~15x) and are likely worth ~$100MM.  She will inherit ~$10MM of that (some already has come through, some to come when they pass away) as will her siblings, the rest will go to charity.  My grandparents also set up trusts for my brother and me, value of ~$900k apiece today.  We can't touch the principal (our kids will get that at 30) but it pays out 3% of assets each year in income (so ~$28k right now).  When my parents pass, my brother and I will each receive another ~$5MM and the rest will go into our family foundation.  Net/net, my brother and I over our life will inherit ~$8MM each from our parents and will end up controlling a charitable foundation with ~$50MM in assets.  My brother and I also receive the max gift each year from our grandparents (~$30k).

Growing up I was a bit spoiled, although my dad spent a lot of time trying to inculcate the value of money in us.  We were spoiled in the sense not that we got everything we wanted (we were told no plenty of times), but in terms of what we considered "normal".  $800 of gifts for Xmas was "normal".  Trips to Europe in expensive hotels were "normal".  Having 2 homes was "normal".  My dad insisted that we get summer jobs starting at 14, specifically in manual labor occupations so we could learn the value of education/hard work.  Meanwhile my mom has no concept of the value of money (she grew up MC but as noted her parents became wealthy when she was older and helped her out, then she stopped working when she married my dad), so I'm sure that bled in somewhere.

I think the biggest effect all of the above has had on my career choices has been that I prioritize interesting work and a good work-life balance (meanwhile my brother works a job with IB-like hours and stress).  I chose a career where I will make very good money (i.e. perpetually in the top 5% of the US), but am very unlikely to get anywhere near my parents' level of wealth.  I consider my trust my retirement money and haven't touched any of the principal since I inherited it and have no plans to do so.  I live within the means my job provides me and save both the grandparents' trust distribution/gift each year, and I max out my 401k.

Lastly, both my brother and I are extremely grateful for what we have.  We know we are extraordinarily lucky and we try and be as generous as possible.  We both are big tippers (routinely 25%+), we donate significant $ to charity each year, and we both have pushed our parents to be more generous (they are in general but we push for more).  For instance, last year we pushed my parents to donate $100k+ to support restaurant workers during COVID (we also each gave $ 10k + in gofundmes to our favorite places).

In regards to "not feeling sorry" for people like me, I kind of agree with the idea.  My brother had some serious struggles in his early 20s - dropped out of college, a bit of depression, etc.  My dad and I both had a very hard time summoning much sympathy for him - he had so much handed to him and all he had to do was sprint from 3rd base to home.  He's since figured things out but we both took the perspective of "anyone else would kill for the chances you've had, so make the most of them".

My HS ex-girlfriend came from a family that was incredibly rich. For reference, her dad was asked to be on Dragons Den as a Dragon (Canada's version of Shark Tank).

He graduated with a degree in economics from an extreme non-target - started off at a boutique IB shop - went off to cofound his own shop - then moved over to the buyside to manage copious amounts of money. Nowadays he is far past his working stage and basically just sits on numerous boards, chills at home, or goes heliskiing on the ski hill he owns.

I did notice however that everyone's pain/struggle is relative however, so my ex-gf was extremely emotional over the smallest things. While the rest of us were complaining over real genuine struggles, she complained her entire life about "living out of a suitcase" because she had to go back and forth between one $10m mansion to the other $10m mansion each week because her parents split up. I also don't think she ever really learned the value of money, as her mother never worked a day in her life and just took payments from her dad since they split. The result of which led her on a lifelong journey of "finding herself" as she travels the world on her parents dime. She got a pointless degree, doesn't have a meaningful career, and will likely settle down by 30 when she realizes her parents won't pay for her anymore.

Anyways, it was fun for a HS relationship. No regrets!

Parents in ~$25mm range. Dad is a partner at a financial services firm, mom quit working when siblings were born years ago. Both went to normal schools. I had pretty normal childhood, other than private school + nice vacations. Relatively modest house, regular cars, etc.

Another point - growing up, my dad always emphasized the role of luck in his success.  Sure, he's intelligent and worked hard, but there were so many tipping points where if X hadn't happened things might have turned out differently.  For instance, my dad had never heard of finance before he got to college.  This was the 1960s - finance was a small-ish, somewhat sleepy industry.  His roommate had an uncle who worked at Merrill .  When the Merrill recruiter came to their campus, my dad's roommate said he should meet with him just as a learning experience.  So without a random roommate whose random uncle worked for a finance company that happened to send 1 recruiter to his campus, he would probably never have started in that industry.

The emphasis on luck has helped me frame my thinking in terms of "there but for the grace of God go I".  Yes, hard work and skill matters, but you need the right environment to make it pay.

This thread doesn't apply to me

Gf's family is in the lower 9 figures. both parents came from emerging markets regions and went to local universities there, then both worked in finance across asia. Neither parent came from money. Her mom was in IB for a number of years in SE Asia, her dad transitioned from medical research to trading then ER early on and worked his way up at a BB , eventually building out one of the firm's international practices. Though a combination of genuinely hard work, a few lucky mentors really well-established in the finance space, solid alternative investments (art, real estate, etc) and a ton of stock options and ofc a high salary, their net worth took off over time. Feel like today these stories are a lot rarer particularly on the sell-side

privacy

Different perspective here, my parents are not wealthy at all. My mom is a nurse and my dad growing up was in the infantry (101st airborne). I was the first person in my immediate family to get a bachelors degree (my dad has since got his after getting out of the army, along with his MBA! super proud of him).

However, my wife's parents are wealthy (not sure how much, but multi-millionaires). They own a 3D imaging and geology company that contracts with gov't agencies to build infrastructure.

That has been super tricky because my family couldn't really help us with anything when we first got married, but my wife's parents could (and did). They helped with the down-payment on our house (like 30% down) and, although she doesn't ask, they are very willing to send her money if she needed it. Not coming from wealth myself (working my butt off on it though) it's been awkward sometimes being a couple from different socio-economic backgrounds and feeling inferior to your spouse's family.

Dad born into generational wealth which disappeared by the time he grew up (his parents, who didn't really work, downsized twice to maintain lifestyle, pay for top boarding schools, college etc., leaving him very little if anything). He often tells me how quickly wealth can disappear when you don't work for 2 generations. Went to a non-target, compared to his 2 siblings who all went to targets. His biggest strengths have been work ethic, integrity, and willingness to get his hands dirty. It's funny, people often dismiss work ethic and integrity as basic things, but from what I've experienced and everything my dad has told me, it is surprising how many people don't display those qualities. In terms of his career, he started in sales, worked his way up quickly at a mid-sized consumer products firm, in late 90s as a young exec they were struggling and he pitched them sending him to top 10 BS (despite being nearly 35) that he identified as having most prominent restructuring professor, at BS he basically engineered his classes to focus on problems his firm was facing, getting input from top professors, other students etc.. Returned to company and pushed through a lot of the stuff he learned, earned him a couple of promotions ending up as second-ranked exec. Private company , but made a point of building up an equity position along the way (always talks about being aggressive asking for promotions, raises, equity etc.). Then got an MD at an IB he knew to pitch a sales process to the owners, who accepted - business sold, netted double-digit millions. Then took a CEO role somewhere else - it's not too much about the money any more he is now much more focused on his reputation and outperforming his resources which gives him a lot of purpose. At the end of the day, work hard, develop principles and stick by them, and by virtue of that care less about what others think and more about what will get you to where you want to be. Also when you get to the top, raise your kids right - met so many entitled shmucks over the years who just suck, I have such little respect for those individuals and by association the parents who raised them.

Hope this helps.

I am worth negative. Does that count?

tl:dr

my parents were worth $25m and my life was fab, then i woke up and hit me head on our 4 feet ceiling

X

My dad owns a company in my home country in LatAm - net worth of ~$10 to $15 million. He distributes a wide array of products across the country which he sells into big box retailers. Has also built a nice real estate portfolio over the years as well, and now rents provide a good chunk of his income (mostly industrial use although some residential properties as well). My grandfather passed away when my dad was 14, so he had to start working at an early age and never went to school. Throughout my life his most recurring advice to me has been to work hard and (even more importantly) save my money in smart investments. Naturally, he started bringing me to work when I was ~12 every day after school and only stopped working for him when I moved out of my hometown for college. Although I always complained about not having the free time to essentially get drunk in different tropical destinations (as my friends did), he actually instilled a strong work ethic in me for which I'm very grateful (most of my childhood friends are now spoiled shitheads). My mom always stayed at home, so I didn't have any childhood issues as some people in this thread are talking about.

As for myself, I came to the U.S. for graduate school and stayed after getting a job in a bank - then moved internally into an IB role. I'm now a VP in a coverage team, but have always dreamed of starting my own business and trying my own luck (which hopefully will happen soon depending on a couple of factors).

This is a good thread.

Not sure about my parents. Not going to guess as discussion of money and net worth is quite taboo in my family. My dad is the president of a MM PE group and my mom is very high up as an in house lawyer for a Fortune 500 .

I have been very spoiled and like others have started to realize how to work hard and find the ground which is hard at times. Lived in an area where many many people had much more and it was a d**** sizing competition between the youth in the community constantly.

Really trying to get past that sick way of life and thinking.

Buddy's family dominates the hair care game, been in it for generations. Could name a global brand that everyone is familiar with, but not necessary. Sold their company for $120MM+ a few years back. No one in the entire family has to work again, but they are all entrepreneurs who get off on finding new ideas and executing. Couldn't really tell they had money, except when you saw them pull out wallets and physically see the cash. Still though, these people love the outdoors and you'll never find them wasting money in a city.

Another buddy's father sold his company to a global RE player for $250MM+ a few years back. Most humble man and family I have ever met. Would never know they had money, unless you went to their house. Even then, it was not flashy wealth. Just shit that looks great that also happens to cost a lot.

Lots of quiet wealth up in the Midwest.

Parents worth 40-50 MM range. Primarily done so by mom, who was financially backed by my dad (doctor). Mom didn't start really making money till end of high school, so I was able to a normal relationship with my parents maybe a bit strenuous with my dad because he worked a lot, but it's a lot better now. My mom is the CEO/Founder for several of them, but before that she was very involved with me and my siblings upbringing. She had no background in business management with just a nutrition degree from a no-name college. She worked as a essentially a nurse for 25 years and just knew the industry well and decided to try on her own after a 5-6 year hiatus after stopping work. She has done amazing for herself and gets offers every week to buy her company.

We didn't grow up rich and I value that because my parents taught me the value of money. Parents were immigrants and have been extremely pushy when it came education and were stingy when it came to money. When they came here they had nothing to there name and my dad worked as a janitor in the night shift during med school to pay for living expenses. I think that's just the mindset from where they come, so I don't mind.

Their advice would just be make sure you have good grades and that you work hard. You don't need to be smart to make money.

I am from a fairly wealthy hometown in New England but I have two friends who match these figures above and that I am close with.

- My first friend is son of an Executive Director at a BB . His dad really grinded to the top (grew up in the projects, paid for all of higher education schooling, etc.). My buddy grew up decently wealthy during our upbringing, but it wasn't until the back half of his youth (10-20 years old) where he really became upper class. He went to a decent state school, but joined his dad's firm right after undergrad. He had a few typical summer tech internships and then a a summer analyst position . He is doing very well 5+ years out of school. To be fair, he is great at his job regarding prospecting, joined the local country club, etc. He will likely be inheriting his dad's book of business as he is the only son and should fair very well moving forward.

- Second buddy is the son of a founder of a construction company. He also went to a state school, albeit the party school of the southwestern US (don't blame him). He is the one of the two I am more jealous of. He split off immediately after college but rejoined the family firm few years back. God knows what they may sell for but I am guessing mid 10-figures (I'll guess $60M). He will likely be wealthier than all of us if he doesn't sell for the next 30 years, but he is an awesome dude.

Cheers,

Will

https://www.knightfrank.com/wealthreport/global-wealth/2020-03-03-where-do-the-ultra-wealthy-live-in-the-world

Specifically, the US counts 240,575 people worth more than US$30 million

You say it like it's a big deal?

I have no idea what my parents net worth is, but I would guess it is probably at least 9-figures since they have a dedicated family office (not a private wealth manager) with their own CIO and a few supporting staff to manage their financial affairs. The value of their real estate holdings alone (or at least the ones I know about) has to be at least $100M.

My father does private equity. My mother is a homemaker. My father went to a top Ivy League school. My mother went to a flagship state school. I went to the same top Ivy League school as my father.

I think the biggest challenges my parents faced is building a strong worth ethic and promoting healthy attitudes about wealth in their children. Intergenerational family wealth is both a blessing and a curse. The biggest curse for children born into wealthy families is the illusion that they don't have to do anything with their lives. They might want to and may even make an effort, but they simply do not have the same pressure as others to earn enough to live on - which takes away the incentive to find meaningful work.

My father has paid for all my schooling including private K-12, college, and grad school, but he has made it very clear to me that there will not be a big inheritance waiting for me when he is gone, so I will need to make my own way in life. I am thankful for all of this and believe it is more than enough.

Epictetus said it best: "Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant."

deleted

I have a different story than most because my family made money in like the late19th/early 20th century in a LatAm country. My parents each have grandparents or great (even great-great) grandparents etc. who were extremely wealthy for the time. One had a int'l shipping company with his brothers in like the 1930s (?), on the other side I have a 4x great (?) grandpa who had a large trading company (I say trading because he literally had different 'outposts' around the country with shipments coming in from Asia and the US of all kinds of goods - remember late 19th century - think Gold Rush but in LatAm).

My parents met in university in their home country and both went to grad school in North America. My mom grew up wealthy whereas my dad's family lost a lot of money and mainly has some real estate now and what the kids have built up themselves. He was certainly upper middle class though. I grew up upper middle class without understanding what my family was back home. My life was very much like that of my peers growing up in suburbia with aspie dreams of Wall Street/Bay Street. Meanwhile, my family is the kind that has had different people hold a variety of political positions over the years, historic/high-ranking positions even. There's also been a number of famous artists etc. in my home country and across wider LatAm, not to mention other business people. It was only when I went abroad for my studies and met people with similar backgrounds in Europe that I got a sense of what my family was. It's certainly different than people above who may have trust funds or whatever given to them during their youth, people whose parents or grandparents made money. My parents made high incomes so I was never lacking anything (Catholic school, vacations etc.) but no 3 series for my 16th birthday. Effectively, today my grandfather, who was also quite successful himself, controls a lot of real estate assets with my uncle (this is my mom's side). That would be where most of the 'money' ended up after so much time, no idea about cash and other assets. I know a number of family members have their own businesses or own stakes in other larger businesses. No idea about 'cash reserves' either. My parents have always paid for everything for me, although many of my cousins are the type to have no career/ambition and are literally raising families (including buying homes and paying for expensive private school) out of other family member's pockets. Frankly, some have even marry gold-diggers who encourage this kind of lifestyle and outright text my uncles for money (not even my actual cousin but their partner texting). Not being in that home country, though, has definitely led to a disconnect with me feeling 'rich', I've never given much thought to the concept of being 'old money' or anything like that. In fact, I disdain these cousins of mine to an extent. I always wanted to work on Wall Street for material reasons as I grew up upper middle class but after a short stint (PE) and change in mindset I started my own business. What I do really appreciate about my family in contrast to those whose family businesses still exist and may feel pressure to join, is that I feel like I have a lot of freedom in life. My family benefits from many connections and I have their support (emotional and material) to really pursue my dreams. Of my cousins who have ambition, this is a common theme and effectively for 'generations' people have had success in their own chosen field and then contributed back to the 'pot' when the time came. To be honest it's also given me some confidence, especially when I was surrounded by my aristocratic European friends whose families go back to the medieval ages (or even ancient Rome!) and there I was a lacrosse-playing suburban Canadian kid. It's quite something when your friend whose lastname is in every history book has a 1,500 year old palace that is a historical monument in a major European capital literally 'belong' to him.

So yeah, my family is certainly north of 8-figures but no idea where they land exactly. Lots of other grandkids too so I'm not expecting anything crazy apart from my parents who are in the 7-figure range themselves. I am very grateful though and feel like I've already lived a great life for this reason.

On another note, I'm Afro-Latino (black - not lightskin) so it is kind of funny when people assume I don't know my dad or something more stereotypical while my situation is actually quite the opposite. I feel like I've benefited from both having the money and connections while having a decent relationship with my parents, both of whom were home for supper every night. Although I certainly don't have the liquidity that others above might, I think it's interesting being a 'URM' from a 3rd world country, that no one dismisses my emotional issues with an "at least your parents are rich" because they assume I grew up lower/middle class or something like that. Apart from my close friends, of course.

I'd also add that I do understand the sentiment of 'rich people hanging out with other rich people'. I'd say 70-80% of my friends/social circle are upper-middle class or upper-class, this is both due to environment but also the lack of judgement and ability to connect on certain familial issues.

.

Nope, not me. although i wish i have super rich parents

Buy-side CIO / CEO well known firm

undergrad at top 5 school, mba at harvard/stanford,

net-worth minimum (only accounts I have seen) ~150M

faced a lot of difficulty particularly in 2008.. his/her advice... "get paid for performance, not time" & "money talks, wealth whispers"

other parent is in philantrophy- ivy league background

my life... pretty normal asides from having 4 houses/ parents credit card. Parents are super conservative with money for their networth.. spend less than 5 mm /year.

So conservative/not-showy that I asked my parents when I was 16 if "they were in the 1%" and they laughed and said of course not... I continued, "are we in the top 10%" and they were like "huh.. maybe. probably just around there.." two years later I interned at our family office, and realized how gullible I was..

my close friends know (and several are wealthier than me so its fun to talk trust-funds/etc), most people I've met more recently don't. I don't exactly exude wealthy... I shop at banana republic/uniqlo and drive an older jeep... have had an iphone 8 with a cracked seen for like 6 months

Not sure of my parents exact net worth but based on my family's ability to fund my college lifestyle I am ballparking at least 10 Million USD ( For reference I spent $14,0000 in the month of January on restaurants alone + my university is 70k+ plus a year in a very expensive US city). My father is a famous doctor in the USA, and my mother is a former college professor. Additionally, my grandfather( on my dad's side) was a high-ranking official at the UN for 30 years( With my father's boarding school, university degree, and med school paid for), my dad's side immigrated to the states and my mum is from New York. My parents have never been huge on spending on big-ticket items ( except for major occasions: I graduate in 3 weeks and my father is getting me 4 bottles of screaming eagle and my mum is getting me a Nautlis) and would rather reinvest that in either Index Funds or our homes ( Main Residence & Floridian house)

My experience is very quite unique because my family is Black, and being a wealthy black person is a very specific experience in the USA. I grew up in a wealthy suburb ( Top 10 Wealthiest County for reference) 45 minutes outside of a top-tier city.  In my town in particular there are a few high-income black professionals ( Lawyers, Doctors, Executives) which was rather encouraging as a young black kid and as a college student.

My parents did a proper job of raising me in the dark of how much money we had growing up by taking us on "regular vacations" ( road trips, cruises, and flying in coach), sending my sister and me to public school, dressing us in regular clothes, and making us drive normal cars ( my parents said, " You did not earn a land rover but we will give you a Honda CRV". I am guessing my parents' logic was you have not earned so why should you spend it as well as being a wealthy black person raises many eyebrows because usually, we are the only ones in a room. For example, whenever I am home from university visiting my family's house and I go outside I know many people stare confused, or just by the sheer amount of times police officers have asked " If I am lost" when walking my dog around my neighborhood ( which we have lived in for 19 years).

In my personal opinion, money buys freedom in that I never had to make a major decision based on money ( Which college to attend, Which career route to pursue), which I find to be liberating. However, growing as a black person in America within the 1 percent ( if not a higher net worth demographic) has made me reflect on my experiences much differently than my peers from similar backgrounds, as I know many people that look like myself will never achieve what my parents are what I have based on factors outside of our control ( I.e Systematic Racism). Due to this immense privilege, I make it a point of mine to mentor those younger than me especially women and POC because I GET IT.

Two of my ex girlfriends had parents with a net worth of I'd guess at least $100m+.

One's father was an engineer and one of the first employees of a tech company in the 90s with a multi-billion market cap today . He cashed out at the peak of the tech boom in 2000.

The other's father founded a company and sold it to a private equity firm.

I'm not American, both were American, and in both cases they retired and moved to my country to put their feet up in their early 40s.

I would say though that $50m is no longer *that* exclusive on the basis that a lot of people who had $10-20m 10 years ago would've been pushed into that range simply because of how markets have done in a world of ultra loose monetary policy.

Not from me, but from my friend. He always came to school in a new car every day. He wasn't even sorry to break it. When he broke the car, he always said that Dad would give him a new one. And when he was punished, he was given an iPhone 10 instead of 12..

Founders of a listed Chinese tech company

This thread is fucked.

My parents are in the $70-80m post-tax zip code. Probably $5-10m of that was my dad with the remainder inherited/gifted from my grandfather who ran a very successful hedge fund .

My dad is in PWM and mom doesn't work. Dad makes close to $1m/yr and doesn't work very hard these days, but both my parents worked pretty hard when they were younger (like most professionals) before my dad started to coast with his book of business and my mom started to be a stay at home mom. My dad didn't utilize any of his dad's connections to build his book - did it on his own which I think is impressive and I look up to him for it.

Both my parents went to an unknown college, and my dad has an MBA from a program that's not well-regarded. That said, he's been very successful (in normal terms) despite all that. My grandfather went went to a fine undergrad and H/S for his MBA . My 2 siblings and I all went to good liberal arts colleges and I am currently at a M7 MBA after working for 5 years (ignore my title, couldn't have "other" and post anonymously). We all have $5m+ trusts set up for us and some large charitable entities that are earmarked for us as well.

Overall, I'm very lucky to have been raised to have a work ethic and want to make it on my own, but also recognize that the money gave me the security to take risks and pursue things that others can't. My parents were really involved in my life growing up, because my dad's parents were honestly pretty absent in his life growing up and he didn't want that for his own kids. We have a few houses and money has never been an issue obviously, and I did have some crazy experiences with my grandparents since they were so wealthy ($300m or so before they gave a lot of it away) - private jets, yacht trips, etc. but those were also far enough apart that my siblings and I recognized how crazy and special it was and didn't take it for granted.

With all that said, the money has kind of fucked me and my siblings up somewhat, because I've always been the "rich" friend and people outside my close circle of friends who know that try to take advantage of me. Plus when you technically never have to work, it's just a weird perspective to have working 60-70 hour weeks and thinking like "I don't need to do this." It does give you a real sense of security though, knowing you can stop whenever you want without financial concern. We don't live a flashy life really, at least in the public eye where people would notice, but I got sick of hiding it from people close to me so I've stopped trying to downplay it as much as I used to. I haven't tapped into my trust at all and have always lived within my own income/savings, which was high pre-MBA (worked at an investment firm on the west coast). My girlfriend knows I'm wealthy but would probably shit herself if I gave her specifics...I try to keep it vague and I'm afraid it would freak her out.

Overall, I'm super lucky and every once in a while have to take a step back and realize that. However, the money has given me kind of a fucked up chip on my shoulder where I want to prove I can be successful on my own without it, and I know my siblings are in a similar boat. The hardest part is knowing that no matter how well I do on my own, those around me will always assume it was because of my family (which of course it loosely is... privilege, etc.) and not due to my own hard work or merit.

.

...

Cousin is friends with some of Nelson Rockefeller's grandkids.

Lots of examples of entrepreneurs on this thread, I'll give a data point of getting rich working for someone else.

My dad runs a mutual fund at a big firm ( Fidelity /Wellington) and makes ~25M a year. Not quite sure on net worth but id guess the $100M range.

We live in a non-NYC city but I went to prep school so didn't even feel super rich growing up compared to my friends, but then I got to college and realized that most people's parents don't have 5 houses.

That being said, my parents tried to keep me grounded so they don't pay my bills/no trust fund or anything, and I'm still slaving away in IB like everyone else on this site. Don't really expect a big inheritance (I'm guessing most of it's going to charity when they die), so I'm trying to make it on my own. Nice to know I have a safety net if anything goes wrong I guess, but their money hasn't really changed much for me since I moved out, though obviously great to not have student loans or anything.

Big thing id caution for people here is lifestyle creep. You'd think 5M a year is more than enough for an awesome lifestyle, but I know plenty of my parents friends that make 5M a year and are somehow perpetually broke and unhappy and always trying to save for their next big purchase. When you're peer group at the golf course is making 20M a year, there's pressure to keep up and you get stuck in this cycle of terrible finances and perpetual disappointment.

Parents are worth -40M from starting there own porn website. It was tough growing up emotionally not knowing if my dad was actually my dad. My mom told me that they met during a cuckhold scene and the other guy was possibly my dad. Both of them studied religion and minored in film at ITT Tech. Fast forward 22 years I finally realize that they showed me endless possibilities so I became a Trader at a BB .

Deleted

My father in law is very wealthy. His peak wealth was 70million but it's come down from there. Best way to become super rich is start your own company or buy bunch of undervalued real estate and wait 25 years for it appreciate.

My aunt has roughly mid 8 figures and was on the board of directors at a private engineering firm as an environmental engineer with a large amount of stock and the firm was acquired for over a billion dollars and she cashed in big time.

Now she basically just travels the world full time, first class everywhere all day every day. She is still cool and humble though - the wealth hasn't ruined her and she kept her house near the Australian shore and still just drives an Audi and hasn't gotten crazy spending habits except for traveling which definitely costs her hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Every time I see her she wants to go out for lunch and dinner together and she is always nice and courteous to the waiters and always pays for everything. She is a nice person in general I feel.

Parents are worth about $60M. Came to the US as poor immigrants for grad school and ended up taking gigs at a fruit company back in the 90s.

Company went on to become the most valuable publicly traded entity in the world.

My parents are on the low end though - some of their peers who've had greater career progression have crossed 9 figs.