You may have never heard of her unless
you are a devotee of the Food Network, but
British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson is a
fairly wealthy woman. Tabloids put her own
fortune at $30 million, and if you add her
husbands dough to the mix it goes to over
$100 million, which is a good chunk of
change by anyone's standards.
Nigella Lawson was born into wealth. She
is the daughter of an English aristocrat, but
she made her fortune on her own, without
any help from her wealthy parents.
She could have just played around and waited
for the money her parents have to be handed
down to her, but she elected not to be one of
the all too boring British social set.
She made the news this week because she
said in an interview that she had recently
changed her will, and that she is not leaving
any money to her children. She wants her
children to build their own empire, just as she
did, without any help from Mumsie.
Personally, I think this is a very good idea.
I have seen what has happened to kids who
have never had to work a day in their lives and
it ain't pretty. Many of them are dead.
I have a friend who grew up among the wealthiest
families in America, and most of the kids he
grew up with aren't with us any longer. He is the
only one of his group of friends who graduated
from college, and has a job.
I don't know how much money he has, but it's a
real decent amount. He doesn't have to work at all,
but he goes every day, and he has done that for a
couple of decades.
He recommends not passing large sums of money
to your children, and says that if you do do that,
there should be strings attached. The strings should
require that a number of things be accomplished
before you can receive the mundo.
I think he's right.
A number of years ago I heard Bill Cosby in concert.
One of his routines revolved around his kids waiting
around to get some of his money. He said if they
did that they would be very disappointed, because he
was going to make a supreme effort to spend it all
before he was called to the pearly gates.
I'm going to spend what I make too. It would just burn
anyway where I'm going.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
P.S. Just joking there, I think I still have a shot
at a comfortable cloud. I could use a little heat
right now as we cruise toward Antarctica. It's
a good thing I brought my fur coat and hat.
You can still reach the King at 206 407 3124.
The James R Whelan Agency never sleeps.
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