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  • Baby boomers are undoubtedly the wealthiest generation of the last 100 years.

  • After the deadliest war in human history, the next generation decided to stop fighting

  • and start building.

  • The generation that built the infrastructure upon which we are building everything became

  • to be known as the baby boomers.

  • This generation amassed significant financial wealth and controls roughly 70% of all disposable

  • income, according to a 2015 report.

  • And now, they are expected to transfer their 30 trillion dollars worth of wealth to the

  • next generation.

  • It might seem like they will just blindly pass their fortunes to their kids, but that's

  • not how it works.

  • Ideally, they would, but the reality is that a staggering 70 percent of wealthy families

  • lose their wealth by the second generation, and the third generation often ends up with

  • just 10% of that wealth.

  • Over 90 percent of wealth gets lost by the third generation.

  • Take the example of Rockefellers.

  • John Rockefeller was the wealthiest American ever lived who amassed a fortune of 400 billion

  • dollars as of 2017 when his company standard oil was broken down into multiple small companies

  • that ended up worth much more individually.

  • But as of 2020, Forbes estimated the Rockefeller family's wealth at just 8.4 billion dollars

  • which is just 2.1% of the original 400 billion dollars.

  • If you are wondering where did that wealth go?

  • Well, the source of that wealth is the family's stake in oil and gas companies such as Chevron,

  • ExxonMobile, or pb.

  • A 100 years ago, refining oil was as revolutionary as building smartphones today.

  • However, fast forward to the 21st century, oil is viewed as a commodity that's slowly

  • destroying our only planet.

  • So, governments across the world are setting deadlines on when they will forever ban gasoline

  • cars which made these companies less valuable and drastically lowered the wealth of their

  • shareholders.

  • This brings us to rule number: Never let your wealth sleep.

  • The world constantly changes.

  • Yesterday we had wired phones.

  • Today we have little gadgets that we call smartphones.

  • If you make the wrong bet, your entire wealth will go down the drain.

  • History is filled with such examples.

  • I mean, just take an example of Nokia shareholders.

  • Once upon a time, every other phone in people's hands was Nokia, but one mistake brought the

  • company to brink of bankruptcy.

  • The company today is worth less than 10 percent of its peak.

  • That's how you lose 90 percent of your wealth in less than two decades.

  • Rothschilds once created the largest financial system in the world, moving fortunes from

  • one continent to another, helping kings and queens across Europe and beyond to manage

  • their fortunes and raise money for future conquests.

  • But as a result of geopolitical changes in the world and an emergence of new rivals,

  • the family's net worth today is a tiny fraction of the enormous wealth they have been known

  • for.

  • And in 10 years from now, the technologies that will run the world will be different.

  • If you want to build generational wealth, then you should always keep an eye on how

  • the world is changing and invest in companies that are driving that change.

  • 2.

  • never touch the principle

  • Here is the biggest problem with wealth.

  • It might be difficult to build a fortune, but it's far more difficult to keep that wealth

  • since the urge to spend is always there.

  • Especially if you are used to a certain quality of life.

  • In fact, that's one of the main reasons why most people end up broke since their standard

  • of life grows together with their income, but your income isn't guaranteed.

  • There are millions of things that could happen and cut you from your income.

  • That's why it is always important to live below your means.

  • Ideally, never spend more than 50 percent of your income and if you have inherited that

  • wealth, then the vast majority of it should be reinvested back and the principle should

  • never be touched.

  • Let's say you have inherited a million dollars, that million should be invested, and whatever

  • income that million earns by the end of the year can only be touched.

  • Ideally, half of it should be reinvested back to let the principle grow faster than inflation.

  • 3.

  • Invest in Cashflow businesses

  • With the rise of tech companies, investors began to care less about cash flow and more

  • about capital appreciation.

  • People don't care about how much Tesla will make at the end of the year but how high the

  • stock will spike.

  • Earning on the rise of the stock is also great, but when it comes to generational wealth,

  • you want to create stable sources of cash because, at the end of the day, you want cash

  • to keep coming in to finance your lavish lifestyle.

  • If your wealth is only on paper, then you are rich only on paper.

  • People might respect you for that, but there is little use to that wealth.

  • That's why tech entrepreneurs often start massively selling their shares after building

  • a successful tech company.

  • Bill gates, before the dot com bubble, got rid of most of his Microsoft shares and diversified

  • his investments into other stable businesses such as Berkshire Hathaway.

  • Microsoft makes only around 1 percent of his entire portfolio.

  • Jeff Bezos has been selling billions of dollars worth of his amazon shares to buy properties

  • across the country and invest elsewhere.

  • Uber's founder long ago left the company and sold his entire stake since uber is still

  • unprofitable.

  • What you want are businesses that put cash on the table at the end of the day.

  • They shouldn't necessarily be huge companies.

  • It could be even a local grocery store.

  • Real estate is also a great example.

  • Rental properties are a great source of cash.

  • In fact, it's one of the best ways to create generational wealth.

  • Especially in the last 2 years, the industry wasn't just cash flow positive, but prices

  • appreciated by over 20 percent, which is quite unusual for the industry.

  • Most important, the industry is stable.

  • Even if you have purchased a property at the height of the housing bubble in 2007, in less

  • than 6 years, your property would have earned back its entire value by 2013.

  • 4.

  • Set up a trust

  • Trust is basically a separate entity to which you can transfer your assets and then point

  • yourself as a trustee who is going to manage that money and leave instructions on how that

  • money must be managed should something happens to you, like in the case if you pass away.

  • Because if you do not do that, your assets will be distributed by the court to your siblings.

  • So, that vast wealth you have built over your life will mean nothing since it could easily

  • end up in the hands of people whom you don't even like.

  • That's why all rich people create a trust fund to make sure that their wealth ends up

  • in the right hands who will keep growing it.

  • If you want to pass that wealth to your children but are afraid that they might receive it

  • while they are too young, you can easily put a term that your kids can only lay their hands

  • on it once they reach a certain age.

  • If you pass away, the management of your trust fund will shift to the person whom you have

  • mentioned when establishing the trust, which can be a professional who will manage that

  • trust and will get 1 or percent of the total wealth.

  • A trust isn't just to pass your wealth to the next generation but to protect it against

  • taxes or divorces.

  • Remember, once you have established that trust and moved your assets, these assets are no

  • longer yours.

  • 5.

  • Education & Mentality No matter how much you build over your life.

  • It can be destroyed in a glimpse of an eye.

  • The world is filled with such examples, especially spoiled kids who have no idea how to manage

  • money.

  • They haven't earned that cash, so they don't appreciate it and respect it as much as the

  • person who built it with his blood and sweat.

  • So never hesitate to invest in your children's education if you want your wealth to keep

  • growing.

  • It's not just about knowledge but also discipline.

  • Discipline is taught during childhood.

  • Teach your kids to understand the value of postponing gratification, and make yourself

  • an example of how money should be treated.

  • These are just a few suggestions on how to build generational wealth.

  • There are far more aspects to consider, such as marrying the right person because if you

  • end up in a divorce with the wrong person.

  • Your wealth can easily be lost.

  • Thanks for watching, and see you in the next one.

Baby boomers are undoubtedly the wealthiest generation of the last 100 years.

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