Why billionaires break up their own children and leave them without inheritance

Billionaire children are often said to be “born with a silver spoon in their mouth.” That means they have everything they can want. And they can live without making any effort. However, more and more wealthy parents do not plan to leave all the money to the heirs. After all, in their opinion, only children without inheritance remain motivated to find their way and achieve success on their own.



It is appropriate to recall that 10 years ago Bill Gates, his wife Melinda and the famous investor Warren Buffett founded the charitable project “Giving Pledge”. According to the charter, all its members undertake to transfer for good purposes at least half of their assets.



At first, few believed in the success of this unusual undertaking. Gates and Buffett had to travel the world to personally persuade the neighbors on the Forbes list to join their initiative.

But soon the choice in favor of charity showed its appeal. More than 200 billionaires from 23 countries have pledged to share their wealth “to advance human potential and promote equality.”

Sting

GettyImages This year, the seventeen-time Grammy Award winner will celebrate his 70th birthday. Today, he is a world-class rock star, and as a child, he helped his father deliver milk in the morning and therefore knows the value of money.

The musician said that he will not leave the offspring (two from the first marriage and four from the second) a lot of money, as he successfully spends them himself.

Elton John

GettyImages Elton John and his husband Canadian film director David Furnish are raising sons Zachary and Elijah born by a surrogate mother. The musician has said he has decided not to leave his fortune (over £50bn) to children. "You can't give children a silver spoon, it ruins their lives," he explained.

Jackie Chan

GettyImages: If he (Jacy Chan) is capable, he can make his own money. If not, then he will just waste my money, said the star of action films Jackie Chan, explaining his decision to leave his son without inheritance.

Chan has nothing to do with Giving Pledge, but admires Gates and Buffett. In 1988, he founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation to help victims of natural disasters and diseases.

Mark Zuckerberg

GettyImages The Facebook founder and his wife Priscilla Chan are raising two daughters. The couple pledged to donate 99% of their wealth to health and education projects.

Ashton Kutcher

GettyImages Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis believe big money demotivates children. Therefore, the star couple decided to bequeath their funds to charity.

Michael Bloomberg

GettyImages The former mayor of New York and Democratic presidential candidate joined the Giving Pledge and bequeathed $34 billion to nonprofit health and education organizations.

In his letter, Bloomberg wrote, “If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the best thing is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children.”

Vladimir Potanin

Russian businessman, billionaire, president of Interros Holding and CEO of MMC Norilsk Nickel said that his capital should work for the benefit of society. Vladimir Potanin has three children. Daughter Anastasia, sons Ivan and Vasily.

“My children have grown up. Their father is a billionaire and a celebrity. First, they are in my shadow, and second, what are their motivations to achieve something in life? I'm going to follow Gates and Buffett's lead, he told reporters, explaining his decision to bequeath most of his assets to charity.

The article and the preview used photos.