"Money cannot buy you happiness" - or so they say.  After 30 years of working with high net worth families, I have seen it all.  This is true in so many cases - great wealth can create huge conflict where only lawyers are the winners after years of protracted litigation and heartache.  However, this does not need to be the case.

It does not have to be taboo for those who generate great wealth to talk to their children (and grandchildren) about how much they are worth.  Those families who implement Family Governance can successfully avoid the common traps.  Next Generation education is vital if these families and their businesses are to succeed for generations to come.

Communication is key.  The more the next generation understand what it takes, not only to generate wealth but to maintain it and how it can be used for the better, the less conflict there will be in later years.  Engaging their children in their philanthropic endeavours teaches a vital lesson - the money is not just there to buy fast cars, private jets and big houses!

To educate early is to avoid painful conflict in later years, at a time when the wealth generator should be enjoying a well-deserved and peaceful retirement safe in the knowledge the wealth is in safe hands.