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The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

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Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#21

Post by theorique »

ijk wrote: post #10
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

"When plotted against log income, life evaluation rises steadily. Emotional well-being also rises with log income, but there is no further progress beyond an annual income of∼$75,000. Low income exacerbates the emotional pain associated with such misfortunes as divorce, ill health, and being alone. We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated both with low l…

Presumably this number is an average across many different geographical areas. So I am curious about how this number was influenced by purchasing power and other factors.

That is, $75K gets you and your family a lot more space in a exurb or rural area compared to an expensive city like NY or SF. Does this matter? Or does a family spending most of their $75K income renting a 500 sf apartment in NY experience the same level of happiness as an equivalent family in a remote suburb with much more living space.

(Obviously, you could ask a similar question about other factors that change dramatically with geography - e.g. public/private school quality, cost of food, cost of leisure activities, access to culture, public services, etc)

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#22

Post by hollerith »

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…

>That single word "orphan" is the most important part of this article.

Are you sure you are not conflating the concepts "orphan" and "adopted"?

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#23

Post by wavefunction »

azernik wrote: post #14
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 mad…

And his father also died from "consumption" or "getting too fucked up too often" disease.

I've had some exposure to the "very wealthy" and they're just as fucked up at a rate as someone you might find in the trailer park tradition. It's often a factor of luck.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#24

Post by s_q_b »

Throughout my life, I've had a larger than average exposure to the children of the very wealthy. What strikes me is that they seem afflicted with the same existential angst that plagues us all from time to time. They wonder what everything means, what the point of doing anything at all, much less something great, truly is. In short, they are always in search of meaning, and never find a final goal in which to place their faith.

The main difference is that for you or I, even if we slip into nihilism, depression, or hedonism for temporary spells, reality always demands our attention. Even mere millions last at most years if truly spent with the abandon the "fuck it all" lifestyle requires. For the children of the very wealthy, they can escape into these distractions for years, possibly forever.

Some of these children manage to claw their way free of the meaningless merry-go-round of booze, drugs, sex, travel, and wild purchases. Anecdotally, the things that seem to assist this process are, in no particular order: a family mythology as found in families such as the Rockefellers, newly discovered religious faith, restrictions upon their finances, a hobby or profession with it's own addictive qualities (such as running, or programming), or a significant other that provides a surrogate middle class mindset.

It's a bizarre situation, but wealth can kill just as surely as it can protect. I don't have the answer here, but if you're fortunate enough to make it big, spend some serious time thinking about how to protect your children and your grandchildren from the downside of your success.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#25

Post by temphn »

azernik wrote: post #14
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 mad…

You know what, looks like you're right on this one and I am wrong. It wasn't clear on a first read whether they were saying "his father" as in "his biological father" or "his adoptive father", but on a second read you're right. I still think the statements hold in their generality but clearly not in this specific case.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#26

Post by [deleted] »

bendoernberg wrote: post #8
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…

Both tattoos and obesity are inextricably tied in with social class; as a general rule, the very wealthy are far less likely to become obese or get tattoos, for a variety of reasons. That leaves "drunk" and "drug addict"; what's your basis for claiming that the children of wealthy businessmen are unlikely to have substance abuse problems?

[deleted]

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#28

Post by taeric »

NhanH wrote: post #9
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

Dan Gilbert's "Stumbling on happiness", along with his works. Basically, since you don't have a comparison point between the stuff that you have, and they stuff that you don't have - it won't affect you. In fact, there are a quick Ted talk about that, you can search for his name.

If you are truly homeless -- note, not currently living without a home, but truly homeless -- it is hard to really conceive of them not having a comparison point. Food, shelter, friends, transportation. All of these things are readily visible to them daily, yet denied them.

Also, don't get me wrong, this article does indicate some rather unfortunate situations. I personally do not envy them their lot. However, statistically non-existant situations are hard for me to really consider.

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#29

Post by taeric »

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?

The citation is against money not being able to buy happiness. Indeed, most of the research shows it does a pretty good job of working at that task. Now, the same research does show diminishing returns.

And, there is the whole statistical abnormality of this story. For every person that fits in this story, I suspect there are countless that could use an extra 10 dollars.

Am I saying that I envy these poor children? Of course not. I just view this as a story that you can not really use in any informative way. Name one decision that you will change based on this information?

Re: The Poorest Rich Kids in the World

#30

Post by taeric »

ijk wrote: post #10
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

"When plotted against log income, life evaluation rises steadily. Emotional well-being also rises with log income, but there is no further progress beyond an annual income of∼$75,000. Low income exacerbates the emotional pain associated with such misfortunes as divorce, ill health, and being alone. We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated both with low l…

Hard to see how their conclusion really makes sense. They basically play some semantic game to totally separate the ideas of satisfaction and happiness.

Also, this is in regards to income, not wealth. They are distinct things. Curious if there is a study regarding that. For myself, I don't think any additional money would make me happy. However, I am very happy I can provide healthy lives for my family.

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