Lessons in Legacy, Chapter One: The Legacy landscape - Flipbook - Page 7
Warren Buffett has given away half of his ‘incomprehensible’ wealth. In a note to
shareholders, Buffett wrote:
‘After much observation of super-wealthy families, here’s my
recommendation: leave the children enough so that they can
do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.’
WARREN BUFFE T T
His wish is for his adult children to spend time and money on ‘philanthropic efforts’.
Buffett is not alone. In 2010 he and Bill Gates were among the 40 of the US’s
wealthiest people who started The Giving Pledge, a ‘movement of philanthropists’
who committed to giving the majority of their wealth to charitable causes in their
lifetime or through their wills. The number has grown to 231 from 28 countries,
adding 14 billionaires in 2021. Though not a signatory to The Giving Pledge,
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently stated publicly that he plans to give away
most of his fortune, valued at over £100bn, within his lifetime.
Against a backdrop of changing attitudes and behaviours, the job of advisers is to
come to the table without preconceptions regarding legacy. It is about recognising
a unique opportunity to act as a bridge between different generations of a family,
and to enable effective communication on the importance of defining a family
legacy and how they define their responsibility to that wealth as members of
society.
“
A golden thread that runs through many successful legacies
is setting out a vision and then getting buy-in from across
the family. If everyone is aligned and new family members
are inspired into that combined vision then conflict can be
avoided and individuals know what they are
collectively working towards.
K Y R A M O T L E Y, P R I VAT E W E A LT H PA R T N E R
LESSONS IN LEGACY