You missed where I said if you raised well-grounded and responsible adults who seem to be on some career path and aren't idle rich kids, what's the aversion to leaving them some money??? My mother gave me a relatively comfortable home life and provided me a 'world class' education, since when does that alone disqualify a child from a respectable inheritance?? There's a middle ground IMO between the Sam Waltons of the world who made all his heirs billionaires when he died compared to people like Buffett and Gates who now act as if being rich is a sin. As for charity, I think it's really hard to quantify who gives more, the self-made or those who inherited their wealth. We've got a shitload of private museums, school foundations, neighborhood parks and seven figure contributions to university endowments in D.C. that come from old money families. If leaving your kid's money is going to mess up their value system or work ethic, you didn't raise your kids right in the first place.
I think you are by far one of the most common-sensed posters on this forum. Definitely enjoy your food-for thought posts. You always keep it real.
I think it both the Buffett and Gates cases the concern was with facilitating their children becoming members of "the idle rich". If you have given them an excellent foothold in life, it is also an excellent way to ensure that they contribute to society using the skills you have paid for them to acquire, rather than just resting on their laurels.
