Sting’s children will not be inheriting his $306 million, according to the rocker. In an interview with London’s Mail Online, Sting said he has told his children, “there won’t be much money left, because we’re spending it!”
Sting, Drammenshallen, Norway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Reflecting on his rise from a working class family (mum was a hairdresser, father a milkman) to superstardom, Sting reports it was a sighting of the Queen herself driving by in a Roll Royce when he was a boy that inspired him to want to be “rich, famous, successful and drive a Rolls Royce like her.”
Sting is pleased that his six children, ages 18-37, have developed a strong work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own. He stated, “I certainly don’t want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks. They have to work. All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate.”
Sting is not alone in his concern about “affluenza.” Many other wealthy individuals worry that without that burning desire to “drive a Rolls Royce,” their children will grow up purposeless, drifting from interest to interest without really going all in on a career or business. If you live on Maui, you definitely know someone like this.
We spend much of our time helping our clients navigate this often-perplexing balance, choosing the best way to leave their assets to their children, or not. And, while whether or not to leave my children my $306 million is not a challenge I personally face, I wonder how we are supposed to inspire our children to achieve and succeed while simultaneously teaching them that life is not actually about driving a Rolls Royce at all.