富豪和名人如何避免后代坐吃山空?沒有遺產可以繼承的威脅,或許能夠激勵后代。
從沃倫·巴菲特到史蒂夫·喬布斯,許多億萬富翁都明確表示不會將自己的巨額財富留給子女。相反,包括比爾·蓋茨在內的許多億萬富翁,選擇在有生之年用自己的財富開展慈善事業。
但沒有這么多財富的上班族,也開始越來越多地接受這種觀點。許多上班族計劃死前花光或者捐出自己的財富,而不是留給子女、家人或朋友繼承。他們的“零遺產”計劃是在臨終前,不在銀行賬戶中留下一分錢。
過去兩年,在比爾·珀金斯出版的《華爾街日報》暢銷書《零遺產計劃》(Die with Zero)的推動下,這種觀點得到越來越多人的認可。有人認為,零遺產不僅會改變自己的生活,還能改變有權繼承遺產的其他人。有人則認為這是一種有趣的觀念,但在晚年難以執行。
“現在做善事——不要等到臨終前”
埃琳娜·努涅斯·庫博計劃在有生之年將她積攢的數百萬美元捐贈給慈善事業,并教育未來的子女也要這樣做。
32歲的庫博是芝加哥Ascend PR公司的創始人,該公司還為家庭理財辦公室提供咨詢服務。她表示,她在工作中見過許多家庭因為與金錢有關的談判爆發沖突。她希望自己的生活中絕對不要出現這種狀況。
她說道:“這令我感到不安。如果整個家族因為金錢問題變得形同陌路,這是非常悲哀的。我希望[我和丈夫]花光我們積攢的財富,以避免子女反目成仇。”
“我的祖父母曾說過我們會繼承多少資產,但我內心的想法是:‘我不需要也不關心這筆遺產。’我很注重維系人際關系,非常關心我的關系。”
零遺產或花光資產的做法,意味著努涅斯·庫博和丈夫可以制定更多變的財務目標,例如為新婚好友安排一次美好的蜜月旅行,或者在生育期間計劃休假一年等。庫博夫妻二人共有價值400萬美元的個人資產。
雖然她最近通過捐贈人建議基金捐款數千美元,但她計劃到40歲、50歲和60歲時將捐款金額提高到七位數。
努涅斯·庫博選擇不從家族理財辦公室領取收入。她表示:“我相信一個人被給予的越多,背負的期望也就越高。我希望在撫養子孫后代的時候,堅持這樣一種理念,即我們有行善的責任,并且應該當下就采取行動。有未來計劃當然是好事,但如果你現在有行善的財力,就不要等到臨終前再去做。”
這對夫婦還計劃教育未來的子女年輕時努力工作的價值,并鼓勵他們將部分收入捐給他們的捐贈人建議基金。
努涅斯·庫博稱:“你可以不留下任何遺產,但一定要巧妙計劃。你應該訓練你的子孫后代以及其他后輩明智地使用金錢,從而不必依賴繼承的遺產維持生計。”
“為什么要把人生浪費在朝九晚五的生活”
英國私人理財教練詹姆斯·貝克特承認,零遺產背后并沒有什么科學理論,但他更擔心“浪費生命”,而不是口袋空空。
貝克特估計自己的壽命是88歲,他計劃只留下能夠讓他在臨終前保證衣食無憂的資金。
32歲的貝克特有一套房子,但如果晚年能讓自己的錢發揮更大的作用,他和伴侶愿意賣掉這套房子并選擇租房。
貝克特在英國收入接近六位數。他表示,他想不出自己的計劃有任何不足。通過執行這項計劃,過去三年貝克特和伴侶每年都會去美國旅行,并在墨西哥、西班牙和愛爾蘭度假,還會參加格拉斯頓伯里音樂節等活動。
貝克特表示,這種信念是實現零遺產自由的關鍵,因為人們需要著眼于這種觀念“積極的一面進行投資”,而不是擔憂這種觀念的缺點。
他說道:“看到有人從事自己不熱愛的工作或者與自己不喜歡的人合作,然后在臨終前留下大量金錢,這是一種恥辱。他們只是順其自然地積累財富,卻從未考慮過積累財富的目的。”
“我所堅信的理念并不是每個月把所有錢用于物質消費,而是有意識地思考你想要實現什么目標,以及你希望在什么時候實現這些目標。”
貝克特這對情侶計劃不要孩子,但他們很疼愛侄子和侄女,已經為他們做好了財務規劃,在他們很小的時候就為他們開立了儲蓄賬戶。
貝克特表示:“我仍在財富積累階段。我不知道可能會有多少侄子和侄女。我只想在活著的時候把錢交給他們,這會給我帶來許多快樂。在我買房和支付大學學費時都曾接受過幫助,因此我很清楚這筆錢的意義。”
當你不確定什么時候死去時,該如何制定計劃?
當然,零遺產計劃的一個嚴重缺點是,很少有人知道自己什么時候不再需要花錢。
理財咨詢公司Y Tree的財務人生策略總監埃利安娜·塞迪斯表示:“你可能明天就死去,也可能活到105歲。我們不知道會在什么時候離世,那么我們該如何制定計劃?”
她指出,隨著年齡增長,沒有錢會變得更危險,因為由于通貨膨脹和暮年不可或缺的看護需求,晚年生活往往是成本最高的階段。
對于“生活拮據”的擔憂,使許多老年人在應減緩儲蓄的時候繼續積累財富。塞迪斯解釋稱:“現在90多歲的老年人對于戰爭記憶深刻,這令他們非常擔心生活拮據。我們要向他們傳達這樣一條信息:‘你想執行零遺產計劃,但你并不知道自己什么時候會死去,而且你在成長過程中經歷了配給制,這讓你感覺非常不安全。’”
這種擔憂或許可以解釋美聯儲2019年消費者財務調查的結果。調查顯示,嬰兒潮一代平均資產凈值約為97萬美元至120萬美元。與此同時,Z世代的平均資產凈值為76,000美元,35歲以上的千禧一代平均資產凈值超過40萬美元,而X世代平均資產凈值為40萬至83.3萬美元(他們的資產凈值低于嬰兒潮一代可以理解,因為年輕人積累財富的時間比嬰兒潮一代更短)。
塞迪斯表示,一個人需要在較為年輕的時候決定執行零遺產計劃,才能保證這個計劃能得到落實,但很少有人愿意面對死亡的現實。她說道:“你的一生當中實際上只有較短的期限,可以讓你安全積極地執行零遺產計劃,并且有一定成功的可能。”
“[零遺產]計劃是一個很好的引子,可以讓人們討論‘我希望在活著的時候做些什么,以針對我的財富做出相應決策?’但它也可能是障礙,因為許多人可能對此感到害怕。因此,我認為人們真正要思考的問題是:‘我如何在滿足個人需求的前提下死后不留下任何遺產?’”
無論你計劃死后不留下遺產,還是將財富留給所愛的人,塞迪斯認為必須牢記的一點是你的決策目的。
塞迪斯表示:“從積累財富變成減少財富,這在情感上確實很難做到。想幫助別人是一個慎重的決定。僅僅捐出你的財富遠遠不夠,你的行為背后應該有一個目的,否則你可能會中途放棄。”
“如果你的決定有明確的理由:你能從中獲得良好的情緒,你就更有可能堅持下去。你會感覺與自己的決策密切相關,這非常重要。”(財富中文網)
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
富豪和名人如何避免后代坐吃山空?沒有遺產可以繼承的威脅,或許能夠激勵后代。
從沃倫·巴菲特到史蒂夫·喬布斯,許多億萬富翁都明確表示不會將自己的巨額財富留給子女。相反,包括比爾·蓋茨在內的許多億萬富翁,選擇在有生之年用自己的財富開展慈善事業。
但沒有這么多財富的上班族,也開始越來越多地接受這種觀點。許多上班族計劃死前花光或者捐出自己的財富,而不是留給子女、家人或朋友繼承。他們的“零遺產”計劃是在臨終前,不在銀行賬戶中留下一分錢。
過去兩年,在比爾·珀金斯出版的《華爾街日報》暢銷書《零遺產計劃》(Die with Zero)的推動下,這種觀點得到越來越多人的認可。有人認為,零遺產不僅會改變自己的生活,還能改變有權繼承遺產的其他人。有人則認為這是一種有趣的觀念,但在晚年難以執行。
“現在做善事——不要等到臨終前”
埃琳娜·努涅斯·庫博計劃在有生之年將她積攢的數百萬美元捐贈給慈善事業,并教育未來的子女也要這樣做。
32歲的庫博是芝加哥Ascend PR公司的創始人,該公司還為家庭理財辦公室提供咨詢服務。她表示,她在工作中見過許多家庭因為與金錢有關的談判爆發沖突。她希望自己的生活中絕對不要出現這種狀況。
她說道:“這令我感到不安。如果整個家族因為金錢問題變得形同陌路,這是非常悲哀的。我希望[我和丈夫]花光我們積攢的財富,以避免子女反目成仇。”
“我的祖父母曾說過我們會繼承多少資產,但我內心的想法是:‘我不需要也不關心這筆遺產。’我很注重維系人際關系,非常關心我的關系。”
零遺產或花光資產的做法,意味著努涅斯·庫博和丈夫可以制定更多變的財務目標,例如為新婚好友安排一次美好的蜜月旅行,或者在生育期間計劃休假一年等。庫博夫妻二人共有價值400萬美元的個人資產。
雖然她最近通過捐贈人建議基金捐款數千美元,但她計劃到40歲、50歲和60歲時將捐款金額提高到七位數。
努涅斯·庫博選擇不從家族理財辦公室領取收入。她表示:“我相信一個人被給予的越多,背負的期望也就越高。我希望在撫養子孫后代的時候,堅持這樣一種理念,即我們有行善的責任,并且應該當下就采取行動。有未來計劃當然是好事,但如果你現在有行善的財力,就不要等到臨終前再去做。”
這對夫婦還計劃教育未來的子女年輕時努力工作的價值,并鼓勵他們將部分收入捐給他們的捐贈人建議基金。
努涅斯·庫博稱:“你可以不留下任何遺產,但一定要巧妙計劃。你應該訓練你的子孫后代以及其他后輩明智地使用金錢,從而不必依賴繼承的遺產維持生計。”
“為什么要把人生浪費在朝九晚五的生活”
英國私人理財教練詹姆斯·貝克特承認,零遺產背后并沒有什么科學理論,但他更擔心“浪費生命”,而不是口袋空空。
貝克特估計自己的壽命是88歲,他計劃只留下能夠讓他在臨終前保證衣食無憂的資金。
32歲的貝克特有一套房子,但如果晚年能讓自己的錢發揮更大的作用,他和伴侶愿意賣掉這套房子并選擇租房。
貝克特在英國收入接近六位數。他表示,他想不出自己的計劃有任何不足。通過執行這項計劃,過去三年貝克特和伴侶每年都會去美國旅行,并在墨西哥、西班牙和愛爾蘭度假,還會參加格拉斯頓伯里音樂節等活動。
貝克特表示,這種信念是實現零遺產自由的關鍵,因為人們需要著眼于這種觀念“積極的一面進行投資”,而不是擔憂這種觀念的缺點。
他說道:“看到有人從事自己不熱愛的工作或者與自己不喜歡的人合作,然后在臨終前留下大量金錢,這是一種恥辱。他們只是順其自然地積累財富,卻從未考慮過積累財富的目的。”
“我所堅信的理念并不是每個月把所有錢用于物質消費,而是有意識地思考你想要實現什么目標,以及你希望在什么時候實現這些目標。”
貝克特這對情侶計劃不要孩子,但他們很疼愛侄子和侄女,已經為他們做好了財務規劃,在他們很小的時候就為他們開立了儲蓄賬戶。
貝克特表示:“我仍在財富積累階段。我不知道可能會有多少侄子和侄女。我只想在活著的時候把錢交給他們,這會給我帶來許多快樂。在我買房和支付大學學費時都曾接受過幫助,因此我很清楚這筆錢的意義。”
當你不確定什么時候死去時,該如何制定計劃?
當然,零遺產計劃的一個嚴重缺點是,很少有人知道自己什么時候不再需要花錢。
理財咨詢公司Y Tree的財務人生策略總監埃利安娜·塞迪斯表示:“你可能明天就死去,也可能活到105歲。我們不知道會在什么時候離世,那么我們該如何制定計劃?”
她指出,隨著年齡增長,沒有錢會變得更危險,因為由于通貨膨脹和暮年不可或缺的看護需求,晚年生活往往是成本最高的階段。
對于“生活拮據”的擔憂,使許多老年人在應減緩儲蓄的時候繼續積累財富。塞迪斯解釋稱:“現在90多歲的老年人對于戰爭記憶深刻,這令他們非常擔心生活拮據。我們要向他們傳達這樣一條信息:‘你想執行零遺產計劃,但你并不知道自己什么時候會死去,而且你在成長過程中經歷了配給制,這讓你感覺非常不安全。’”
這種擔憂或許可以解釋美聯儲2019年消費者財務調查的結果。調查顯示,嬰兒潮一代平均資產凈值約為97萬美元至120萬美元。與此同時,Z世代的平均資產凈值為76,000美元,35歲以上的千禧一代平均資產凈值超過40萬美元,而X世代平均資產凈值為40萬至83.3萬美元(他們的資產凈值低于嬰兒潮一代可以理解,因為年輕人積累財富的時間比嬰兒潮一代更短)。
塞迪斯表示,一個人需要在較為年輕的時候決定執行零遺產計劃,才能保證這個計劃能得到落實,但很少有人愿意面對死亡的現實。她說道:“你的一生當中實際上只有較短的期限,可以讓你安全積極地執行零遺產計劃,并且有一定成功的可能。”
“[零遺產]計劃是一個很好的引子,可以讓人們討論‘我希望在活著的時候做些什么,以針對我的財富做出相應決策?’但它也可能是障礙,因為許多人可能對此感到害怕。因此,我認為人們真正要思考的問題是:‘我如何在滿足個人需求的前提下死后不留下任何遺產?’”
無論你計劃死后不留下遺產,還是將財富留給所愛的人,塞迪斯認為必須牢記的一點是你的決策目的。
塞迪斯表示:“從積累財富變成減少財富,這在情感上確實很難做到。想幫助別人是一個慎重的決定。僅僅捐出你的財富遠遠不夠,你的行為背后應該有一個目的,否則你可能會中途放棄。”
“如果你的決定有明確的理由:你能從中獲得良好的情緒,你就更有可能堅持下去。你會感覺與自己的決策密切相關,這非常重要。”(財富中文網)
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
How do the rich and famous stop their kids from getting lazy? The threat of no inheritance might do it.
Billionaires from Warren Buffett to Steve Jobs have made it clear their enormous wealth won’t be passed onto their children. Instead many, including Bill Gates, have chosen to spend their money on philanthropy during their lifetimes.
But workers across the wealth spectrum are increasingly adopting the same idea—with many trying to spend or give away all their cash before they die as opposed to leaving it to children, family, or friends to inherit. Their plan is to “die with zero”—to have absolutely nothing left in their bank accounts by the time they’re on their deathbed.
It’s an idea that has gathered momentum in the past couple of years, buoyed by the release of ‘Die with Zero’, a Wall Street Journal bestseller penned by Bill Perkins. For some, dying with zero is not only changing their lives but the people they’re gifting their assets to. For others, it’s an interesting idea in principal that becomes impossible in later life.
‘Do good now—don’t wait until you’re dead’
Elena Nu?ez Cooper plans to donate millions of dollars in her lifetime to charitable causes—and teach any children she has in the future to do the same.
The 32-year-old founder of Chicago-based Ascend PR, a firm that also acts as an advisor to family offices, said she’s seen many family conflicts arise out of money negotiations through her work. It’s a dynamic she’s keen to keep out of her own life.
“It’s disturbing for me,” she said. “It’s sad when you have entire segments of the family that aren’t talking to each other over money. I want to eliminate any animosity as [my husband and I] spend down.
“My grandparents have told us how much we’ll be inheriting, but in the back of your mind you’re like: ‘I don’t need that, I don’t care about that.’ I’m a relational person and care very much about my relationships.”
A die with zero or spend down approach means Nu?ez Cooper and her husband—who share $4 million in personal assets—can establish a more “fluid” set of financial goals, from treating newly-married friends to a beautiful honeymoon to planning to take a year off when they have children.
Although Nu?ez Cooper currently donates thousands of dollars through her donor-advised fund, she plans to increase that to seven figures by her 40s, 50s, and 60s.
“I believe to whom much is given, much is expected,” Nu?ez Cooper—who has chosen not to draw an income from her own family office—added. “I would rather raise my children, and maybe grandchildren, with the idea that we have a duty to do good in the world, and that that good should be done now. Planning for the future is great, but if you have money now do good now—don’t wait until you’re dead.”
The couple also plans to teach their potential children the value of work from a young age, and will encourage them to donate a portion of each paycheck to their own donor-advised funds.
“You can die with zero—you just have to be smart about it,” Nu?ez Cooper added. “You should’ve trained your grandchildren, children, nieces, and nephews,to use money wisely so they’re not relying on a payout.”
‘Why give your life to the 9 to 5?’
There’s no exact science to dying with zero, admitted UK-based personal finance coach James Beckett, but he’s more worried about “wasting his life” than he is about running out of cash.
Beckett estimates he’ll die around the age of 88, and plans to have just enough money to keep a roof over his head and food on the table until then.
Although the 32-year-old owns a home, Beckett and his partner are open to selling the property and renting if it means getting more out of their money in older age.
Beckett—who earns close to six figures in the U.K.—said he couldn’t think of any downsides to his plan, which have allowed the couple to travel to America annually for the past three years, as well as holidaying in Mexico, Spain, and Ireland on top of trips to music festivals like Glastonbury.
This belief is key to the freedom of dying with zero, Beckett said, as people need to be “invested in the upsides” of the idea as opposed to fearing the drawbacks.
“It’s such a shame to see people dying with so much money in a job they’ve worked in that they don’t enjoy, or with people they don’t like. They go on auto-pilot accumulating wealth and not thinking about what it’s for,” he said.
“It’s not a belief that you spend every penny on materialistic things every month. It’s being very conscious about what you want to achieve and when.”
The couple plan not to have children but adore their nieces and nephews, who they are already financially planning for with savings accounts that they opened when the kids were young.
“I’m still in the accumulating wealth phase,” Beckett said. “I don’t know how many nieces and nephews I might have. It’s just about giving that money away while I’m alive—it brings me a lot of joy. I had help in buying a house and with my university fees, so I know how much it means.”
How do you plan when to die?
Of course, a major flaw in the dying with zero plan is that people rarely know when they’ll no longer need their money.
“You could die tomorrow, you could die at 105,” said Eliana Sydes, Head of Financial Life Strategy at financial advisors Y Tree. “We don’t know where it is in that continuum a person might fall, so which do we plan for?”
Running out of cash also gets more dangerous the older you get, she pointed out, with the latter years of a person’s life often proving the most expensive due to inflation and the care invariably needed in extreme old age.
This fear of “going without” is what drives many older people to continue to accumulate wealth when they should be decelerating their savings, Sydes explained: “People in their 90s now have very strong memories from the war. They’re bringing with them a lot of legacy baggage around fear of being without. We’re asking people to take a message of: ‘Die with nothing in the bank, you don’t know when that’s going to be, and by the way you’ve grown up with rationing which makes you feel really unsafe.'”
This fear may form part of the reason why baby boomers have an average net worth sitting roughly between $970,000 and $1.2 million, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances. Meanwhile Gen Zers’ average net worth sits at $76,000, the average millennial over the age of 35 stands at more than $400,000, and those in Gen X have average net worths between $400,000 and $833,000 (although it makes sense these net worths would be lower than boomers’ since younger generations haven’t had as much time to accumulate wealth).
Sydes added that the decision about dying with zero needs to be made when a person is younger in order to get their plan in place—but few like to be confronted with the reality of their demise. “There’s only actually a small window in life where you can safely and actively do this with a reasonable chance that this work out,” she said.
“[Dying with zero] is a great hook to open these conversations about ‘What is it I want to do while I’m alive to make these decisions about my money?’ But it can also be a barrier because it can be frightening to a lot of people. So I think the conversation is actually: ‘How do I die with zero above my personal needs?'”
Whether you’re looking to die with zero or gift sums in inheritance to loved ones, Sydes said there was one lesson to remember: purpose.
“It’s really hard to switch from accumulation to decumulation, it’s really emotionally difficult,” Sydes said. “It’s a conscious decision that you want to help others. It’s not good enough to give away stuff you’ve got, there has to be a purpose for what you’re doing otherwise you’ll give it up.
“If you’ve got a definite reason why: you’re getting some good feelings from it, you’re more likely to stick with it. You’re going to feel connected with your decision and that’s a really massive thing.”