WOULDN'T IT BE great to be 16 and filthy rich, with a life of luxury cars, beautiful people, spectacular homes and extended holidays stretching ahead of you?
Well, not necessarily, as it happens. History shows us that children who inherit fortunes don't always fare that well in life.
Take 'poor little rich girl' Barbara Hutton, who inherited the Woolworth fortune on her 21st birthday and allegedly died broke, miserable and alone with a trail of failed marriages and substance abuse in her wake. Or John Paul Getty, the son of one of the richest men in the world at the time, whose money couldn't save him from a life dogged by addiction, tragedy and depression.
It's well-documented that extreme wealth can breed boredom, lack of ambition (what do you strive for if you already have everything?), a suspicion about new friends and a chronic lack of self-worth that can lead to substance abuse, depression and psychological disorders. Not something that most of us will ever have to worry about for our children, surely?
According to American psychologist Madeleine Levine, you may have to think again. In her book The Price of Privilege (HarperCollins US), Levine argues that a generation of children who aren't rich are growing up with exactly these feelings of emptiness and despair. These children are from 'affluent' families, she says, meaning those with incomes above US$120,000 (HK$900,000) a year.
These children go to private schools, participate in extra-curricular activities, get on a plane once a year to go on holiday with their family, can afford the latest computer games and new clothes every now and then, and will probably go to university.