Billionaires Who Chose Not To Leave Their Fortunes To Their Children
Presenter Anderson Cooper's statement about not leaving his son a fortune resumes the debate on meritocracy and taxation of billionaires.
Billionaires and super-rich have already chosen not to leave their entire fortune to their heirs. Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN, declared that he will not leave his fortune to his son and reignited the discussion about millionaire inheritances. With a fortune stipulated at around US$200 million, Cooper expressed that he did not intend to leave “a pot of gold” for his heir.
"I'm not that interested in the money, but I don't intend to pass on some kind of pot of gold to my son. I'm going to do what my parents told me: 'Your college will be paid for, and then you need to get on [on your own]' ", he said during an episode of the Morning Meeting podcast. The presenter said that he grew up seeing how money was wasted by the family on his mother's side, concerned with joining New York's high society and not with social causes that could benefit others.
The declaration resumes the debate about the fate of inheritances – both for the criticism of social responsibility and for the proposed taxation of fortunes as a way to reduce inequality and income concentration.
As well as Cooper, other tycoons who chose not to leave the money to their heirs. See the main cases:
Andrew Carnegie
The richest man in the world of his time, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie did not leave the money obtained from the sale of his Carnegie Steel Company in 1900 to his heirs. The sum was used to build libraries, educational institutes, funds and foundations in the US and Europe.
After his death in 1919, his wife received some personal assets, and his only daughter, Margaret, a small fund to live comfortably, but which did not compare to the inheritances of the children of other magnates.
Chuck Feeney
Philanthropist Charles "Chuck" Feeney, co-founder of airport retail company Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), gave $8 billion in his lifetime, believing, as he has stated in interviews, that "with wealth comes responsibility."
"I see little reason to delay this donation, when so much good can be accomplished by supporting worthy causes. Besides, it's a lot more fun to donate while you're alive than when you're dead," he told Forbes in 2012.
Kevin O'Leary
O'Leary, who made his fortune with computer software, became a celebrity in Canada for appearing on shows like Shark Thank (in the Brazilian version, Negotiating with Tubarões). Believing that eliminating all risk is a way of cursing a child, as it would discourage them from pursuing a career, he created a fund for all the children in his family, so that they have their expenses covered from birth to university, but after that they don't receive anything.
Yu Pengnian
Chinese businessman Yu Pengnian, a real estate and hospitality billionaire, donated nearly US$1.2 billion to philanthropic causes in his lifetime. His will determined that all of his remaining money would go the same way after his death, which occurred in 2015, when Yu was 93 years old. He also requested that his legacy of benefactors remain.
"If my children are more capable than I am, it is not necessary for me to leave them a lot of money. If they are incompetent, a lot of money will be harmful to them," he declared in 2009, according to the China Daily newspaper.
