I’m going to describe three actual situations I experienced in the last month. All three spurred my thinking about the psychology and dynamics of wealth and I’m looking for feedback, reactions, thoughts of all kinds. Please – let it fly! Whatever direction this takes is great. I will follow up in a couple of weeks with some of my own thoughts, but for now I want to see where people take these. Please go to LinkedIn and join the conversation Read more »
***I’m reposting this blog from 2022 since it is so meaningful to me this time of year. Please volunteer and donate during the winter holiday season AND keep those in need in mind during times of year when hunger is still rampant and many are not focused on helping. Friends, Clients and Colleagues, The Christmas season (and season for holidays of many traditions like Kwanzaa, Diwali, my own Hanukah, and others) is upon us and I have made a donation Read more »
This article by Business News Daily quotes one study which found that 68% of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNW = $30 million or more) were self-made. The article refers to a second study by Fidelity Investments which found that 88% of all millionaires are self-made. In these studies, “self-made” means the wealth was not inherited. While this article focuses on how the UHNW wealth creators tend to get and stay rich (and their characteristics), I’m viewing it through a different lens – the lens of bias against inheritors, Read more »
For years people have occasionally asked me if Marvin Blum is the “Blum” in my company name (Blum & Savlov, LLP). The answer has always been, “Not sure who Marvin Blum is but it is my wife, Monica Blum, a psychologist, and she does not do the consulting work I do but has her own clinical practice. We have the entity for many years since we started our own practices. Well, a couple of years ago I’m in Dallas giving Read more »
I speak regularly around the United States on the topic of families and wealth. Areas of focus include developing communication, high-functioning family ownership groups, managing inevitable conflict, distinguishing between non-working family owners and family members who work in the business to grow it. I address reaching agreement on roles and responsibilities for each, developing governance to guide families across generations, and, the big one, developing the next generation. I have seen quite a bit when it comes to parents who Read more »
I have been addicted to reading biographies for several years. In previous centuries, letter writing was so pervasive that we can now peer into the lives of interesting characters of the past through their own words and the words of others. I find biographies to be full of life wisdom and am struck by how similar human societies can be over the centuries—for better and for worse. Many of the books I have read recently are filled with lessons for Read more »
Last month’s blog (take a quick read if you have not yet) was about how it is possible to start developing a stewardship culture in the next generation even at very young ages. I shared three videos and offered a number of food-for-thought questions to answer after viewing them. Here are the videos: 1 – The Farmhand (link to Facebook) 2 – The Warehouse Helper (link to TikTok) 3 – The Young Chef (link to Facebook) I would like to respond now to the questions I posed to the reader in Read more »
I work with wealthy families, some very wealthy families, and even some uber-wealthy families, and the truth is that they want what poor, working class, and all families want: happy, healthy, and productive kids. One of the growing areas of my practice is coaching wealthy couples before they have kids and parents of very young children—babies and toddlers. I call my work with them the Purposeful Legacy Family Project . While I’ve always included teens and young adults in coaching and family retreats, I’m Read more »
“Once Again” is in the title here because I’ve already written several blog posts about fairness in the context of family; this is one of the repeating topics arising with the enterprising families I work with. It is understandable that families often ask me for the best way to be fair in their situation. It makes complete sense that they ask this. If there was a rule book or definitive guide, I’d share it freely. Of course, there is no Read more »
First of all, my mom is still alive. She is wise, has a wicked sense of humor, and is always willing to talk about topics most people find challenging. All of this is a gift, in and of itself. Let my explain, then, why I am referring to this lesson as: Mom’s Death Gift. Death is a typically challenging topic of conversation. I see people avoiding death (thinking about it, planning for it, discussing it with others, even believing it Read more »
