The billionaire elite prefer to sacrifice their wealth rather than give it to their children
When Steve Jobs died in 2011, he left a legacy of technology, design, business… But he also left something equally revolutionary: a will that broke with the family tradition of millionaire inheritance . His children Reed, Erin and Eva were not included in the will as the main heirs to his estate. Instead, his entire estate went to his wife (Laurene Powell Jobs) and to Lisa Brennan-Jobs, his eldest daughter from a previous relationship.
This decision was made in line with Jobs and his wife’s shared belief that wealth should not become a generational issue or a barrier to personal development. Now, more than a decade later, more billionaires have followed Jobs’ example.
Lisa Brennan: the only exception in Jobs’ will
Unlike her younger siblings, Lisa Brennan, the eldest daughter, inherited a fortune of €20 million. The relationship between Lisa and Jobs was strained from the start. For years, Stivas denied being her father, and although he eventually acknowledged it, their relationship remained complicated. Interestingly, Stiv Jobs named the first Apple computer “Lisa”. The inheritance Lisa received may have been an attempt to compensate for the emotional and financial absence of her father for many years. Nevertheless, her fortune is modest compared to the billions now held by Laurene Powell Jobs, who has decided to devote most of this money to social projects.
Jobs’ legacy, according to Laurene Powell: “It’s not about accumulation, it’s about distribution”.
In 2022, Laurene Powell Jobs made it clear that neither she nor her husband believed in a huge legacy. “I’m not interested in accumulating a legacy. My children know that, and Steve hasn’t been interested in it either”. Since then, Laurene has managed some 14 billion dollars that she inherited with a clear mission: to give back to society.
Through the Emerson Collective and the Waverley Street Foundation, Powell Jobs focuses on promoting equal educational opportunities, supporting climate change initiatives and funding social projects. In the last decade alone, its assets have been reduced by huge donations. This is something she planned well. “If I live long enough, this legacy will end”, she declared in 2023. One of Laurene’s most famous projects is her collaboration with Spanish studio Ensamble Studio to build modular schools for Barbados, an island in desperate need of an upgrade of its educational infrastructure.
Bill Gates and his foundation donated €100 billion to the Foundation.
Bill Gates is another name that has joined the trend. He has amassed a huge fortune during his career. And although he is not yet planning to retire, he has already decided that this will not be his legacy to his children. The Microsoft founder and his ex-wife Melinda French Gateshave donated more than USD 100 billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the most influential foundations in the world.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Mr Gates explained that only 1% of his wealth will go to his children. However, when it comes to Mr. Gates’ wealth, even that 1% is equivalent to USD 1.07 billion, a sum that few of us would consider modest.
Inspired by the idea that “with wealth comes the responsibility to give it away”, Bill Gates co-founded The Giving Pledge with Warren Buffett, which has brought together more than 240 billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and MacKenzie Scott. All of them have pledged to donate at least 50% of their wealth during their lifetime or after death.
Other names have joined the trend
The list of billionaires who have decided to abandon traditional inheritance is growing. Warren Buffett, another promoter of the “gifting pledge”, has made it clear that the bulk of his estate, valued at more than $120 billion, will be inherited. “I want my children to have enough to do something, but not so much that they do nothing,” he said.
In the music world, Sting and Mick Jagger also broke this principle. Sting, who has a fortune of over 400 million dollars, explained that “money makes you work”. Jagger, meanwhile, has decided to give most of his income to social causes. Newer names such as Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, have also signed The Giving Pledge and pledged to use their wealth for the common good.
Jobs, Gates, Buffett and many others are united not only by their vast wealth, but also by a shared philosophy: accumulating wealth is meaningless if it is not used to make a positive impact. The message to the children of these business giants is clear. Reed Jobs is studying oncology, Erin Jobs is pursuing a successful career in architecture and Eve Jobs is pursuing a career in modelling. Even Lisa Brennan-Jobs, who received part of the inheritance, has chosen a career as a writer.
