Hi, I’m Eve. I think you should have a coffee before reading this article. This article has very little actual information about the super-rich. But this is not surprising if you read the conflict of interest statement at the end. There is an obvious problem with this “study” in that it was meant to be a longitudinal study. Therefore, continuing access to subjects even before they reach their highly privileged positions depends on getting close to them. The fact that one of the two authors worked at the school these students attended means that she was effectively a military veteran. Most readers are well aware that governments often get journalists to agree to serve with soldiers on or near the front line, because reporters (almost inevitably) eventually become integrated with the troops thanks to their long-term close ties.
To be sure, the very wealthy often lack meaning in life, and substance abuse is not uncommon. Also, some billionaire parents leave their children only enough wealth that they never have to worry about money if they don’t indulge in lavish spending. If these children of the ultra-rich are groomed by their parents to take on important roles other than joining the family business (as was the case with Joe Kennedy), I won’t say anything about that here.
By Karen Lilly, senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Research, and Clare Maxwell, professor of sociology at the University of Copenhagen. conversation
The children of the super-rich wonderful tv set The subjects, their real lives, perspectives and ambitions are often Protected from the publicTo find out more about them, we One of the most expensive secondary schools They were the first in the world to pay tuition fees of 120,000 Swiss francs (about 125,000 euros) per year and follow up five years later.
We began our research when these young people were studying together in the Swiss Alps, and observed and interviewed them over a period of 15 months. We asked them about their backgrounds, their thoughts on the school environment and their plans for the future. Five years later, we asked them about what happened after they graduated, their daily lives and their ambitions. By that point, most of the young people had finished their university studies and started their careers.
Our findings, discussed here, have been published in several papers.
They share some common characteristics: They were born into extremely wealthy families in their home countries, and their parents encouraged them to study abroad, learn English and live a global lifestyle. But their paths to joining the global ultra-wealthy community were different depending on where they came from and what they wanted to do with their lives.
Citizens of the world?
Swiss high-end schools promise to turn students into “global citizens,” but this Gen Z In practice, friendship groups are often determined by nationality and language. Sometimes it was because of shared cultural references and values, other times it was because of peer pressure. As one student put it, “If I wanted to sit with my friends,[my country group]was like, ‘Are you mad at us?’”
Even if they start their careers abroad, wealthy young people I haven’t completely severed ties with my home country.They said living abroad can “feel lonely” but that back home they have “more resources and support, such as family and friends.”
But these young people also recognized that meeting wealthy peers from around the world at school could lead to international business opportunities in the future. As one person explained“Making friends from all over the world is definitely an advantage. Students here are generally from upper-class to upscale families, so making powerful and wealthy friends is a plus either way.”
“I don’t fly commercial.”
Generation Z is a teenager Conspicuous consumption was welcomedThey stayed in five-star hotels, shopped luxury items, and even donated gently used Louis Vuitton backpacks to local refugees. In the words of one student, they weren’t “commercially flying.”
The family’s economic strength made these practices possible, but the practices themselves boredom“When there’s something I want, I want it. I enjoy it. I need it. I’d move mountains to get it, but then when I get it, it doesn’t mean anything to me,” one young woman told us. While buying things and experiences can provide temporary relief from boredom, the ease with which material items can be bought only makes young people more bored.
But as young people, they found meaning Work and live within your meansYet, even though they often relied on family money and connections to meet their needs, these young people took pride in their independence and associated it with maturity, character, and self-worth.
One of our interviewees still drives an Aston Martin, but the extravagance and quintessential ultra-rich lifestyle of his youth seems less important to him as he gets older.
Racism and Geopolitics: Escaping the Boarding School Bubble
At their boarding school, wealth was the norm. The few students who received scholarships were mainly Being left out of a social group And this defined much of the young people’s social identity. As one young Russian explained:“The people who come here are really rich, you know? So people here often think of Russians as really rich. I don’t know, it’s weird, but it suits them.”
But when you go to college, Privilege challenged by the realities of geopolitics and racismThis intensified over time.
For example, geopoliticsThis meant that one well-off Ukrainian student had to think about “things that are more important than just what I want.”
Racism This means that young Chinese men who have immigrated to the US are rethinking their decision: “Basically going back to China is saying, oh, I can just be a white guy, I can just be the white guy in the room. And wouldn’t that be a good thing? … I don’t want to live in a place where I’m perceived as having no individuality or … there’s a glass ceiling above me.”
Infinite possibilities create an uncertain future
One question for these young people was what they wanted to become. Some knew what they wanted to be – an artist, an entrepreneur, or, most commonly, an owner of a family business – while others were still figuring it out.
Another question was where they wanted to be: young people were considering whether to return home or remain abroad, and whether to settle or remain on the move.
Some affluent Gen Zers aspire to join the global ultra-wealthy, while others prefer to remain among the wealthy in their home countries. Some welcome the adventure of the unknown, while others feel uneasy about uncertainty. Though their starting points and opportunities were similar, their paths and goals were very different.
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Disclosure Statement
This research was funded by the ESRC. Karen Lillie worked whilst conducting the research in the schools attended by the interviewees for this article.
Clare Maxwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.
