A first-generation fortune is the most likely to be given away, but once a fortune is inherited it's less likely that a very high percentage will go back to society.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Fortunes are made, and disappear, over the lifetime of a single generation. Today, a person in essence takes his wealth from society just for the duration of his or her lifetime. The next generation has to create it anew.
Gentility is what is left over from rich ancestors after the money is gone.
I come from a large family, but I was not raised with a fortune. Something more was left me, and that was family values.
We wonder if we will be the first generation in American history to leave our children with fewer opportunities and a less prosperous nation than the one we inherited.
People are very much worried that our kids are not going to inherit the same opportunities that we inherited from our parents.
I have been very fortunate to be successful in business, and I believe that it is right that people who have this type of wealth should give something back into society.
Those who have prospered and profited from life's lottery have a moral obligation to share their good fortune.
Who's, like, inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in our lives?
Some kids win the lottery at birth; far too many don't - and most people have a hard time catching up over the rest of their lives. Children raised in disadvantaged environments are not only much less likely to succeed in school or in society, but they are also much less likely to be healthy adults.
Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don't mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network.