From Yahoo Finance, by Ken Eyler
You may have heard of the third-generation curse, which causes 90% of wealthy families to lose their money by the third generation. But some individuals manage to deplete their wealth even sooner, especially if they came into a lot of money quickly.
For instance, athletes, entertainers, executives and entrepreneurs who achieve runaway success after years of financial hardship may suddenly find themselves with seven-figure bank accounts and no idea how to carefully spend and manage their money.
The same thing can happen to people who inherit a lot of money. In fact, money mismanagement is one of the primary factors in the third-generation curse if sound financial values and solid money management strategies weren’t passed on through the generations.
Many of these families did not start off wealthy, and had already developed sub-optimal money habits by the time they became wealthy. Often, it’s hard to change those habits that have been formed over a lifetime. But when you have money, you, unfortunately, become a target. Your behavior needs to change if you want to preserve your wealth.
GoBankingRates spoke to Ken Eyler, CEO of Aquilance, a financial administration company focused on bill pay, bookkeeping, and complex entity and investment reporting for wealthy families. He shared with us seven tips to preserve generational wealth, whether you are a new heir, a social media influencer who hit it big, or an entrepreneur who’s struggled for years before finding that business idea that set you up for life…
