Amongst the Goths, the deceased, and all their worldly possessions were buried together, in a wagon. This was so that young people would have to accumulate 'wealth' the same way their parents did--through trading, raiding, plundering, and pillaging.(It was a tough life, being a Goth!).These 'wagon graves' turn up every now and then, in Eastern Europe.

I think it's good for children to legitimately earn their money, as a lesson in how to succeed in life, without having it too easy, where they lose site of the struggles of the average person. Then, if they come into money at a later age, they could possibly have gained the wisdom and insight to put it to better use for the greater good and thereby have more satisfaction in life than if they were to live selfishly or for a small group of friends/loved ones.

I don't think money can buy happiness, but the satisfaction of being productive and an asset to humanity can lead to happiness in life. Therefore, I think making children wait for an inheritance is a better angle, so they have some life lessons first.

A cap of $1M should be enough, at the age of 21, or so, to give anyone a reasonable start in life. If they cannot live well the rest of their life with that amount of seed money, oh well, maybe they'll just have to live like the rest of us.

Absolutely not! Would be the ruination of most to inherit a fortune at a young age.

No. They should give it to me, a very responsible adult.

Absolutely not! Even my thousands will go to the grandboys after they turn 25, unless they use it for an invention, or college....

If i had that money, i would probably invest it in starting a business to support myself. yet I see too many people squandering their good fortune on parties and high living beyond what they could afford in the long term. its a matter of moral interpretation

One of the stupidly rich businessmen on the Dragon's Den had a good take on this: with his kids, he doubles their salary. If they work in a pro-social but poorly paid job (ie. nurse, teacher) he triples it. Pro-social and involving personal danger (ie. firefighter, police officer), he quadruples it.

A stat came out here a year or two ago, which said that when people reached an income of 15000 pounds, (about twenty thousand dollars then) per year, then it was not found that any extra income increased their happiness at all. But all people do want to feel that they are valued, and that means, doing something useful and working at something worth while, which is something that the rich often do not do.

I can't imagine anyone it wouldnt be good for...if they're raised with a work ethic it will be a bonus and if they're not it will be a bonus.

Depends greatly on the children, I should think.