As we begin to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, there’s one word that is in the forefront of most people’s minds. Family. Grocery stores are buzzing, airports are getting busier, and highways are filling up because it’s the time of year we give thanks and good blessings for friends and family. When we think about family, legacy, traditions, values, and beliefs ring loud and clear. There are countless family businesses that are based on family legacy and branded on family values. Passing the family business down goes back to the 19th century. Every business has a history of starting out as an idea, and every Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 business started out as a small business. Small businesses are the lifeblood of today’s economy.
Photo Credit: Elenathewise
Today, with families members working two and three jobs at a time just to make ends meet, or living paycheck to paycheck, the thought of building generational wealth, pretty much fall on deaf ears. Building generational wealth that makes an impact in the communities you live in can be an avenue to addressing some of the problems facing neighborhoods that are yet to be built. The wealth of the Rockefeller family was made in the oil industry in the late 19th century and as they moved into the industrial and banking industries, their wealth is still benefiting people all across the country today. Old money families like the Mellons, the Du Ponts, and Vanderbilts are still providing opportunities in our communities today. Just think about the legacy of Michael Bloomberg . He was a small startup in 1981. Today, his company has an estimated net worth of over $100 billion dollars and he has been very generous in investing in the communities his company serves.
For some, building a company that will benefit others long after the founder let’s go of the reins, is a hard pill to swallow. However, there is a movement that is embracing the idea of making investments to help create socially responsible projects and environmental outcomes as well as produce financial gains. Planting the seeds of building legacy wealth to do good things should be something that is taught at an early age and nurtured in young adults.
As we gather friends and family together this year to share the Thanksgiving meal, look at the little ones sitting at the kids table, the nieces and nephews joking with each other and the matriarchs and patriarchs sitting at the head of the main table and think how nice it would be to keep legacies alive. Legacies build new opportunities.
“Logic will get you from A-Z, imagination will get you everywhere”
Albert Einstein