- We will not leave a legacy to our children. Instead, we will direct most of the wealth of our family to the development of education in the country. $ 100 million will be invested in the next 10 years, Rybakov wrote on his Instagram.
This is not the first such case. Ten years ago, Vladimir Potanin, president of the Interros holding and one of the richest Russian businessmen, decided to donate his entire fortune to charity.
- My fortune will not be inherited. It should work for the good of society, the billionaire said in an interview with the Financial Times. Now Potanin, according to the same Forbes, has seven children from different women.
- The father of my children is a billionaire and a celebrity. Firstly, they are in my shadow, and secondly - what is their motivation to achieve something in life? - the oligarch explained his position.
Rybakov and Potanin are actually unoriginal. It has even become fashionable to donate all the capital to charity. Thus, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the world's largest businessmen, also decided to spend their assets for the benefit of humanity and leave nothing to children. Is it good or bad?
In my opinion, this is not even good, but the only true. Children should only be given starting opportunities. The main one is education. That is, a fishing rod, not a fish. There is a well-known story about Genghis Khan, who, before going to Central Asia, called his eldest son Jochi, pointed his finger at the map and said: "I give all this ulus to you." The son bowed gratefully. When one of the wives whispered if he was giving too much to the elder, Genghis Khan chuckled: “I don’t feel sorry for foreign lands.” Still would. They were not even conquered at that time! In other words, the great Mongol gave his son a fishing rod - in the form of an army. And he had to catch the fish himself. And by the way, I caught it. If you give away fish, that is, ready-made assets that bring a stable income, the children automatically turn into a rentier: they hired a business manager, set tasks - and go have fun.
The fishing rod and fish law works at all levels. I know about a dozen cases when parents, exhausted, saved their children for apartments and cars, and they grew up useless couch "vegetables" because they had nothing to strive for.
Of course, the children of the oligarchs will have apartments, cars and other attributes of philistine prosperity. Daddies are unlikely to take them away. But there will be no main thing - income-generating assets. Let them earn themselves. In fact, this is not cruelty, but just caring for children. Strong are not born. They become strong by overcoming difficulties. At the famous Eton College, where the future politicians and the most influential wealthy of the world have been educated for almost six centuries, boys are taught endurance and self-control with the help of an ice shower, even in winter. They are not allowed to sleep under a warm blanket, and can be caned for offense. Only in this way - through thorns to the stars.
There is one more consideration. Most of the Russian oligarchs did not earn their fortune, but got it “just like that” in the course of privatization, finding themselves in the right place at the right time. Norilsk Nickel was not built by Potanin, but by Soviet prisoners, many of whom left their health and lives at this construction site. Agree, it would be honest, using this wealth, to give money for the construction of schools, hospitals and orphanages. I hope the businessman will not forget about his promise. And other oligarchs will join this noble flash mob.