You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
Why do people want to become very rich? In this series, Eric Schoenberg, a psychologist who studies the behavior of the very wealthy, offers an answer by looking at the stories of nine Americans who became among the richest people of their time, with a particular focus on what happened to their great wealth after they died.
You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
5. Am I My Brother's Keeper?
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Eric Schoenberg
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Season 1
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Episode 5
Charles Tiffany was so brilliant at marketing luxury to the newly minted millionaires of the gilded age that he left $12 million to his four children when he died in 1902. Not trusting his younger son Burnett to manage his money wisely, he created a $1.5 million trust for him overseen by his older son Louis. Indeed, Burney went bankrupt less than two years later... but only because Louis refused to pay off a $25,000 debt for furniture Burney had bought for his new wife.
