Posts by Will Bonner
Investing in a Culture of Permanence
“The rich never sell.” A successful real estate investor friend once told me that. When he said it, I thought that it was one of those things people say that sounds good, but that it probably wasn’t true. Of course, the rich buy and sell real estate all the time, just like everybody else… right?…
Read MoreHow One Wealthy Family Created a 38-Year-Old Billionaire
This is the story of a rich kid from Silicon Valley… with great connections. His father and stepfather were both successful investment bankers. But this kid’s career path took a different shape. In high school, he wasn’t much of a student. He cruised along with a B average. Most of his time and attention were spent on his true passion:…
Read MoreAssessing Risk on the Family Side of the Family Wealth Equation
Identifying risk factors and defining risk tolerance are well-established best practices for successful long-term investing. But a risk assessment of the family itself is virtually unheard of. As we know in the family office world, the vast majority of wealth is lost due to family problems, not financial ones. That’s why a “family risk assessment”…
Read MoreThe Getty Curse
Jean Paul Getty was a son of a gun. He was also one of the most successful businessmen in American history. He amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune in the oil business. But his was not a rags-to-riches story. The Gettys were Scotch-Irish Presbyterian immigrants. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is named after their relatives. J. Paul’s father, George F. Getty, built up a…
Read MoreThe Greatest Gift to Leave Your Grandchildren
You’ve probably heard the phrase “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” It describes how wealth earned in one generation tends to be lost by the third. This is a common phenomenon. Avoiding this fate is a core theme in the Bonner & Partners Family Office newsletter. How do you hold on to wealth you worked…
Read MoreHow to Avoid the “Vanderbilt Curse”
Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt was the second wealthiest American ever. Adjusted for the size of the economy, he was estimated to be worth $143 billion in 2007 dollars. The only wealthier American was oil man John D. Rockefeller, who amassed a fortune of nearly $192 billion. Both men were wealthier than modern moguls Bill Gates…
Read MoreHow to Build Your Family Wealth
The real wealth in your family is in its human, not its financial, capital. This is one of the secrets of establishing a lasting legacy. Concentrate on your family… and the wealth will follow. Families that successfully preserve wealth for generations are always made up of individuals with financially valuable skills and abilities, held together…
Read MoreFix Your Kids and Your Career
Warren Buffett recently chose his son Howard to succeed him as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. You may wonder if the world’s richest investor picked his son out of nepotism or sloth. He didn’t. In fact, he had a very good reason. Howard Buffett, is a farmer and philanthropist and has served on the board of…
Read MoreHow the World’s Richest Family Went Broke
How the Vanderbilt family spent away their fortune by becoming ‘insiders,’ and failed to pass down wealth to generations after.
Read MoreBlogging for Fun and Profit
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead & rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” – Benjamin Franklin I used to think that blogs were a big waste. A waste of time to write and a waste of time to read. I thought they were…
Read More11 Stunning Market Predictions for 2006
If you want to know where NOT to put your money every year … just pick up a basket of financial magazines in December. Every single one will have a cover story about the hottest sectors and the hottest stocks for the year ahead. And if you go back and look at them a year…
Read MoreThe Easiest Way to Immediately Advance Your Career
Dear ETR Reader, Today, I’d like to tell you about the easiest way to immediately advance your career–no matter what field you work in. In fact, you could add anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 to even $100,000 a year to your salary right now – and it wouldn’t involve changing careers, starting a business or…
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