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 a talk for a Tiger 21 group. I get up in front of the room and there, right in front of me, sitting at one of the tables with a name tent in front of him is “Marvin Blum” (of The Blum Firm, P.C.) Finally – we meet!
Turns out we are very like-minded when it comes to working with enterprising families and helping them to transition wealth with intention and values across generations. Unusually like-minded. We have stayed in touch, developed a friendship, and read and comment on one another’s blogs.
Just received his most recent blog post, “Buffett Changes His Will—Is It Time to Change Yours?” I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read it.
It is well known that Buffett is committed to giving away 99% of his $100B+ of wealth. Marvin discusses Buffett’s reasoning for shifting his giving away from the Gates Foundation (Bill Gates’ lifestyle choices?) Buffett has already given the Gates Foundation $39B. Marvin also writes about Buffett’s decision to set up a charitable trust to be administered by his three children – they must unanimously agree on all giving decisions. And they have different charitable priorities.
“Susan, a full-time philanthropist, favors social justice, education, and healthcare. Howard, a farmer and former sheriff, focuses on food security, crime, human trafficking, and aid to Ukraine. Peter, a musician and composer, supports Indigenous communities and combating hunger. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds.”
Is this a setup for sibling rivalry? A recipe for success? In my world, it all depends on healthy family communication, setting of clear expectations and roles, flexibility, trust and developing governance for how decisions will be made (loving relationships never hurt!)
Please check out this latest blog from my friend, Marvin (the other Blum) LOL!