Being able to say 'I attended $famous_uni' counts for much if not most in many circles. Upper classes are beyond merit; being there and staying there is all that's needed. In fact, stepping in to save offspring is a way of life for them. School is just the first time it happens.
Mate, I’m visiting Europe right now. The tail of generational wealth is so long here you can even see it. We can certainly see a few examples of family wealth being squandered. And it makes a great narrative about karma and balance. But I’ve met even more families that while not individually wealthy will never, ever be poor in the foreseeable future for the next 5 generations at least.
No, he’s saying it makes us poor feel better hearing stories that generational wealth doesn’t last. It feels _just_, almost analogous to karma. But it’s not really true.
Is that summing the wealth of every single person in a (usually growing) group of inheritors, or averaging it?
If 1 guy with $16 billion turns into 16 grandkids with (inflation adjusted) $1 billion endowments each, it sounds to me like the family fortune was preserved extremely well, the family is simply bigger.
That severely depends on legal and social system you operate it. It is not universal truth, that was artifact some concrete historical period. And the loss is frequently result of large war, revolution, violent displacement, that sort of thing.
