Serious Coin

This is part two of my conversation with Winston Chesterfied, founder of Barton, a strategic consulting firm focused on wealth and the luxury sector – a bonus final episode of Season 5 of Serious Coin.

We continue our conversation about the world’s wealthy individuals, their lifestyles and spending habits. In this episode we’re talking about the luxury sector.

What is luxury when nothing – or almost nothing – is beyond your means? How do the wealthy define luxury today? What do brands need to do to satisfy their needs? And which brands are getting it right? Winston also explains why high-end restaurants turn down bookings as tables sit empty.

https://barton-consulting.co.uk/

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

Let’s face it, many of us are curious about where we sit in the high-net-worth hierarchy, and about how our lifestyles and spending habits compare to others.

In this episode, we get some actual data on the different tiers of wealth, their population numbers, personality traits and spending habits. My guest is Winston Chesterfield, founder of Barton, a consulting firm that tracks and studies affluent individuals across the globe. 

He and I discuss the personality traits of wealth creators versus inheritors, and the different ways choosing to express their wealth – and the one spending category that is common to just about everyone.

Tune in to gain a comprehensive understanding of contemporary wealth and its dynamics.

https://barton-consulting.co.uk/

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

Wealth creation leads to wealth management. And for many people, choosing a money manager falls outside their expertise and comfort zone. Which can lead to ill-considered choices, or a disappointing experience.

Could that explain why, according to PWC, almost half of all high-net-worth investors plan to change or add wealth managers within the next two years?

I’m talking with my friend Biff Matthews about factors to consider when hiring a new money manager, or assessing one you already have.

Biff Matthews is a retired investment industry veteran, founder of two successful private wealth firms, writer, a former corporate lawyer and Oxford University graduate.

Our conversation pulls back the curtain on the investment industry to help listeners make more informed and confident choices about who should manage their wealth.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-b-biff-matthews-49364731/?originalSubdomain=ca

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/investment-ideas/article-why-is-it-so-hard-to-beat-index-funds/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Random_Walk_Down_Wall_Street

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110672.The_Only_Investment_Guide_You_ll_Ever_Need

https://longviewassets.com/

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

Ever wonder what it’s like to grow up third or fourth generation in a wealthy family?  

There is privilege. Often pressure. Certain expectations and, sometimes, judgement. And how do you not be the generation that screws it up?

In this episode, we’re talking with the turning point where she learned to advocate for herself in the family business, the “baggage” she carries, what she’s doing to prepare the fourth generation and how Taylor Swift became part of a money talk with her kids.

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

How much wealth should I pass on to my kids? When should I talk to them about the money? How do I prepare them to handle it? These are anxiety-fueling questions that keep many wealth holders awake at night.

In this episode, we’ll get some answers – along with real-life stories of how other high-net-worth families are handling intergenerational  wealth transfer – from one of the leading experts in the field.

My guest is Matthew Wesley, a Principal of the Lovins Group, advisor to ultra-high-net-worth families in generational transition. With a career that spans 34 years as an estate planning attorney for 34 years, consultant and facilitator to some of the most prominent families in the world, he’s seen it all and has plenty of insight to share.

Listen and learn from Matt about the problems that occur when tax drives your estate planning process, the most important questions to ask yourself before you engage any estate lawyer, and, which generational transition is the most important to get right.

In this episode, we’re talking about the latest de rigeur asset the uber-wealthy are buying to diversify and hedge risk:  Passports – often a portfolio of passports – acquired through residence and citizenship by investment programs, sometimes known as golden visas, and offered by 40 different countries around the world.

My guest is Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment.

Lotte Davis always knew she’d be successful. But what she didn’t expect was that she’d find the greatest reward for her financial success in helping other people.

Lotte and her husband, John founded professional hair care company, AG Hair in the basement of their Vancouver home in 1989 and built it into a multi-million dollar business servicing thousands of salons around the world.

Having achieved financial independence, Lotte decided to channel the “entrepreneurial juices just seeping from my pores” to start-up a venture in the philanthropic sector. She founded One Girl Can, an education charity that would change the lives of thousands of Kenyan young women and become the most defining work of Lotte’s life as well. 

This episode is a candid conversation about Lotte’s roller coaster journey of building two successful ventures in completely different fields. You’ll hear how she and John navigated the effects of the pandemic, which nearly devastated their business but ultimately became the springboard for a new period of growth -- as well her unique perspective on wealth, spending, and how she taught her daughters to have a healthy relationship with money.

Why are children from affluent families more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression? Could well-intentioned but outdated parenting methods be doing more harm than good?

What characteristics does the next generation need to succeed and flourish in an accelerated digitally driven world?  And how can families of wealth avoid the entitlement trap and raise kids who thrive?

With answers to these questions is my guest, Dr. Michele Borba, an internationally renowned educator, parenting child expert, and award-winning author of a new book: Thrivers, The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine.

Michele is also an NBC contributor who has appeared over 150 times on the TODAY show and countless other programs.

Her work has been featured in TIME, Washington Post, Newsweek, People, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times.

Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, or anyone invested in the promise of our future, you will want to hear this conversation, in which Michele talks about:

• The 7 character strengths that define thriving kids

• Why self-confidence is more important than self-esteem.
• Three signs your child may be becoming entitled – and what to do about it
• The role for grandparents in helping grandchildren thrive.

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

Today I’m in conversation with Jim Hayhurst, an award-winning CEO, community leader, investor, board member and advisor to impactful companies and non-profits.

We’re talking about a modern approach philanthropy – why Jim says the charitable sector is ripe for disruption and why donors need to think differently about where and how they direct their giving.

Jim’s approach to philanthropy embraces innovation and risk. It looks more like venture philanthropy – or “philanthropreneurism” as it’s been called – and less like traditional charity and cheque writing.

He should know. Jim was born into a highly entrepreneurial family and that DNA is embedded into everything he’s done over his 30-year career, Jim has helped build five companies with operations on four continents, he’s raised millions in both venture and charitable funding and, in 1992, he and his late father, Jim Hayhurst, co-founded their own charity, Trails Youth Initiatives.

We also learn about Jim’s personal story – growing up in a storied family and how he developed his own identify outside of being Jim Hayhurst Jr.

This episode offers great insights for entrepreneurs who have had or are planning an exit, for donors both emerging and experienced, and for non-profit leaders of large and small-scale organizations.

Visit: https://trails.ca/

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

Are the trappings of wealth just that: a trap? Why do some families flourish while others are burdened by their wealth? Do you manage your capital, or does it manage you?

We’re exploring those questions and more with my guest, Charles Lowenhaupt, tax lawyer, Chairman and Partner of Lowenhaupt & Chasnoff. He is also author of Freedom From Wealth, a book he co-wrote with Don Trone.

Charles has spent four decades counseling wealthy families – some of whom are in their 7th and 8th generations – about how to successfully manage fortunes that help family members across generations achieve their full potential.

In our conversation, Charles outlines his roadmap to freedom from wealth – which starts with some profound yet fundamental questions that most people – and advisors – fail to ask themselves. Listen and learn as we hear from one of the godfathers of private wealth management in the United States.

https://www.lowenchas.com/

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

We all know money doesn’t buy happiness. But how do you explain the fact that wealthy people are three times more likely to struggle with addiction than the average population? Why are children raised in affluent homes at significantly higher risk of mental health problems than their lower income peers?

Today’s episode explores the ways in which wealth can impact mental health. My guest is Jan Gerber, founder and CEO of Paracelsus Recovery.

Paracelsus is the world’s most exclusive addiction and mental health treatment centre, providing discretion and luxury for an international clientele of world leaders, royal families, titans of tech, A-list actors and athletes.

In our conversation, Jan explains the concepts of ‘imposter syndrome’ and ‘affluent neglect’ and how they lead to mental health ailments. We also discuss the important mind-body-spirit connection to mental health. There were lots of great lessons for all of us.

Serious Coin creator and host is Kelly Willis Green. Having spent a career as a marketing professional in wealth management and having come into affluence through marriage, Kelly brings both a personal and professional perspective to conversations about wealth – its complexities, privileges, opportunities and challenges.

This is part two of my interview with Jennifer Risher, speaker, investor, philanthropist and the author of: We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth.

After years of feeling awkward and embarrassed about her wealth, today Jennifer has a more comfortable, healthy relationship with the money.

In this episode, Jennifer describes how she moved from feeling intimated by investment discussions – letting her husband take the lead – to becoming an informed and empowered investor.

We also discuss her path to becoming a passionate philanthropist – from initially feeling overwhelmed by the choices and pressure to ‘get giving right’ to today, an inspiring advocate for charitable giving. In 2020, Jennifer and her husband, David launched #HalfMyDAF – a concept that has moved millions of dollars to the nonprofit sector in the past three years.

This is a very honest conversation about what it’s like to come to terms with significant wealth and use it in a way that is consistent with your values and the change you want to see in the world.

How much does life-changing money actually change your life?

In today’s episode, I explore that question in conversation with Jennifer Risher, a beneficiary of the 1990s dot com boom. By their early thirties, Jennifer and her husband, David had earned tens of millions of dollars – with no preparation on how to handle it. Jennifer wrote about her experience – with voices of others in her demographic – in her book, We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth.

In our conversation, Jennifer and I discuss the mixed emotions around coming into money and its impact on identity, relationships and one’s place in the world.  She told me about the money messages she received growing up and working at Microsoft, including from Bill Gates himself.

Despite her initial feelings of guilt, shame and a desire to keep her wealth hidden, today Jennifer has moved into a position of purpose and power, using her wealth to drive positive change the world. She is an investor, philanthropist, speaker and, together with her husband, creator of #HalfMyDAF, a concept to inspire more giving.

For months, I’ve been told that I should share my own story with listeners and so, for this final episode of Season Three, the tables are turned! I am interviewed by my friend and family office expert, Carolyn Cole. We dig deep into what I learned about money from my parents, from working in the field of private wealth management and, more recently, from marrying someone with greater means than myself. We reflect on whether money changes a person, the curious challenge of accepting wealth without being seduced by it, and why I’m always watching out for signs of rising “comfort inflation” in my own life. Most importantly, we discuss why I started this podcast and why I believe these conversations are so important. This is certainly the most personal episode I’ve done! Fortunately, I had in Carolyn a trusted, warm and generous host who has significant professional and personal experiences of wealth.

This candid and eye-opening episode dives deep into the emotional aftermath of selling a business. My guest, entrepreneur, Stuart Wolff knows firsthand the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with selling a successful business.

In 2013, Stu sold the company he founded, The Wolff Group – a sales and marketing agency for food manufacturers that had operations in 10 U.S. states and was doing a billion dollars in annual revenue when he and his partner sold.

With raw and honest insights, Stu reveals his personal experience of post-sale reality, from the elation of transformational wealth to the profound sense of loss and identity crisis that often follows.

Today, a business coach to entrepreneurs and Chair of a Tiger 21 Group in the Detroit area, Stu shares a depth-of-knowledge and observations he has gathered about the unspoken truths of post-sale life for founders and their families.

We talk about the strain the post-sale reality can put on friendships and marriages – and he shares valuable advice for anyone considering selling their business or supporting someone who has.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, advisor, or simply curious about the emotional realities of selling a business, this episode is a must-listen.

A former business colleague of mine used to say that “Money doesn’t simplify your life, it complicates it.” 

My guest today is someone who has made it his mission to help the ultra-wealthy manage their complex and hectic lifestyles. He is Mario Seiler, managing partner at Modern Butler, an estate and lifestyle management company based in Los Angeles. 

His company, co-owned with partner, Robert Gertz, provides a range of services from property and household systems management to project and lifestyle management, and more – all of the essential services to allow their clients to focus on their business and personal endeavours. 

In conversation with Mario, I got a super dishy glimpse into the lifestyles of LA’s super rich – including the most outrageous request he’s ever received!  He also provided some very practical advice about how to better manage your household staff, the benefits of branding an estate property and what you can do  if you have have means and want to live a more streamlined, less stressful life. 

Today’s episode is an inspiring story about one woman’s struggles and triumph over adversity.

My guest today is Lydia Knorr, health and wellness educator, motivational speaker, mom to three adult daughters and a role model for what it means to live in alignment with your deepest values. 

It was not always so.

Over a decade ago, Lydia’s life came to a screeching halt when she was widowed without warning in her early 40s and was left to pick up the pieces of her family -- and their financial affairs. Eighteen months later, she would face a life-threatening diagnosis of her own. Through it all, Lydia had a coping mechanism that she hid from the world – one that left her “steady by day, unsteady by night.” 

In conversation with me, Lydia openly discusses her struggles, how she overcome them and why she now says her husband’s death led to her own awakening.

I first met Lydia shortly after the death of her husband. I too had been newly widowed and we were introduced by our wealth manager.  We bonded over our loss – along with a mutual desire to use the experience for good in our lives and others.

In this episode, Lydia and I reflect back on that tender time in both our lives, discussing the financial realities of losing a spouse mid-career, the lifestyle adjustments Lydia decided to make, and what she wishes she had done differently financially. 

This episode is a must listen for anyone thinking about their own relationships and their own mortality – and for all of us who now and then need a little inspiration in their day.

While many high-net-worth individuals opt for more traditional asset classes, art has become an increasingly attractive investment option as a diversification strategy and store of value.

In today’s episode, I talk to a globally renowned art investment expert about the often-overlooked benefits -- and risks -- of investing in fine art.

My guest is Philip Hoffman, founder and CEO of The Fine Art Group, a global leader in art investment, finance, and art advisory services for 350 of the largest art collecting families in the world..

In this episode, Philip spoke to me from his office in London about the types of returns you should expect from art, the most common mistakes people make when investing in art, and he explains why 90% of the time he stops his clients from buying a particular work. He also regales me with stories from the field, from shippers mishandling valuable pieces to unwitting collectors buying fakes.

Prior to founding The Fine Art Group, Philp spent more than a decade as an executive with Christie’s, the world-famous auction house, and brings his finance background as a chartered accountant to help his collector clients make smarter investment decisions in the art world. 

Imagine what it must be like to watch your family dynasty crumble before your eyes.

My guest is Frances Stroh, fifth-generation member of the Stroh brewery dynasty and award-winning author of: Beer Money: A Memoir of Privilege and Loss. 

By the mid-1980s, Frances’s family, having founded Detroit’s Stroh Brewing Company in the 1850s, held the largest private beer fortune in America. But a little over a decade later, that $9 billion dynasty had collapsed.

In this episode, Frances reflects on the problems that led to the value destruction and tells a cautionary tale for enterprising families everywhere about entitlement and the vagaries of fortune.

Frances and I also discuss the conflicting messages she received growing up from parents who had extremely different money habits – a frugal mother and a spendy father – and what led her to cultivate a more balanced relationship with money and forge her own path apart from her illustrious family.

Today, Frances is an advisor to families with generational wealth, coaching them on how to best implement thoughtful succession plans and set up future generations for success. In our conversation, she urges inheritors to consider the importance of carving out your own identity and she warns against the dangers of overidentification with a family brand.