Warren Buffett’s thoughts on giving money to children

by | Mar 11, 2016 | Wills |

When writing your will, you may be thinking of simply dividing your money and assets up evenly between your children. While you can do as you please, and this is what many people choose, it can be interesting to look at investor Warren Buffett’s thoughts on the matter. After all, he has a net worth of $66.7 billion.

Buffett has famously said that he doesn’t think giving children a lot of money is wise. He wants his children to have a chance to make their own way in the world, rather than just relying on money someone else earned.

That doesn’t mean he won’t give them anything. He famously said that he wanted to provide enough that his kids had options and could do anything they chose to do. What he wanted to avoid was handing them so much money that they could just live off of it without doing anything at all.

When asked, one of his daughters said that he didn’t even cover small costs, which he certainly wouldn’t have noticed, commenting that he’d cash checks that she wrote him, even if they were only for $20.

It’s also worth noting that old money often runs out as it is passed down from one generation to the next. Some of the biggest name’s in America’s history have run into this issue, including the Hunts, the Dodges, the Vanderbilts, and the Reynoldses. Buffett may not want to leave all of his wealth to his children so that they don’t squander it.

As you can see, there are many factors to consider when writing a will in New York, and deciding how to pass on money can involve thinking about what is best for your children, and not just how much money you have.

Source: Fortune, “Should You Leave It All to the Children?,” Richard I. Kirkland, accessed March 11, 2016