Succession and the Pitfalls of 'Generational Wealth'

We are a nation where 'aspiration' is sold on every street corner and app description.?

It is no wonder then that we are obsessed with getting a peek into the lives of the rich. We love their palatial homes, la-dee-dah parties and Mediterranean holidays. They all seem so good looking?and cheerful and smart and lovely people.?

And then comes along a show like Succession.?

Succession is a show about an expletives-spewing, 'we own so much media, we decide who will be the next US president' family grappling with the question of 'who takes charge?' as its old patriarch hurtles towards inevitable death.?

Succession takes us to the rich homes, parties and holidays like the other shows, but it strips all the veneer away from being rich. The family and its close associates are not just first-grade douches - this we have seen before - but, more importantly, they are bumbling, delusional, neurotic, depressed fools who are incompetent at their work and petty in their actions.?

The father, Logan Roy, has 4 children. But the only thing he truly loves is his media empire. So he focuses all his energies on doing right by his business, even if that means getting his 4 children to jump through hoops.?

I have spent a lot of time on Twitter lately and I have found the concept of generational wealth intriguing and seductive. The idea that you build something so valuable, that it ensures that your family never has to work for money again.

Imagine your child can afford any book, any school, any?experience that could enrich him. Imagine, your?child could be a scientist or an artist or a social worker, because you ensured that he didn't have to focus on fending for himself from day one.?

If only you could focus all your 30s and 40s on building an empire, worthy of your ambitions for your offspring!

The problem is that building a business this valuable demands that kind of commitment.?

'Jab khoon pasina ek saath kagaz par chapta hai na; table bed ban jaati hai aur office ghar; bhook pyas bhool jaati hai; baal bachche rul jaate hai; tab jaake saali company banti hai.'?- Rocket Singh, Salesman of the Year.

(Basically, it takes blood, sweat and tears to build a business.)

With that kind of obsession, the company becomes your lover, your kid, your everything. And what happens to your kid?

The kid doesn't get to see you enough. He becomes constantly obsessed with impressing this absent parent. He knows that the best way to impress the parent is to do well with the one thing that parent loves the most - the company. But the kid grows to also resent the parent, desperately wanting to move out of the shadow of the absent parent. And these opposing forces come to define the kid's personality.?

Not his time at Eton/Harvard, or his trip to the Moon. His constant attempt to get his parent to love him, while telling himself how much he hates the parent.

Succession captures this theme as the 4 kids with stunted childhoods try to grab power and influence, pitted against each other, to win the approval of that absent parent whose actual child is his business.?

As India mints new billionaires on a weekly basis now, its time to think about not letting 'aspiration porn' dictate our idea of a good life. And on our journey to becoming a billionaire and a parent, its important to find a better way to do this, or give up one of the two.?

Businesses don't need professionals, they need believers.

Children don't need your wealth, they need your time.?

Your choice.?