Last night {as I tried to find something else to occupy my time other than playing on Facebook}, I ran across a documentary on Hulu Plus called Born Rich. It was made in 2003 by an heir of Johnson & Johnson. In it, he interviews other heirs and heiresses about their lives.
It was interesting to see life from a perspective of someone who had been wealthy their whole lives. Not surprising was the cockiness of some of these wealthy heirs. One even commented that if they didn’t like what someone did or said to them, they just would say “F you, I could buy your whole family.”
What was sad was the admission that although one of these kids barely went to their college classes, the Ivy-League University didn’t have the guts to kick them out.
What stood out were the kids who did want to do something with their lives. Those were the ones who realized that happiness comes from a feeling of accomplishment. They wanted to do something that mattered in life.
Too often, the offspring of the ones who created the wealth don’t understand the effort it took to get that wealth. I find there is a lack of appreciation for money. If their parents take the time and effort to teach them the value of money, they may have a greater understanding of the hard work it takes for average people to get it.
I would like to see where these kids are now. I wonder what they have done with their lives in the last 9 years. If you don’t have Hulu Plus, here is a YouTube link that is very grainy.
