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The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

rollingstone.com

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Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#11

Post by austinz »

taeric wrote: post #3
dkulchenko wrote: post #2

People occasionally scoff at "money doesn't buy happiness", but it's an incredibly true statement. There are homeless people who are objectively happier (and often, healthier) than some of the richest people in the world.

I feel this needs a ridiculously large citation needed . It is trotted out a ton, but I can't help but hear the lyrics from Everclear's "I will buy you a new life" I hate those people who love to tell you Money is the root of all that kills They have never been poor They have never had the joy of a welfare christmas

I don't know if this was the parent author's intent, but one could very plausibly be homeless by choice, being materially poor and living a life with intentionally few obligations, as opposed to being someone forced onto the streets because of mental illness or financial trouble.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#13

Post by noonespecial »

dkulchenko wrote: post #2

People occasionally scoff at "money doesn't buy happiness", but it's an incredibly true statement. There are homeless people who are objectively happier (and often, healthier) than some of the richest people in the world.

On the other hand, this story is in Rolling Stone and ostensibly "newsworthy" because money almost always provides insulation against this kind of deprivation.

Go to any large city in the US and you'll find this same story played out countless times with children living in equally terrible, deprived and dangerous situations. It won't be news because their parents are poor.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#14

Post by azernik »

temphn wrote: post #5

The twins' father, Walker Inman, 57, lumbered from the mansion, his tattooed sleeves visible under a black T- shirt, drinking his morning rum ... He'd been full of dangerous mischief since he was a child. As a 13-year-old orphan in 1965 taken in by his aunt Doris Duke, Walker – then called "Skipper" – had romped around her lavish 14,000-square-foot Hawaiian estate without regard for property or propriety That single…

Did you read any of the bits in between your ellipses?

  ...stinking rich from three trust funds: one from his
  father, Walker Inman Sr., heir to an Atlanta cotton
  fortune and stepson to American Tobacco Company founder
  "Buck" Duke; one from his mother, Georgia Fagan; the third
  from his grandmother, Buck's widow Nanaline Duke, who left
  the bulk of her $45 million estate to her little grandson.
The money involved was made by people with the same genes as Walter Inman, Jr.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#15

Post by wyager »

hkmurakami wrote: post #12

Andrew Carnegie write in his essay "wealth" that excessive inheritances can only be a burden to the heirs. this story certainly demonstrates that.

No, this story demonstrates that an "excessive" inheritance is a burden to a certain set of heirs. It tells us nothing about the effect of "excessive" inheritances on other heirs.

Let's not take sample sizes of one and use them to justify assertions about large groups, shall we?

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#16

Post by bilalq »

The article is a lot more readable if you remove print=true from the query string. If you want to avoid the paginated mess, setting font-family to Georgia and width to 60% makes it pretty easy on the eyes as well.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#17

Post by rudedogg »

Born Rich

The film was described as "a documentary on children of the insanely rich, directed by one of their own, Johnson & Johnson Inc. heir Jamie Johnson." It consists primarily of Johnson interviewing his friends and peers about the experience of living life free of financial constraints. These interviews are offset by Johnson's exploration of his own experience and family. By the end of the film, Luke Weil became unhappy with his portrayal and sued unsuccessfully.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/174635

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#18

Post by fatjokes »

crgt wrote: post #4
taeric wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel this needs a ridiculously large citation needed . It is trotted out a ton, but I can't help but hear the lyrics from Everclear's "I will buy you a new life" I hate those people who love to tell you Money is the root of all that kills They have never been poor They have never had the joy of a welfare christmas

After reading that article, you still want a citation showing that someone could be homeless and happier than those kids? ReallY? Maybe re-read the article?

I think it boils down to simple statistics. Those kids and those happy hobos may be in the minority.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#20

Post by RodericDay »

wyager wrote: post #15
hkmurakami wrote: post #12

Andrew Carnegie write in his essay "wealth" that excessive inheritances can only be a burden to the heirs. this story certainly demonstrates that.

No, this story demonstrates that an "excessive" inheritance is a burden to a certain set of heirs. It tells us nothing about the effect of "excessive" inheritances on other heirs. Let's not take sample sizes of one and use them to justify assertions about large groups, shall we?

this superficial cynicism really depresses me

I know so many kids toiling away thinking that "there's only the ladder", that the idea that there's happiness outside of money is some sort of opiate to weed out the less driven. ask people who went to prep schools man, ask rich people themselves. money doesn't make people happy.

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