New Wealthy Find Money Has a Price

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Feb 1, 1999 | by August Gribbin

More Americans are burdened by a problem some would love to have: too much money.

Twenty years ago, Chris Mogil inherited a large sum from his grandfather. He was young, he did not have to work, he could do what he pleased. But he was deeply conflicted and plagued by feelings of guilt. He worried about losing his fortune and fretted about how to protect it. He puzzled over how he should spend his life. Was he merely a pampered whiner, hiding behind his money to avoid insecurities?

"I was haunted by the question of why I should have this privilege" 42-year-old Mogil recalls. "I needed to talk to someone but discovered most people just do not discuss personal finances. And you can't expect much sympathy. The typical reaction is `Well, if the money bothers you, give it to me.'"

People who feel burdened by wealth are banding together in a proliferating number of self-help and philanthropic organizations. One resource lists 350 publications and groups that deal with "money and wealth, giving and life-planning" -- a register that soon will be expanded to 700. An organization called Comfort Zone, for example, helps young adults handle money and supports social change. Re-evaluation Counseling conducts support groups and workshops for people with "significant assets." Ashoka makes grants to social activists in Third World countries.

While it's well-known that the vibrant U.S. economy and booming stock market have enhanced personal wealth this decade, the IRS reports that the number of people netting high six-figure incomes has increased yearly since 1977. In 1992, for instance, 3.7 million of the IRS' top wealth holders, or 2 percent of the population, had assets of at least $600,000, or a combined net worth of $4.96 trillion. By 1995, the last year for which such figures are available, the number of top wealth holders had doubled, their combined worth soaring to $7 trillion.

Much of this money is being distributed to heirs and other beneficiaries in a historically unprecedented transfer of wealth that economists estimate at $100 billion a year. Meanwhile, a growing number of counselors and therapists are concentrating on ways to help the newly affluent bear the emotional burden of opulence.

"People who suddenly acquire wealth are nervous and apprehensive," says Los Angeles psychotherapist James Gottfurcht. "They're concerned it will be taken away. Money is symbolic of power, influence and importance. Its importance, coupled with a person's inexperience dealing with large sums, makes fear of loss extremely high."

The fact is, riches can isolate and bedevil a person as effectively as poverty, according to "financial behaviorist" Kathleen Gurney. "The dollar has no face," she says. "Having money can actually complicate life rather than simplify it.... Money only reflects and magnifies personal issues and problems."

Feeling guilty and anxious, the suddenly monied often become secretive and suspicious. Besides, adds Gurney, they can become angry that money rather than affection or love seems to attract people to them. And there's another pernicious effect of big money: It can sap ambition and incentive.

"Since many wealthy people don't have to work, they regard everything they do or have ever done as a hobby" says Beth Robinson, a consultant to the rich. "They lack the formative, challenging experiences of struggling to get a job or competing to build a career -- the things that give others their passion, stamina and commitment."

Robinson and her husband, Peter, are the founders of International Skye, whimsically named for a Scottish island. Skye conducts summer institutes in Nevada and training sessions and excursions to various parts of the world. The organization also stages events, such as building Habitat for Humanity houses. "We have a virtual community, a place for wealthy persons to talk to others with the same concerns" says Robinson. "I like to say we teach how to develop inner riches to make the best use of material wealth."

Mogil and his wife, Anne Slepian, met the challenge of wealth by giving away healthy chunks of their treasure and founding the Impact Project, which "assists people with financial surplus to take charge of their money and their lives." Likewise Allen Hancock, an Impact Project participant, became a philanthropist and founded the organization's quarterly publication, More Than Money. The slim magazine aims at helping the wealthy seek "a more joyful, just and sustainable world" and runs "personal money stories" by and about rich people.

"The biggest sense you have is of isolation," says Hancock, who came into an inheritance about 11 years ago. "You fear friends' judgments. The fear can hold you hostage because you know money causes people to lose friends and relationships. It can be paralyzing."

Mary Ripley -- not her real name -- is a typical contributor to More Than Money. Ripley, who describes herself as "someone who comes from the Forbes' list of richest families," broke the class barrier and became friends with a family living in the projects in New York City whom she met at a church function. Now she anonymously helps those who lose their jobs, default on rent payments or encounter other "urgent needs."