Getting rich is hard enough. But teaching the next generation how to be rich is tricky, too.
发家致富已经够难了，而教育下一代如何打理财富也颇为棘手。
More people are confronting that issue as the booming stock market, an improving economy and the success of young companies such as Twitter and Facebook swell the ranks of the well-off. By 2015, roughly 4.4 million wealthy North Americans -- those with at least $1 million in investible assets -- are expected to hold a total of $15 trillion, according to consulting firm Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management, up from 3.7 million people and $12.7 trillion in 2012.
股票市场一派繁荣、经济状况改善及诸如推特(Twitter)、Facebook等年轻公司的成功壮大了富裕阶层的队伍，越来越多的人正面临着上述问题。据咨询公司凯捷(Capgemini)及加拿大皇家银行财富管理(RBC Wealth Management)表示，到2015年，预计约有440万北美富人──拥有至少100万美元可投资资产的人群──他们将持有总额为15万亿美元的资产。而在2012年，这一数据为12.7万亿美元，相应人数为370万。
Congress also opted to keep the federal estate-tax exemption at $5 million, adjusted for inflation, keeping a lot of money in the hands of wealthy families that otherwise might have gone to Uncle Sam. The exemption had been set to fall sharply.
美国国会也选择将联邦遗产税起征点保持在500万美元，该举措是针对通货膨胀做出的相应调整，这就将大量财富留在了富裕家庭的手中。否则的话，这些钱也许早已流进了美国政府的兜里。制定这样的起征点使遗产税收大幅下降。
Yet the challenges are rising at the same time as the stakes, according to parents and wealth advisers. Traditional hurdles -- such as helping kids reared in comfort develop a strong work ethic -- are compounded by 21st-century ones, including maintaining a safe presence on social media.
然而，据父母和理财顾问称，相关挑战却正在上升，与此同时，风险也在增高。传统的难关──如帮助在舒适环境中成长的子女形成强烈的职业道德观念──在21世纪变得更为复杂，包括在社交媒体上保证自身的信息安全。
Many wealthy parents worry that fortunes will be squandered and their children's lives, instead of being eased by money, will be made more complicated or less productive. Some 57% of the respondents to a 2013 survey by U.S. Trust, Bank of America's private-bank unit, didn't think their kids would be ready to handle being rich until they were 25 to 34 years old. In a similar survey the prior year, 51% had the same view.
许多富爸爸富妈妈担心钱财将被挥霍一空，而孩子的人生也将因为钱变得更复杂──而不是更容易──或更没有作为。据美国银行(Bank of America) 的私人银行部门美国信托(U.S. Trust)2013年进行的一项调查显示，57%的受访者认为他们的子女在25至34岁之前还没有做好当个富人的准备。而在2012年进行的一项类似的调查中，有51%的受访者持相同看法。
The good news is there are strategies that can smooth the transition and lower its risks, experts say. They recommend starting to talk about the family's money early, well before children are grown, and then building on those early conversations as the time nears when kids will receive any inheritance.
专家称，好消息是，现有一些策略能让财富平稳过渡并降低交接风险。他们建议父母早点开口谈论家庭财产的问题，在孩子长大成人很久之前就要着手进行此事，然后在子女将继承任何遗产临近之际，再在早期谈话的基础上作进一步沟通。
Amy Renkert-Thomas's maternal grandfather founded the Fisher-Price Toy company during the Great Depression and sold it in 1969 to Quaker Oats for more than $300 million in today's dollars. Her father's family, meanwhile, started a local brick-and-tile manufacturer in 1866, which the family still runs and which generates about $10 million to $20 million in annual sales.
艾米·恩卡特-托马斯(Amy Renkert-Thomas)的外祖父在经济大萧条时期创建了费雪玩具公司(Fisher-Price Toy)，后于1969年将公司出售给桂格·奥特斯公司(Quaker Oats)，成交价相当于今天的3亿多美元。与此同时，恩卡特-托马斯父亲支系的家族在1866年创建了一家本地的砖瓦厂。时至今日，该厂仍由他们家族经营，每年产出的销售额约在1,000万到2,000万美元之间。
While she was growing up in Canton, Ohio, her parents talked openly about where their fortune came from and handed over control of brokerage accounts with a couple hundred thousand dollars in them to her and her siblings when each of them turned 21. Her mother had gotten a similar account when she came of age and wanted to continue the practice.
当恩卡特-托马斯长于俄亥俄州坎顿市(Canton, Ohio)时，她的父母就公开谈论了家族财富从何而来的话题，并在恩卡特-托马斯和她的兄弟姐妹都长到21岁时，将存有上万美元的证券账户的掌控权移交给了他们。她的母亲曾在与她同样年纪的时候，接受过同样的账户，她也想把这个做法传承下去。
Ms. Renkert-Thomas, who is now 51, says the experience helped prepare her to inherit a larger sum when her mother died in 2007 and to view her wealth as a 'potential engine for entrepreneurship.' For 12 years, she ran the family's brick-and-tile business in between stints practicing law. She now works as an adviser to other wealthy families that own businesses at Withers Consulting Group in New Haven, Conn.
现年51岁的恩卡特-托马斯称，在她母亲于2007年去世时，年轻时的那段经历帮她做好了继承更大一笔钱的准备，并使她将这些财富视为“创业的潜在动力引擎”。12年来，她都经营着家族的砖瓦生意，在工作中摸索实践。如今，恩卡特-托马斯在康涅狄格州纽黑文(New Haven, Conn)的威瑟斯咨询集团(Withers Consulting Group)担任顾问的工作，为其他拥有自家生意的富人家庭服务。
'It's very freeing, very energizing, to think that that wealth is there to be put to good use, ' she says.
她说：“一想到财富放在那里将得到充分利用，我就觉得特别振奋。”
Here are steps that experts say wealthy families should take to help raise kids who are both wealthy and wise:
专家称，富裕家庭应该践行以下步骤来培养又富有又聪慧的孩子。
Tell the Rags-to-Riches Story
讲一讲白手起家的故事
Few families have known nothing but privilege for generation after generation. Maybe it is the parents, or the grandparents, or the great-grandparents, but someone on the family tree only got rich after experiencing struggle and, likely, early failure.
几乎没有哪个家族世世代代都是富有的。也许是父母那一代，或是祖父母那一代，亦或是曾祖父母那一代，不论是哪一位，家谱上总会有某个人是经历艰苦奋斗后才致富的，而且他创业初期很有可能遭遇过失败。
Families have to tell the story of where the money came from, says Neale Godfrey, chairwoman of the Children's Financial Network, a financial-education firm based in Chester Township, N.J.
儿童的金融网(Children's Financial Network)的女董事长尼尔·戈弗雷(Neale Godfrey)称，这些家庭必须得讲一讲有关钱从何而来的故事。该网站是一家总部位于新泽西州切斯特镇(Chester Township, N.J.)的金融教育公司。
'Kids are so insulated from how it got created in the first place, ' she says. By the time the youngest generation arrives, the houses are often already large, the beach house is well lived-in and the club memberships have been long secured.
她说：“孩子们对这一切最初是如何创造出来的是如此无知。”在最年幼的这一代呱呱坠地之时，家里的房子通常已经很宽敞了，海滨度假屋也很少闲置，而俱乐部会员也是老早就获得了。
One way to get children involved is to show them where it all started -- the first factory opened by the business, for instance. Ms. Renkert-Thomas says her father used to point out structures built with the family's brick products as they traveled around town during her childhood.
让孩子们参与到家业中的一种方式是向他们展示一切都是从哪里开始的──比如说，家族企业开办的第一家工厂。恩卡特-托马斯说，童年时期，当父亲带着他们游逛城镇时，他常常会指出那些用自家砖瓦产品修建出来的建筑。
In telling the family's story, be sure to include mention of the mistakes and failures along the way, advisers say. It is hard for kids to grow up in a house where they think their parents are superheroes.
顾问们称，在讲述家族故事的时候，要确保提及这一路中犯过的错误、经历过的失败。对于生长在这种家庭环境中──将自己的父母视为超级英雄──的孩子，他们很难成长起来。
Give a Sense of What's Coming
提前让孩子对未来有个底
U.S. Trust's survey found that 53% of respondents who had children age 25 and older had disclosed only a little bit of information about their wealth to their kids. Another 8% had said nothing at all -- an approach that, according to the experts, courts disaster.
美国信托的调查发现，那些子女年纪已达25岁或大于25岁的受访者中有53%的人只向他们的孩子透露了一点点有关自家财富的信息。而另有8%的受访者更是对此只字未提──据专家们认为，这种方式将会招致祸端。
A phone call by a trust officer on an heir's 21st birthday isn't the way to break the news that a sizable fortune awaits. The conversation should begin at least a decade earlier, and introductions to the trust officer and the advisers should start in the early teen years, advisers say.
让信托人员在继承人21岁生日那天打电话过去告知他们说，有一笔可观的财富正等着他们，用这种方式宣告此类信息的做法并不对。顾问称，与之相关的对话至少应该在12年前就开始进行了，而在子女青春期初期，父母就该着手向他们介绍信托人员和顾问了。
'The surprise never works. Kids are blindsided and have no idea what to do, ' Ms. Godfrey says.
戈弗雷说：“这种惊喜从来都是行不通的。孩子们会傻了眼，并且不知道该怎么办。”
She says that in one family she knows, the oldest son inherited $7 million at age 21 with no prior notice. He just met with the family's financial adviser, who handed him a check and said more was coming at age 30.
她说，在她了解的一家人中，长子在之前完全不知情的情况下于21岁时继承了700万美元的遗产。他才刚刚见了自家的财务顾问，后者递给他一张支票，并说等他到了30岁的时候，还会得到更多的钱。
The young man dropped out of college and bought a Ferrari, later crashing the car and frittering the money away due to a substance-abuse problem, and ending up in rehabilitation.
这名年轻男子从大学退学后，买了一辆法拉利(Ferrari)，后来又撞了车，并因为滥用药物问题将钱财挥霍一空，最终进了戒毒所。
Ms. Godfrey says she was brought in by the parents to help prevent the same thing from happening with two younger siblings. She recommended the other children meet with financial advisers well before they received any of their inheritance.
戈弗雷称，她被这名男子的父母领进他们家帮忙，以防另外两个弟妹重蹈哥哥的覆辙。她建议其他的孩子在继承任何遗产之前，早早地就与财经顾问会会面。
That doesn't mean that kids need to know all the details about the family finances. The conversations can proceed in an age-appropriate way, experts say.
这并不是说，孩子得对家庭财务状况了如指掌。专家称，这种谈话可以以一种适合孩子年龄的方式推进。
Joline Godfrey, chief executive officer at financial-education firm Independent Means in Santa Barbara, Calif. (and no relation to Neale Godfrey), says her company starts teaching children as young as five about financial literacy, then gradually expands into other topics, including what a trust is and why it is smart to have a good relationship with the trustee and, eventually, how to set up prenuptial agreements when they become young adults.
位于加州圣巴巴拉 (Santa Barbara Calif.)的金融教育公司独立谋生手段 (Independent Means)的首席执行长裘琳·戈弗雷（Joline Godfrey,与前述的尼尔·戈弗雷没有任何关系）说，她的公司早在孩子们五岁时就开始教授他们金融知识，然后逐渐扩展到其他主题，包括什么是信托以及为何与受托人关系融洽是明智之举，最后是，当他们成年时如何拟定婚前协议。
'If you can begin the talk early, by the time they are 10 and 12 years old they have an orientation to financial literacy, and it's easier to deal with than when they are 19 years old and this is the first they are hearing of it, ' she says.
她说：“如果你能早点开启这种对话，那等他们到了10至12岁的时候，他们就会对金融知识有个大致了解，这比等他们年满19岁才第一次听说相关事宜要更易处理。”
Don't discount the value of games, either. Traditional board games can help boost financial awareness, according to advisers who cited the Game of Life and Pay Day, both made by Hasbro, as examples.
也不要小视游戏的价值。顾问称，传统的棋盘游戏有助于增强金融意识。他们列举了《游戏人生》(Game of Life)和《收获日》(Pay Day)两款游戏，这些都是由孩之宝(Hasbro)制造推出的。
In addition, a website called the Secret Millionaires Club (www.smckids.com) features animated videos with voice-overs by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett teaching the basics of financial decision-making and starting a business. The site, which is targeted at a broad audience, offers a number of other educational games and resources for parents and teachers.
除此之外，一个名叫神秘的百万富翁俱乐部(Secret Millionaires Club)的网站(www.smckids.com)制作了系列动画视频教授金融决策和创业的基础知识，由比尔·盖茨(Bill Gates)和沃伦·巴菲特(Warren Buffett)来配音。以普通大众为受众的这家网站还向家长和老师提供大量的其他教育类游戏与资源。
Explain the Need for Discretion
解释为何需要谨言慎行
Once children have a general feel for their family's finances, it is easier to explain the need for discretion and privacy.
一旦孩子对自家的财务状况有了一个大致的了解，再向他们解释谨言慎行和保护隐私的必要性就容易得多。
That conversation is particularly important for teenagers and preteens who may be establishing a presence on social media. Going on Facebook or Twitter to describe details of the family's upcoming ski trip to Gstaad can increase the risk of theft, advisers say. It is better to share information in a more controlled way with a closer circle of friends by email, for example.
这类谈话对于那些可能正在社交媒体上建立自己一席之地的青少年和青春期以前的孩子尤其重要。顾问称，到Facebook或推特上描述全家将去格施塔德(Gstaad)共渡滑雪之旅的点滴细节将会增加被盗风险。最好是在一个更亲近的朋友圈内以一种更可控的方式分享信息，比如说，发发邮件。
U.S. Trust is adding content about online security and identity protection to its Financial Empowerment education program for the children of clients, in part because clients have raised questions about the topic, says Chris Heilmann, oversaw the program's creation.
克里斯·海尔曼(Chris Heilmann)说，美国信托正在将有关网络安全和身份保护的内容加入到针对客户子女的金融赋权(Financial Empowerment)教育课程中去，部分原因是客户提出了与之相关的问题。海尔曼监管了该项目的创新。
Even as adults, heirs need to learn how to handle questions about their personal circumstances, particularly given that lists of the wealthy that are easily available online can make it difficult to maintain a sense of privacy.
即使作为成年人，继承者也需要学习如何处理有关个人情况的问题，尤其是考虑到网络上的富豪榜单唾手可得，这就使保护隐私变得困难。
Ann Freel, director of family education and governance services at private bank Northern Trust, says she had clients in a small town who grew anxious about how to respond to questions from friends after they quit their jobs to do full-time volunteer work.
私人银行北方信托(Northern Trust)家庭教育与管理服务部主管安·菲涅尔(Ann Freel)称，她有一些客户在小城镇，这些人在辞职去做全职志愿者工作后被朋友问到一些问题，他们不知该如何应答，因而变得焦虑。
The bank coached the couple through scenarios where they would have to respond to questions. 'They realized that not only were most of the questions quite innocent, but that they could effectively manage the inquiries and deflect unwanted attention, ' Ms. Freel says.
该银行对这对夫妇进行了培训，培训场境设定为他们不得不回答问题的状态。菲涅尔说：“他们不仅认识到，大多数问题都没有恶意，而且还意识到自己能够有效地处理这些询问、转移不必要的注意力。”
Walk the Walk
说干就干，要付诸行动
Once children understand that they are better off financially than most everyone around them, parents often must work a little harder to impart down-to-earth values.
一旦孩子们了解到他们比周围大多数人都富有后，父母常常得稍微努力些、向他们传授脚踏实地的价值观。
'You can start as soon as your kids say 'I want.' Kids prone to immediate gratification have lower self-esteem. Kids who understand money is more than instant gratification have higher self-esteem, ' says Nathan Dungan, a wealth coach in Minneapolis and author of 'Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM.'
明尼阿波里斯市(Minneapolis)的财富教练、《浪荡公子与物质女孩：如何不当孩子的自动提款机》(Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM)一书的作者内森·邓根(Nathan Dungan)说：“你可以从孩子一说‘我想要’时就开始行动。那些倾向于及时享乐的孩子自尊心较差，而那些认为金钱不止是及时行乐的孩子则自尊心更强。”
The task is even more difficult if parents don't practice what they preach. Trying to teach the value of a dollar is tough when parents make lots of shopping trips to high-end stores. Similarly, a message about the importance of viewing others as equals may not carry as much weight if a parent uses a demeaning tone of voice with service workers.
如果父母不能以身作则的话，那这项任务就更为艰巨了。当家长频繁出入高档商场、进行大量购物之旅时，再试着向子女教授一美元的价值是很困难的。与之类似的是，如果家长用一种有损他人人格的口吻跟服务员交流的话，那有关平等待人的重要性的说教可能也很难有什么份量了。
'Kids develop attitudes about money and wealth by observing their parent's day-to-day actions more than anything else, ' Ms. Freel says.
菲涅尔说：“孩子们通过观察父母的日常行为从而形成了自己对金钱和财富的态度，这种耳濡目染的影响力超过任何其他东西。”
Those lessons also can continue into adulthood. Frank Crocetti, who is 62 and a former executive at Fidelity Investments, is a private investor and a board member of a technology startup company. He says he tried to teach his children basic lessons while they were growing up.
那些课程也可以持续到成年期。富达投资(Fidelity Investments)前高管、现年62岁的弗兰克·克罗塞蒂(Frank Crocetti)是一名私人投资者，也是一家科技初创公司的董事会成员。他说，在子女成长期间，他曾试着向他们教授一些基本的课程。
'I tried to make them smart about money, ' says Mr. Crocetti, who lives in Boston. He arranged in recent years for his 32-year-old son, Paul, and Paul's wife to go through U.S. Trust's financial-education program.
现居波士顿(Boston)的克罗塞蒂说：“我试着让他们对钱变得精明。”近些年，他安排自己32岁的儿子保罗(Paul)和儿媳参加了美国信托的金融教育项目。
Establishing good work habits also can start at a young age. Parents can provide allowances for chores completed around the house and, later, suggest entry-level jobs in a restaurant or a local store.
养成良好的工作习惯也能从年轻的时候开始。父母可以给做家务的孩子一些补贴，之后再建议子女到一家餐馆或当地的商店做一些初级工作。
As kids get older, parents can get them involved in day-to-day money decisions in the home, such as managing a limited budget for car expenses, after-school activities or a week's worth of groceries, Ms. Freel says.
菲涅尔说，等孩子们长大一些，父母可以让他们参与到家庭的日常资金决策中来，比如管理一笔有限的汽车开销、课外活动或一周的杂货采购预算。
Then, when the time comes to manage a serious amount of money, they have a better chance of managing well, experts say. And don't be afraid they might fail at first, says Jill Shipley, a private adviser in West Palm Beach, Fla.
专家说，如果这样做，那当孩子将来要管理相当大数目的一笔钱时，他们管理得当的机会就大得多。佛罗里达州西棕榈滩(West Palm Beach, Fla.)的私人顾问吉尔·希普利(Jill Shipley)说，不要担心他们在一开始可能会失败。
Ms. Shipley cites a wealthy client whose adult son wanted to buy a restaurant franchise. The son, who was in his 20s, had worked in the business for a year before the father agreed that if he put together a business plan and got a mentor, he would fund the purchase. Three-and-a-half years and $1.5 million later, the experiment failed.
希普利列举了一个富人客户的例子，该客户已成年的儿子想要购买一家餐厅的特许经营权。这个孩子在20几岁的时候就已经这个行业工作过一年，之后他父亲才同意，如果儿子拟定一个商业计划并聘请一名导师，他才会出资购买特许经营权。三年半的时间，150万美元的投入，这场试验最后以失败告终。
But the son went on to become a partner in another business, and is now thriving, Ms. Shipley says. 'Allow children to make mistakes and gain experience, ' she advises.
希普利说，但他的儿子继续在另一项生意中变成了合伙人，现在正做得如火如荼。她建议称：“允许孩子犯错并收获经验。”
Ms. Renkert-Thomas's mother had a similar attitude about the brokerage accounts her children got control of when they turned 21. 'She basically told me to do with it as I chose, but I have to live with the consequences, ' Ms. Renkert-Thomas says.
恩卡特-托马斯的母亲对孩子们在21岁那年接手掌管证券账户持有相似的态度。恩卡特-托马斯说：“她基本上就是告诉我，按我自己的选择来做，但我必须得承担后果。”
The account contained enough money to help pay for graduate school and buy a house -- but not enough for her to quit school and stop working, she says. Ms. Renkert-Thomas made typical young-person mistakes, such as overspending on restaurant meals, but ultimately she came to view the money as startup capital.
她还说，这个账户内有足够的钱帮助支付研究生学费并买下一处房──但她若要退学并停止工作的话，这些钱是不够养她的。恩卡特-托马斯犯了年轻人常犯的错误，比如过高的餐饮消费，但最终她还是把这笔钱当作了启动资金。
Now, Ms. Renkert-Thomas's own children are 20 and 18, and she says she is getting ready to set up brokerage accounts for them, too.
如今，恩卡特-托马斯的孩子一个20岁，一个18岁。恩卡特-托马斯说，她正准备也为他们开设证券账户。
|
