I read something interesting about inheritance, and just saying that Bill Gates's view on this topic is quite particular. Basically, Bill Gates's wealth is close to 128 billion dollars according to Forbes, but his children will inherit less than 1%, that is a little over a billion. Gates explained it like this in a podcast: his kids have received a great education and support, but too much money wouldn't do them any good. He wants them to create their own path, not live in the shadow of his fortune.

This made me reflect because Bill Gates's wealth represents the result of a lifetime of work, yet he deliberately chose not to transfer it all to his children. He said he doesn't ask them to manage Microsoft; he wants them to find their own income and success independently. Each of his three children will receive 10 million dollars, which for most people is a fortune, but for him, it's a drop in the ocean.

Interestingly, his close friend Warren Buffett has a slightly different approach. At Thanksgiving 2024, Buffett donated 1.143 billion dollars in Berkshire shares to four family foundations managed by his three children. But he also thinks the same: wealthy parents should give their children enough to do anything, but not so much that they don't have to do anything. Buffett said that he and Charlie Munger have seen many families destroyed by confused and misinterpreted wills.

What strikes me is that both, despite Bill Gates's enormous wealth and Buffett's as well, share the same philosophy: reckless wealth could harm children more than help them. Gates wants his kids to find their own way, Buffett wants his children to use the money to do good through family foundations. In short, two billionaires who understand that the most important inheritance isn't money, but education and values.