Wealth of Wisdom: The Top 50 Questions Wealthy Families Ask (2018)

This book is a true gem! All too often, wealthy families and their advisors fall into the trap of over focusing on the QUANTITATIVE side of wealth. Predictably, the lack of balance and under focus on the QUALITATIVE side of wealth can lead to problems.This book provides an accessible way to open the door to thoughtfully exploring the qualitative questions around family wealth. The 50 question format, (including the 'Questions for Further Reflection' at the end of each chapter) and the complimentary 'Wealth of Wisdom' podcast provide an effective platform for family members in each generation to start exploring the questions most relevant for them.Take a play out of the playbook of one family who brought copies of this book on vacation... leading to an important and meaningful fireside chat!

Wealth of Wisdom has some of the leading advisors, academics, inheritors, entrepreneurs, and authors giving invaluable advice. I like how the authors frame the key issues for families offices. It helps me as an advisor and Venture Capitalist better address the concerns of my existing Family Office clients as well as potential limited partners by putting topics in context and framing them in a manner that is meaningful to their needs and expectations.

This book is very unique because of the range of topics presented from advisors who are "in the trenches" and understand though their day to day encounters what matters to those who have wealth. Each Chapter is worth diving into. The thought provoking content is important for both advisors and families to read and discuss.

I LOVE this book! It's family meeting season, and every chapter addresses an important question that can make a terrific family meeting topic. Thank you to Tom and Keith and all of the contributors who bring their experience and great care to the questions that challenge families!For auditory learners and multi-taskers, the Wealth of Wisdom podcast series is brilliant, as well.

There is so much emotional confusion and weird mythology about the wealthy. Lurid stories about inheritors and television and media (e.g. Successsion, Billions) are wonderful but also caricatures. The editors have asked 50 experts to write commentaries on philosophical, emotional, behavioral and relationship behaviors of wealthy families. their views are diverse, personal and open the curtain on the private concerns and realities of wealthy families. There is so much in this book, so many views and so many useful questions, that everyone concerned with such families, or being one of them, should read this. Organized by areas and questions the book is one that you can look for guidance or useful reflections on so issues. I find this is one of the up-front books in my collection as an advisor to families and one that I recommend to almost every family. Note that this is not about technical, legal, tax or investing advice; there is none of that. The questions are about meaning, purpose, relationships and behavior or families, not their finances. This book therefore stands beside the technical and financial books, looking at an element of personal life that is not often shared.

While the title may give the impression that this is a book only for the wealthy, the reality is that all readers will benefit from it's content. Structured in a way where each chapter begins with a common question related to families and their finances, addressed by individual experts on the subject, the book can serve as much as an encyclopedia of issues to the reader rather than something that needs to be read front to back (although doing so is well worth the time for anyone aspiring to build and protect their wealth through the litany of issues that can arise).Through studying common issues families have faced in the past, and harnessing the knowledge of dozens of experts in the field, Wealth of Wisdom is an excellent guide for someone looking to build, protect, and transcend their wealth across multiple generations.

This is an unprecedented resource for families of wealth, and the advisors who support them. As the authors note in their introduction, finding answers to the 50 questions in this book has been an impossible task … until now.Rather than try to answer these key questions themselves, McCollough and Whitaker have put together the leading thinkers, advisors, academics, inheritors, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers to give sage advice. Families can find answers to questions like: “How Do You Start a Family Conversation About Prenuptial Arrangements?; How Should You Understand and Deal with Investment Risk?; How Much Money Should You Leave Your Children, and When?; How Can You Best Manage Conflict in Your Family?”.One of the things I especially like about the book is the different voices you hear throughout. Some contributors use examples from fictional families to bring their chapters to life, others provide academic definitions of essential terms; there’s even an excerpt from a memorable speech by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF.Reading through this accessible yet meaty book, I felt what I’m sure will become a collective sigh of relief. Finally families and their advisors can find answers to the most pressing questions, all in one place.

Everyone expects to appreciate the answers provided by the extensive network of experts that Tom McCullough and Keith Whitaker have assembled to contribute to this excellent book- and they won't be disappointed - but there's also a tremendous value in considering the wide range of questions that McCullough and Whitaker relate from their many years of experience in working with a variety of families. The combination of intriguing, often difficult questions and thoughtful essays from those who have served wealthy families addressing those questions is powerful, and could easily guide the conversations families have amongst themselves and with their advisors for years to come.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The questions are exactly what I want answered when I'm thinking about my family's future. Unfortunately, the answering essays are just thoughts from a variety of people, many of whom aren't wealthy, and the thoughts themselves are presented in a way to make you think about the answers, but aren't actually answers. I was expecting a series of stories on each subject, like "Rockefeller did this and it worked out like so...", more Malcolm Gladwell, less Mark Twain. I applaud the authors for tackling a difficult set of subjects, but I was disappointed in the outcome.

Great book! Pairs with the podcast of the same name.

Very nice compilation of different perspectives for Wealth and Estate Planning