Before he died last year at the age of 99, a friend asked Charlie Munger if he planned to leave his considerable wealth to his children. Wouldn’t it impact their work ethic, his friend asked. “Of course it will,” Munger replied. “But you still have to do it.” “Why?” his friend [...]
Five Estate Planning Considerations
Mick Jagger is among the most successful entertainers of our time. But despite his wealth, Jagger tells his eight children that they’ll need to make their own way. Similarly, Shaquille O’Neal tells his children that they can earn some of his millions, but it won’t necessarily be given to them. Actor [...]
Almost True
Last week, I discussed a key challenge in personal finance: that in a field where we would expect facts and logic to drive decisions, we instead find that misconceptions and misunderstandings often take hold. Last time, I outlined five common financial myths. Below are five more: “When a company [...]
Stories We Tell
In his book Narrative Economics, Yale economist Robert Shiller argues that storytelling has more of an impact on economic events than we might assume. In a domain that seems like it ought to be driven by facts and data, stories often take on a life of their own. Many stock market bubbles—and [...]
Year-end giving
With December approaching, it’s a good time to think about end-of-the-year financial planning. What steps might you take? One common strategy is to make charitable gifts—to support good causes, of course, as well as to reap a tax benefit. But before doing that, I suggest a related exercise, which [...]
