People think that I have it easy, and they’d be partly right. However, they don’t know the dark side of being the spawn of billionaire parents. Actually, neither my father nor my mother are billionaires, but combined they are. To be honest, I don’t know their exact net worth because I’ve never asked and I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t discuss it with me. I am hesitant to give away too much information about my parents, but the vast majority of their wealth comes from old money, venture capital and investments. I don’t know how life might be for new money children, but this is how it was for me…
The “good” part of being their son/daughter was that I could literally buy whatever I wanted. It might sound shallow, but I did enjoy this benefit. If I wanted a new phone, I got it instantly. When I turned 16, I could get any car I wanted and then got another one that Christmas… and another one for my 17th birthday. For the most part, I was homeschooled because our life was nothing but travel. My mom and dad would always travel the world and I would go with them. This might sound like a wonderful lifestyle, but both parents would be attached to their phones and computers the entire time. We flew private and would rent private homes wherever we stayed.
Don’t think that my parents are some cold, distant figures that only care about money. We had a close relationship and although we didn’t spend a lot of time together, the time that we did spend together was quality. We had the whole deal – butlers, cooks, maids, tutors, everything. We had to, with the size of our estates. I could barely keep track of the people my parents employed. There were only a few people who stayed for years, and I guess you could say I was “raised” by the butlers and maids, or the three that stayed a long time.
You would think that minimal parenting and an endless supply of money would be heaven on earth, but there were so many restrictions. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of security my parents had wherever we went. And our house? Cameras, so many cameras. I would accidentally trip alarms and I would never have any privacy. You would think that I could hide boyfriends/girlfriends in such a big house… forget about it. You see the security devices everywhere. In your bedroom, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the garages.
Because I was homeschooled and because we traveled so much, I didn’t have many friends. Maybe two in my entire childhood. That’s lonely. I would watch TV and movies about rich kids and see how they would go out, party and enjoy life. I always felt sick seeing that because I knew it wasn’t reality. I can’t even leave the house without having a complete security team with me. My parents were always worried about being kidnapped, tortured, etc. and I know the same fear rubbed off on me. I wanted to go to a mall alone or go to a sporting event and be in the crowd like everyone else, but my parents wouldn’t let me. I didn’t even realize that my bodyguards weren’t really my “uncles” until I was about nine years old! I mean, how can you have six or seven interchangeable uncles??
Don’t even get me started on the pressure to succeed. Granted, I’m an adult now and I’m making my own money, but it seems like it will never be enough. Because we are an old money family, I grew up hearing, “Your grandfather/grandmother accomplished all this! He/she was such a great person…” and so on. Truthfully, I never met my grandparents. I wish I could’ve, but I didn’t.
Actually, I think I met them when I was a baby, but I don’t remember. There’s always a nagging feeling that anything I accomplish in life will just be written off to my family and my last name, not ME. My parents raised me with extremely high expectations. I’m thinking that I turned out okay, but I would cry almost every week because of the pressure. They would tell me nearly every day how important it was to uphold our status and not ruin the family’s reputation. I hated that. I wanted nothing more than my own independence. Today, I constantly downplay my family’s involvement because I want my personal accomplishments to shine.
I hope you realize that every family is different and that this is just my story. I don’t really regret having the life I’ve had, but these are just some of the difficulties. Pressure. Paranoia. Looking back, I’m surprised I’m not some spoiled brat with no ambition. While I got a wonderful education and a lot of advantages not available to other people, I wasn’t ever disciplined or taught a solid set of values. Money was the ruler in our household, and my parents used it like a carrot. They would buy me stuff just to get me to adhere to their standards.
I’ve gotten to meet some of the coolest people in the world, and a lot of celebrities. Unfortunately, I never really recognized the celebs or got “star-struck” because I barely watched TV or enjoyed any pop culture. That’s from being sheltered. However, I’ve gotten some great advice and wisdom from the smartest people on earth. That’s a huge plus.
I’m not married yet. You think it would be easy to find someone as some billionaire offspring, but it’s not. Far from it. Ironically, I try my hardest to hide my wealth (actually, not even my wealth, my parents’ wealth) to ensure that whoever I find will love me for me and me alone. The paranoia really creeps in. I’ve even got a few Hondas and Toyotas to take out on dates (the truth is, I love my Mercedes) to appear as normal as possible. I know a lot of really rich people I can date, but they all seem dim and dull, living an aimless life reveling in their millions. I actually want to make something of myself, not just get together and create another member of the lucky sperm club. To be honest, I don’t even care about my future spouse’s money. I won’t say that my childhood created a revulsion to wealth, but I won’t not date someone just because he/she is poor.
Charles Dickens said that “A crust well-earned is sweeter than a fest inherited”. I definitely feel the truth behind that statement. I’m nowhere near a billionaire in my own right, but I’m enjoying my own earned crust.