Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this if you have children!, May 3, 2007
I had been wanting to read this book for a while. So I was very happy to see it back in print. This book focuses on intergenerational wealth management. A good deal of the focus is on people who have large amounts of wealth, something that would exclude me. But many of the lessons apply to regular people with modest savings. One of the best things it does is to debunk the myth that people should not discuss money with their family. It makes it clear how absolutely essential it is to teach the next generation about wealth, and its meaning. It also helps people understand that the real meaning of wealth goes beyond money and is really one's family and its values. I think anyone with children will benefit from reading this book.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wealth in Families, March 5, 2006
My purpose in writing Wealth in Families is to encourage you to think deeply about the fundamental questions surrounding wealth and its effect on your family. If I am successful, you may find yourself choosing to alter the ways in which you plan and act with regard both to your wealth and to your family.
After 25 years working with individuals and families of wealth, I have discovered that the hardest, yet most rewarding, part of the planning process is asking essential questions about what people want to preserve - besides financial wealth - and how they can enhance each family member's growth.
These "why" questions surrounding family wealth are the most important ones, and yet they are rarely asked. The questions about the meaning and purpose of wealth should drive the thinking of individuals and families, and the resulting estate planning decisions and outcomes. Thinking about values first, products second. This book explores the meaning of wealth (Chapter 2), the amount of an appropriate inheritance (Chapter 3), family communication (Chapter 4), the development of a balanced approach to money (Chapter 5), financial education (Chapter 6), and the philanthropic impulse (Chapter 7). Several chapters include interviews with leading experts in the field of family wealth management.
--- from book's introduction
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Start elsewhere, August 30, 2009
The author's primary focus is on philanthropy, which is not surprising given his job as senior philanthropic advisor to Harvard University which has the largest endowment of any university. Much of the book is concerned with how to manage trust funds within families, in particular, intergenerational transfer of leadership and training the next generation. So, unless you have a few million in a trust fund, there are other books much better at teaching your children about financial matters.
If you want some benchmarks, the lowest net worth he deals with at one point is $15-30 million where he advocates giving your children $1-2 million (although also suggesting that some families lean towards $3-5 million) If you have greater net worth, he advocates a higher number ($10-15 million per child if your net worth is over $100 million) - but there is no real justification for any of the numbers - nor any suggestions for people with lower net worth.
However, even if you do have significant wealth to pass on to your heirs (and society), this book is probably not the right starting point. Mr. Collier does not have much of his own thought to share as much of the book consists of long quotes from others and interviews with a variety of other authors and experts. It all comes off a bit disjointed, with many ideas not fully developed.
An example: midway through the second chapter, Mr. Collier redefines wealth into four different categories: human, intellectual, social, and financial (the latter is what people typically think of when the word "wealth" is used. Expanding on these could be a major theme of the book but instead, after this brief mention, Mr. Collier drops the topic until chapter 5 (where he erroneously references chapter 1 as the place where he introduced the topic). In chapter 5 his expanded definitions he seems to conflate the definitions of human capital and intellectual capital.
While throughout the remainder of the book he touches on the themes raised by these four different "wealths," there is no organizing principle behind the structure. The reader must provide the links so that when the author is discussing family meetings, you know he's referring to "intellectual capital." Why, you ask? Because the definition of intellectual capital includes communication and conflict resolution - not an obvious connection with that term.
For all families, his suggestions about the importance of telling and re-telling "family stories" resonated with me. This is an important way to pass on shared values to the next generation, It helps define what is important to your family. I will be looking for more stories to share with my family at our next reunion.
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by James E. Hughes Jr.
by James E. Hughes Jr.
