Those of you outside of Chicago may not be aware of the Pritzker family. They own the Hyatt hotel chain and are one of the richest families in the United States.
The Chicago Tribune had a very interesting article about one of the Pritzker children some years ago. At the time of the article, Liesel Pritzker was a high school student who was worth $160,000,000. That is not a typo, let me repeat it: one hundred and sixty friggin’ million dollars. Whoah! This isn’t even the most amazing part of the story though. She had a job working in food service. Here is her old boss talking about her:
“She was great,” says store owner Mitch Cobey. “She did anything I asked. She was on time. She was very intelligent. Of the students who’ve worked for me, she was one of the top two.”
Asked if it surprised him that a girl with $160 million wanted a job, Cobey is, for a second, uncharacteristically silent.
“I wasn’t aware that she had $160 million,” he says.
I love that last line!!! Can you picture the look on Mr. Cobey’s face? I can!
I have two young children and raising them to be good, financially responsible people is a topic near and dear to my heart. I will not claim that I have all of the answers, but do have some thoughts.
1) Kids want your attention more than anything. I’ve seen parents shower their children with all kinds of toys and other material stuff. Kids will tell you that they want that stuff, but they really want you. Sit down at the table and ask your child what her favorite part of school was today or play a board game as a family. Take them to the park and leave the iPhone in the car.
2) As soon as kids are old enough, its time to start learning about money. Our oldest is 6 years old. She has little chores she does around the house. In return, she gets an allowance which goes into 3 piggy banks; Pig #1 is for spending, Pig #2 is for saving and Pig #3 is for charity. Like all kids, she wants stuff. The conversation will usually go like this:
- Child: I want to buy this.
- Mom: Well, you have enough to buy it, but it costs $5. Do you remember what you had to do to earn that $5 and how long it took you to save?
- Child: Hmmmm, a long time.
- Mom: With that in mind, do you still want to buy it?
- Child: I think I’ll go home and think about it.
To be honest, I’m amazed that this works. I’m telling you though, it really does.
3) No handouts. Giving kids everything they want teaches them nothing. It’s just human nature; people appreciate things more when they have had to work for them. The best example of this that I can think of is teens and cars. I grew up in the not-so-nice part of town. I saved up and bought a Ford EXP for $1600. It smelled and was ugly, but I loved it. The EXP got washed every week and I took the best care of it I could. On the other side of the tracks, a friend’s parents bought him a new Camaro Z28. He beat the crap out of it. I didn’t know what a neutral drop was until I went for a ride in his car. I would have never done such a thing with my car.
Raising frugal kids is a continuous puzzle for me to solve – a constant battle. Even at 6, our child already has peer pressure! A neighborhood girl asked her how many American Girl dolls she had. Grrrrrr. (Note, she has zero American Girl dolls. They are super expensive, and their clothes cost more than MY clothes do.)
However, I do know that if Liesel ($160,000,000) Pritzker can have a job while she is in high school, my daughters can each have jobs too.
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That’s a neat story, and very telling as well. Our oldest is five and we’ve began teaching her about money about 2 years ago or so with some very basic concrete lessons. It’s amazing what she had picked up over that short time. We’re planning on implementing an allowance system very much like hers as it’s important to us to teach her about how things cost and the work that you have to put in if you want something. That lesson alone falls on so many deaf ears today that it’s only loving of us to teach her these lessons.
Right on! This is lost on sooooooo many parents. I look around at the teen brats in my neighborhood, most of which get new cars when they turn 16 and shake my head. What are the parents teaching them? I shake my head.
Not all kids who get cars are brats. Like all things in life, there are shades of gray. My parents gave my brothers and I our car (several over a few years, actually – long story). They also taught us the value of work, and volunteering, from a young age. They provided for us, from which I learned generosity. And because they paid my car expenses, I saved tons from my jobs.
They paid for college too, and I was able to take my time and find my place in the world since I had no debt to pay off. I did great in college and am doing well now.
In short, there are many ways to teach your kids how to be financially savvy. I appreciate every penny my parents gave me.
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I think the key here is this sentence:
“I appreciate every penny my parents gave me.”
You are clearly thankful for the money. This is contrary to others like my younger sister who expect the money.
I think that attitude came from my parents. They are generous but also expected us to work hard, get good grades, etc. Life in my family is all about partnership; we all worked together.
I do hear you on entitled kids, but I think it’s more about attitude when raising kids than what the parents decided to provide/not provide.
Leah recently posted…Our new arrival
One of the most important things we can do as parents is teach our kids the value of a dollar. We certainly hope to be in very good financial shape by the time our kindergartener is in high school, but I would never give her whatever she wanted because those things have no value, like your friend’s car. We are like you in that she has her money saved up and we have a discussion when she wants to buy something. When she sees how much it costs, usually she decides to keep her money. I hope that trend continues. Even if we had $160 million, we’d be the same way and hope no one knew we were that rich.
Absolutely! I think about this all the time. Its not easy to do as there are so many forces pulling in the other direction.
Love it and us too!
Great story, thanks for sharing. Absolutely agreed about teaching responsibility and being realistic from an early age. Great post!
Thanks Tony!
I LOVE it! That kid is going to turn out great b/c she will APPRECIATE the value of money and how hard it is to work.
I remember at 15 waking up at 5:30am to open up the damn McDonald’s in my hood for $3.25. It was horrible. But you know what? I developed a habit of frugality given it took over 30 hours just to make $100… BEFORE taxes. The experience helped me a lot along the way towards early retirement.
Sam
Oh man, I worked at McDonalds too for that same pay! We must be almost the same age (39) and I agree, it was horrible! Man, my knees ached after 8 hours of that. At my McHell, the McOwners would humiliate us in front of other employees if we did things like took too many drinks during the course of the shift. Ugggh, but again, this kind of crap makes us stronger and work harder to escape.
Thanks for your vote of encouragement!
I spent my first year of college working for McD too and definitely learned the value of money. In high school I was teaching the piano to rich kids for $20/ hours on my lunch break and used to that easy money so going back to $9/h flipping burgers was a great reminder that nothing comes without effort. That kid looks awesome, and so are your plan for your children.
I’m beginning to think that if everyone worked at McDonald’s or an equivalent McHell, the world would be much better off financially. People would certainly think twice about pissing away hard earned dollars.
Thanks Pauline for the kind comments!
The 3 piggy bank idea is a really good one. Our kids probably have 30 of them, because for whatever reason everyone thinks piggy banks are a great birthday present that no one else must have thought of.
I was a punk when I was younger and I treated my car much like your friend did. I can’t imaging being so negligent with anything that I worked to own, now. I know that I acted like that because my parents gave me more than I needed instead taking the time to teach me about money.
Ha, we have about a zillion banks too. I’ll take a bank over some plastic throw away toy any day though.
Johnnypunkyseed.com! Ha! (sorry for my poor sense of humor!)
You certainly have the right attitude now, especially compared to my Z28 friend who has spent a lot of time behind bars. The Z28 seemed to change his life for the worse actually. He got all new friends, got into drugs and all kinds of wild stuff.
I had another friend whose parents spoiled him rotten. His life also went off the rails and ended in suicide at age 20. However, his similarly spoiled brothers turned out OK. One never can tell.
Haha! We have too many toys in our house, and my daughters would rather play with cups and remote controls.
I honestly don’t want people buy “stuff” for my kids. Books, money and clothes are great gifts.
🙂 I added your site to my RSS reader. Loving it so far!
Yes, us too! Add phones and iPads (kiddy crack) to your list! My daughters almost become violent over the iPad. Now, it just stays hidden.
Thanks for the kind comments!
Hi Grayson-
Yes, absolutely right. One thing I didn’t include was what Ms. Pritzker is up to now. She has kept a low profile, but one neat thing she has done is start a charity.
Contrast her life with the Paris Hiltons/Lindsey Lohans of the world. Why do we hear so much about the clowns and nothing about the good ones? Bah!!
That’s too funny, my immediate reaction was also what polar opposites between the heirs of the Hyatt hotel chain vs. the Hilton hotels. Paris Hilton would only work a similar blue-collar job if the reality TV cameras were rolling. My hats off to the Pritzker family for raising such a grounded child in spite of their tremendous wealth.
Yeah, that is a great point! I wish that my brain would have come up with that when I wrote the post. Doh!
“I hope that my daughters will learn how to work hard early!”
Yes, me too! I read a study a while ago about whether its more important to be smart or hard working. The latter wins, hands down and I agree.
I know some really smart people, but with little motivation and they are doing nothing with their lives. I also know some bulbs that aren’t super bright, but are doing amazing things and are very successful.
I have 2 smart, handsome sons who both have an excellent work ethic. I wonder of Liesel is single…..
Love it!
That’s a great story – so often we see 2nd and 3rd generations going through the wealth that was built for them and leaving behind no legacy. A dear friend is in his late 80’s and is watching his kids and grandkids burn through the better part of what was once over $50mm. Imagine being in your later years and watching everything you’ve built over your life be broken apart and sold off in pieces.
Wow, your story turned my stomach. That is incredibly sad. I can’t imagine what is going through that man’s head.
I once read that each of Bill Gate’s children will only (I feel stupid using the word ‘only’) receive $10,000,000 each. The rest will go to charity. Hearing stories like yours convinces me that Mr. Gates has the right idea.
That’s an awesome story! Reminds me of the millionaire next door.
Our boys are 10mos. and 3. Everyone laughed last year when I picked up a finance for kids book at a used book sale. Of course he’s too young to get it now, but in a couple years that book will be making an appearance as we implement an allowance 🙂
Nice and I’m not laughing. Put the book under their pillows and maybe some of will sink inv ia osmosis!
As soon as kids start asking for stuff, it’s time to start learning about money.
Great little story. I’m young – 23 and have just started working in the Financial Services Industry and I worry that in the future I will be stuck at work until late most evenings. It just seems to be the done thing in this industry. Not sure how you’re supposed to get ahead without putting in the hours. But I also want to have kids and spend time with them in the week. Not sure how I’ll do this 🙁
MR-
I think you are in an awesome position! You are only 23, so have tons of time. You also have a great job and no debt. Best of all, you’ve figured it out now (most don’t seem to get it until they’re well on in their years).
I didn’t have my first kid until I was 33. Work your ass off now while you’re young and get ahead. Most importantly, save until it hurts. If you’re really good, maybe you can pull a Mr. Money Mustache and jump completely out of the workforce in 10 years.
Your main risks are probably your location (I see that you’re in London and I’ve read that its obnoxiously expensive to live there) and a significant other (make sure you find someone who shares your views).
Best of luck and I look forward to reading about your adventures!
Great story!! We too, are working hard at teaching our 3 girls and our boy about good money management as we ourselves work to get out of debt. The kids know that unless it’s a birthday or Christmas, anything they want will have to be purchased out of their own pocket, and they’re great at saving. All three of the girls (13, 10 and 8) have saved enough at one point to purchase their own American Girl dolls, and they enjoy the dolls all the more because they were earned. Plus, it gives them a whole new appreciation for money.
Nice! Your children are farther ahead than mine (3 and 6) and I very much enjoy hearing success stories from those farther along than me.
Agreed 110%! I have seen both sides; people like you who make their kids earn everything and others who buy their kids stuff every outing. In the case of the latter, the parents seem to be making up for something (not spending time with kids due to long hours at work, single parent, etc.). It seems like these kids never do as well as the ones who must work for everything. I can think of many, many examples. One even ended tragically.
Great post! Love the see that such a humble and unassuming wealthy young lady would actually have a job, and be a great employee! Love your 3 piggy bank concept, if you dont mind I am going to use that to teach my daughter the importance of saving and giving. Thank you!!
Love it! The 3 piggy banks make them think about money just a little bit more. It’s neat to see older daughter sit there with a quarter and think about which bank it will go in. Sometimes, she’ll debate it for a couple minutes.
Why is this great example under the category of “Bad Role Models”?
Hmmmm, dunno why I checked that one. In any case, fixed now. Thanks for paying attention!
Absolutely. I don’t think its that difficult either. How hard is it to spend quality time with your children? Also, treating them like they’re your children and not your friend is very important.
Its sad that families are ripped apart over money, especially when there is more than enough to go around.
Great article — I’m glad you linked to it in today’s post! Point #1 resonated with me as kids just desperately want your attention and to know that they are loved and that you care more about them than the tv, the iphone or whatever other useless gadget people waste their lives away on.
We try to limit our use of computers at home, but for the few minutes we are on them, you can see the kids get visibly frustrated that we aren’t paying attention to them.
We just instituted a “3 things you did today” conversation at the dinner table each night. Every family member has to go around the table and explain three things they did that day. It’s a lot of fun!
Instead of buying DVD players for our long drives between Virignia and NY we just play math games instead. It’s 400 miles, so 4 miles is one percent of the drive. We count to 100 throughout the ride so the kids have an idea of how far through the drive we are. It sounds kind of silly, but my 5-year old loves it! It’s also easy to explain that it’s 1 mile from our house to the pool we go to and 400 miles to grandma’s house, so they get an idea of relative distances.
If you do dozens of those little games, you’re going to have a pretty bright kid…
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This is an incredible story. I think everyone who is physically capable should have to work a crappy fast food, retail, or factory job at some point. Work at it and live on it for a few months. Learn what it is like. Learn how hard the work physically is. Learn how horrible so many people treat you. Learn how difficult it is to live off of that pay.
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