“Why are you helping the rich?”

I was challenged by someone wondering why I focus my practice on helping families of high net worth, as if it was less noble in some way than helping “normal” families.  The implication was that families of wealth either don’t need, or don’t deserve help with the things I worry about on their behalf.

My first inclination was to say to this person that if you’re lucky enough to live in a place where you can ask me that, or read this blog, or even compare yourself to “high net worth” families, then you’re automatically the wealthiest among billions of other people on this planet, so be careful when you’re being judgmental.

And as I’ve said before, the quality of how you use whatever wealth you have is a better indicator of my interest in helping you than of any given level of wealth.  Based on that standard, I know wealthy families with $300,000 and unwealthy families with $30M, so I’m always careful about labeling people based solely on a dollar figure.

And finally, if you feel there are injustices, inequalities, calls to action, or social responsibilities that deserve our collective attention, where do you expect to find the greatest horsepower for fixing those things?  In my work with families of significant wealth, I’ve seen some amazing things happen because of their passion and their generosity.  This is why we believe:

Financial firewalls → Freedom of capital → Prosperity → Purpose → Passion → Action