Do Wealthy Kids Live at Home Longer? |
| Do Wealthy Kids Live at Home Longer? Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:24 PM PDT The trend toward more adults living with their parents is usually framed as a problem of the middle class. With little money or job prospects, and lots of student loans, today's working-class kids have little choice but to move back in with mom and dad.
But a new study in Australia suggests that wealthy kids may actually be living at home longer than their non-wealthy and even poor counterparts. According to the study, young adults from privileged backgrounds are more likely to live at home than their less privileged peers. The study found that 75% of 20-year-olds from privileged backgrounds still lived at home. By contrast, more than a third of 20-year-olds from welfare families no longer depended on their parents. It all boils down to whether the family can provide support or not, according to the study, by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. “Some families lack the necessary resources,” said Deborah Cobb-Clark, the director of the Institute and co-author of the study, “while others may simply be unwilling to continue to support their children after they reach adulthood.” This makes sense, of course. You're more likely to move back home to the McMansion if mom and dad also give you use of the AmEx and Mercedes. Add to that the problem of the age gap in wealth and issues of motivation for kids who've had everything growing up, and you've got a recipe for lots of affluent kids seeking refuge back home rather than being unemployed on their own. This is probably not as true for the super-rich, of course. They can afford to buy their kids $88 million dorm rooms. (Though the kids are still “financially dependent” even if they live apart). Do you think wealthy kids are more likely to live at home than non-wealthy kids?
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| The Mega-Yacht Battle of Barcelona Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:39 AM PDT
The surge of mega-yachts during the mid-2000s left a huge problem in its wake: too many giant yachts and not enough places to park them. (You read about billionaires fighting for good yacht-parking spots here). As a result, marina developers around the world have been trying to build mega-yacht berths as fast as they can — from Montenegro to Monaco. Now, a proposed marina in Barcelona has sparked a bitter battle over how the floating super-rich may damage a historic community. A London-based company is planning to turn a marina in Old Barcelona into a home for mega-yachts. And not just any mega-yachts. This marina would be Abramovich-ready, catering to boats up 590 feet long. According to articles in the British press, locals say the giant yachts docked in the marina will tower Godzilla-like over their famously quaint Spanish neighborhood. The marina will also include a giant wall for security for the yachts, further degrading the area. Some worry that in addition to the wall and ships, the waves of super-rich yachters will price out the locals – replacing barrio grocers with Louis Vuitton shops and $100-a-plate cafes. “I’ve lived here all my life and the barrio has a special identity, precisely because so many working-class people have always lived here,” a 68-year-old retiree told the Observer. “But this will price us out, turning the port into a place only for the very rich and changing things for ever.” Of course, those mega-yachts will also unload lots of big spenders, which can surely help the neighborhood. The fear about an increase in rowdy tourists may also be overblown, since mega-yacht owners and guests tend to be a private group. Still, the mega-yacht battle of Barcelona echoes similar controversies throughout Europe as the super-rich Russians and Middle-Easterners become a (literally) larger presence.
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