If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

[omni550]

Amazing. I didn’t know this. I don’t have kids, but if I did, I would not send them to boarding school even in the US, let alone out of the country. I’d rather have close relationships with them and do what I could for them at home.

My cousin (she and her husband, both dentists, own a thriving dental practice with 27 employees, including 5 other dentists) in Germany. They have 4 kids, and the kids lived at home, with a succession of live-in nannies to care for them and attended the top private schools nearby. For their "high school" years, they are being sent to a small, private boarding school in Ireland. Besides the academic program, and keeping the kids in a very protected environment, she is putting them in a milieu where they will be making connections for their lifetimes, both personal and business.

This school is very selective in who can attend and wants to encourage a broadly international student body (only 5 students from Germany can attend, for instance). It does have a legacy program, so siblings get preferential entry.

As to the social connections these kids are making, cousin's oldest son was just invited to a fancy ball at a castle in Luxembourg. He was the only one there who was not from nobility. I guess his personality and dance skills opened a few doors. The students regularly invite their class friends to vacation with them in some of the most exclusive places in Europe or at family manor homes.

Quite a difference from my life.

omni

 

[Mdlerth]

As to the social connections these kids are making, cousin's oldest son was just invited to a fancy ball at a castle in Luxembourg. He was the only one there who was not from nobility...

Quite a difference from my life.

My family boasts a number of royal connections. They're called "kings of the road".

 

[Amethyst]

As my Mother used to remind us kids, we can all trace our lineage to Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland!

My family boasts a number of royal connections. They're called "kings of the road".

 

[Scuba]

My cousin (she and her husband, both dentists, own a thriving dental practice with 27 employees, including 5 other dentists) in Germany. They have 4 kids, and the kids lived at home, with a succession of live-in nannies to care for them and attended the top private schools nearby. For their "high school" years, they are being sent to a small, private boarding school in Ireland. Besides the academic program, and keeping the kids in a very protected environment, she is putting them in a milieu where they will be making connections for their lifetimes, both personal and business.

This school is very selective in who can attend and wants to encourage a broadly international student body (only 5 students from Germany can attend, for instance). It does have a legacy program, so siblings get preferential entry.

As to the social connections these kids are making, cousin's oldest son was just invited to a fancy ball at a castle in Luxembourg. He was the only one there who was not from nobility. I guess his personality and dance skills opened a few doors. The students regularly invite their class friends to vacation with them in some of the most exclusive places in Europe or at family manor homes.

Quite a difference from my life.

omni

I’m sure the connections will be very valuable. It’s just hard for me to imagine being that separated from one’s children, but then again, I don’t have kids.

 

[Scuba]

OMG, a fate worse than death

I went to a community college (to start with) and lived at home during undergraduate years. And here I am, a card-carrying FIREe.

Confession: I absolutely loved the junior college. It was like a high school do-over, only with more freedom and cuter guys. I was several months shy of 17 when I started, and they put me in all the advanced classes and treated me like some kind of girl genius

Glad it worked for you. YMMV. For me, it would have been a terrible thing to have to live at home. I left home at 16 and never lived there again, although I did visit. My motivation to leave was very strong and I’m sure it helped me perform well enough to get the full scholarship to a college away from home.

 

[braumeister]

My family boasts a number of royal connections. They're called "kings of the road".

I think there's probably a court jester somewhere in my ancestry.

 

[aja8888]

Kim Jong Un went to boarding school in Switzerland and look how well he's done!

I would guess his parents were busy building their empire and didn't have much time for him.

 

[NW-Bound]

I sure hope he learned the method of execution using anti-aircraft guns elsewhere after leaving the Swiss school.

On the Web, some of his classmates said they wanted to get in touch with him again.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

For one thing there are different kinds of intelligence. Most people, not all, recognize social skills as a sign of intelligence. That is not the only leading indicator, as I think it has has to do with things much too complicated for me or anyone else to try to explain in a short space.

I think personality plays a part. Upbringing, how we interact with other people, all play a part as to how we are judged by society. But these could all miss the mark in some cases because there may exist forms of intelligence in human behavior that is not being recognized or is being overlooked.

Thus we have mysteries about why smart people do dumb things. But who is to say who is smart? Who is to say who is not? Who judges that, and does anyone really have the right at all to judge anyone? No, but people will judge anyways, and as long as that is true there will always be a mystery because intelligence is just out there , but no one knows exactly what it is or how to properly measure it.

So to me the question about having money relating to intelligence or being smart is erroneous because no one knows how to properly measure intelligence in the first place. To me that is a prerequisite if we ever hope to answer questions like these. I hope we never do, because life is so much more exciting not being able to measure things exactly , but instead being able to do things in life that can't be accounted for or measured, but a sense of accomplishment in the doing of itself is so sweet and does it really matter anyways as long as life is worth living?

 

[kevdude]

I had lunch yesterday with some folks who live in an extremely wealthy neighborhood in Southern CA. It occurred to me as I listened to them talk about things they’re doing with their kids that it’s not surprising the rich get richer. These folks are taking their kids to Europe before college, because “they have to have that broadening cultural experience” before going off to college. They are sending their children to the best schools they can get into so they can build networks that will serve them well throughout their careers. The parents of these kids are obviously very successful financially and well-educated, and they help them a lot with homework and high school projects. It’s easy to understand why people growing up with high parental involvement, exposure to different cultures, and a focus on “meeting the right people” do better than many others.

In contrast, I grew up knowing that if I didn’t get a significant scholarship, I’d have to go to junior college and live at home. I was the valedictorian of my high school class and had lots of extracurricular activities so I was able to get a full tuition, room & board scholarship - whew! I didn’t even apply to any Ivy League schools as it just didn’t seem like a realistic possibility. And my parents never traveled outside of the US except for WWII duty. We took family vacations in the car, going to visit relatives, not flying to Europe to experience culture.

With some good luck and hard work, I got my education, built a successful career and was able to ER at 56, but it was definitely enlightening for me to hear the advantages other kids have. Good thing I didn’t know about this growing up ... I might have been intimidated!

I go back and forth on providing the best schools. Our oldest is a sophomore in high school and his dream school is Cal - Berkeley because, at this point, he wants to be a research scientist and they have a great program. At the same time, the University of Washington has a very competitive program as well, but ranked slightly behind Berkeley. We live in Washington so Berkeley is out of state tuition and UW is instate. The difference in cost is about $40k/year. Based on his grades and other activities, I suspect he will be accepted at both schools.

Since his preferred school is Berkeley, and not an Ivy League school, I’m not sure how much the networking aspect will help him vs UW. But again, UW has a very well respected medical research program, so maybe the networking will be just as good as at Berkeley. Most likely he will need a PhD later on and his future employer will pay for that.

We have told both our kids (we also have a 13-year old) that we will pay for public university in state. My wife’s college was paid for her and I paid for my own. Since hers was paid for, she has no problem paying for their school, no matter where they go. Based on our financial position, I don’t think there will be much in the way of financial aid, including scholarships, even merit based. Hopefully I’m wrong on that. But that being said, we can afford to pay for their school, no matter where they go.

 

[marko]

These wealthy kids meet their peers from all over the world. If they don't get into trouble, they go on to the finest universities and move up the political and corporate ladder pretty fast ahead of the rest who had to work much harder. If they get do get into trouble, their wealthy parents move them to another school. Educating rich kids is big business in Switzerland.

Kid my age that grew up next door to me was sent to Exeter. His brother went to Andover. The sister went to Switzerland. They roomed with some pretty high-end people (kids of movie stars, politicians, another was a son of some Indian royalty/businessman or something). Every other weekend, they'd have the son of some captain of industry or famous person over the house. Names you've all heard of; it was pretty impressive at the time.

You'd think that with those kinds of prep-school connections and creds, they'd have no problem getting ahead, or at least have a leg up.

Fifty years later, well, they've kept body and soul together but by no means did they blow the doors off of the world. One is a music teacher, another is a writer. Sister never came back from Europe and they don't talk about what became of her.

So...once again I think it's what you make of the opportunity, one's drive and ability to focus.

 

[RobbieB]

I'm smart, but I'm not rich, just a 5% er.

But I'm a slacker and did the least work (for pay) I could my whole life.

If I had only applied myself I think I could have been a 1% er.

But then people would hate me even more.

 

[travelover]

............So...once again I think it's what you make of the opportunity, one's drive and ability to focus.

That kind of privilege doesn't guarantee success, but it sure is a hell of a leg up.

 

[omni550]

So...once again I think it's what you make of the opportunity, one's drive and ability to focus.

Totally agree.

As an immigrant, I went to public schools (in Canada and the US) and a state university, chosen simply for its location so I could commute from home while studying for my engineering degree.

When I attained a management-level job at mega-motors, I used to laugh inwardly when I'd think about the elite pedigrees and educational institutions of some of my direct reports.

Further, I was fortunate to be able to engineer my early retirement at 56, while some of them are still toiling away at their corporate jobs.

omni

 

[Free bird]

Persistence & focus are the major reasons people have money.

 

[razztazz]

Kid my age that grew up next door to me was sent to Exeter. His brother went to Andover. The sister went to Switzerland. They roomed with some pretty high-end people (kids of movie stars, politicians, another was a son of some Indian royalty/businessman or something). Every other weekend, they'd have the son of some captain of industry or famous person over the house. Names you've all heard of; it was pretty impressive at the time.

You'd think that with those kinds of prep-school connections and creds, they'd have no problem getting ahead, or at least have a leg up.

Fifty years later, well, they've kept body and soul together but by no means did they blow the doors off of the world. One is a music teacher, another is a writer. Sister never came back from Europe and they don't talk about what became of her.

So...once again I think it's what you make of the opportunity, one's drive and ability to focus.

Exception that proves the rule

 

[scrabbler1]

I remember when I was investigating colleges to attend back in the early 1980s. I wanted to go to one which wasn't too far beneath me nor too far above me. Some research on this led me to go to NYU. I majored in Economics but had a strong programming and business background, a combination which led me to be a big fish in a small pond at the company I would eventually worked for.


Being a big fish in a small pond meant I used my programming skills in an actuarial department at a time when mainframe programming was on the rise and having someone who had a lot of the skills of a programmer but also had a strong actuarial and business background was in great demand.


I didn't have to be the best programmer in the company, and I didn't have to be the best actuarial person in my department. But I was the best programmer among the actuarial staff in my department, and that was great for job security and getting good pay raises (and a few, but not many promotions).


I was a big fish in this small pond for 23 years, until I ERed 9 years ago. I made good use of the opportunity I was given.

 

[Just_Steve]

Kim Jong Un went to boarding school in Switzerland and look how well he's done!

And someone else went NYMA, Hmm wonder who that was?

 

[cooch96]

Exception that proves the rule

I thought “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations” was the rule.

Wouldnt average performance be normal, not exceptional?

 

[marko]

I thought “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations” was the rule.

We use to use the term "Wasp-rot". Too many listless grand-kids diluting the trust fund.

 

[Amethyst]

What an interesting perspective! Yes, it can be advantageous to identify the way in which you, personally, are the best at something that the corporation needs - and maybe didn't even know it needed, until you came along. I think the management-consultant term for this is "finding Brand You."

I remember when I was investigating colleges to attend back in the early 1980s. I wanted to go to one which wasn't too far beneath me nor too far above me. Some research on this led me to go to NYU. I majored in Economics but had a strong programming and business background, a combination which led me to be a big fish in a small pond at the company I would eventually worked for.


Being a big fish in a small pond meant I used my programming skills in an actuarial department at a time when mainframe programming was on the rise and having someone who had a lot of the skills of a programmer but also had a strong actuarial and business background was in great demand.


I didn't have to be the best programmer in the company, and I didn't have to be the best actuarial person in my department. But I was the best programmer among the actuarial staff in my department, and that was great for job security and getting good pay raises (and a few, but not many promotions).


I was a big fish in this small pond for 23 years, until I ERed 9 years ago. I made good use of the opportunity I was given.

 

[Mdlerth]

Enough is as good as a feast

I'm smart, but I'm not rich, just a 5% er.

But I'm a slacker and did the least work (for pay) I could my whole life.

If I had only applied myself I think I could have been a 1% er.

But then people would hate me even more.

I'd bet a bottle of single malt that the difference in lifestyle between 5% and 1% is less than the difference between RE and still w*rking.

Now, when you hit 0.01%, we'll talk again.

 

[scrabbler1]

What an interesting perspective! Yes, it can be advantageous to identify the way in which you, personally, are the best at something that the corporation needs - and maybe didn't even know it needed, until you came along. I think the management-consultant term for this is "finding Brand You."

Actually, the company did know they wanted someone like me. I was hired and placed into my original department because they wanted someone with my combination of skills to automate a lot of tasks which had been done by hand. A few years later, I moved to another department and did the same thing for the next 19 years. The professional programmer/analysts I worked in other departments with liked me because I knew how to speak their language. And the actuarial folks in my own department (i.e. my main coworkers) liked me because I could speak their language, too.

 

[Amethyst]

That's cool!

Your story resonated with me because when I started working, I was seen as a fish out of water - even though the "company's" own aptitude tests had identified me as such a strong candidate, they hired me during a semi-hiring freeze.

To get ahead and not languish at the same grade forever, I had to identify and advance my "Brand You" combination of skills and aptitudes, some 25 years before I heard that phrase

Actually, the company did know they wanted someone like me. I was hired and placed into my original department because they wanted someone with my combination of skills to automate a lot of tasks which had been done by hand. A few years later, I moved to another department and did the same thing for the next 19 years. The professional programmer/analysts I worked in other departments with liked me because I knew how to speak their language. And the actuarial folks in my own department (i.e. my main coworkers) liked me because I could speak their language, too.

 

[marko]

That's cool!

Your story resonated with me because when I started working, I was seen as a fish out of water -

When I was hired entry level right out of school, my first performance review stated that I "obviously lacked the ability to grasp either the technology or business end and should consider seeking employment elsewhere". Boss was a dope, political, conniving and I knew it.

I ended up staying 33 more years and wound up being the #2 guy as SVP of what became a $400MM company.

Original boss turned out to be quite crazy and eventually was led out of the building one day.