The Purpose of Your Wealth

Stewardship is undeniably important. At the same time, because of the weight we place on it, I fear that in many families, it has evolved into a less helpful concept — one laden with caution, focused more on defense than on proactive engagement. In some families, regardless of what is said or articulated on paper, rising generations are hearing a narrower, more nuanced, and restrictive meaning that emphasizes protection, avoidance of risk, and the fear of making mistakes. Perhaps this stems from too much finger-wagging from old wealth, too many new wealth trainwrecks, or perhaps from an excessive cultural acceptance of wealthism. Regardless, this shift has resulted in stewardship too often being heard as “don’t mess this up” rather than as an empowering approach to utilizing wealth with purpose and vision.

Leveraging purpose when stewardship gets misconstrued

My belief that stewardship has become more of a defensive strategy comes from over a decade of interaction with generationally wealthy families, particularly with the children and grandchildren of wealth creators. Through these interactions, I’ve observed how the focus on preservation often overshadows the more dynamic aspects of wealth, leading to a mindset centered on caution rather than innovation. This can inadvertently limit the emotional engagement that family members feel toward their financial resources, making stewardship more about safeguarding money than exploring the dynamic possibilities it can offer.

To unlock the true potential of a family’s financial wealth, many forward-thinking families find success by exploring, alongside stewardship, the promotion-focused question of “What is the purpose of your money?” What do family members genuinely aspire to achieve with their wealth? Do they wish to innovate, create, and grow their financial resources? Or do they seek to empower each member to pursue their dreams and passions, thereby creating a legacy that is both meaningful and fulfilling? Or some combination of both, or something completely different?

Case Study #1: Shifting from focus on money to a focus on purpose

Consider a family that operated for decades under the “steady drumbeat of stewardship” coming from the octogenarian wealth creator’s mahogany-lined office. Historically, the family office had a laser focus on investment and tax strategies to grow and pass down financial assets—a foundational stewardship approach. However, the emphasis on tax efficiency, financial statements, and pushing as much as possible through the generations resulted in an emotional disconnect between the rising generations and the assets. They felt it wasn’t for them—so why engage? Lacking the technical skills of the investment professionals and attorneys, they hesitated to participate. The messages they were hearing drove them to become passive.

When the patriarch ultimately questioned whether the family might be better off “returning to shirtsleeves,” the family embarked on a process to define a more proactive, purpose-driven use of their wealth: the self-actualization of each family member. This refined purpose created a more meaningful connection between the rising generation and the financial wealth: “Oh, this is to enhance my life, my cousins’ lives, and my future kids’ and grandkids’ lives? I can get behind that. I can see a reason to be involved and a role for myself in helping steer our ship.” With this added element of purpose, the rising generation became active participants in shaping the family office’s efforts to build resources toward education, mentoring, coaching, and providing seed capital to support the ambitions of family members across generations. This purpose-driven approach to using wealth for both today and tomorrow was heard differently than the historic drone of stewardship and ultimately, through better engagement, brought family members into the mindset and pathways that define stewardship at its best.

Case Study #2: Discussing the purpose of wealth

Conversations that go beyond stewardship and dive into the purpose of the family’s financial wealth can also be transformational by providing more transparency and understanding of the hopes and aspirations of the wealth creator. How many family businesses have been passed down to family members who didn’t want them and who forfeited their own aspirations out of a perceived obligation to steward the wealth by protecting the “golden goose”? In one such family, a son had always interpreted his father’s focus on stewardship as a responsibility to take over the business. As business school graduation approached, the weight of entering the family business—rather than pursuing his true calling—overwhelmed the son, who broke down in front of his father. The ensuing, highly emotional conversation was the first time that stewardship became a dialogue rather than an edict. While the father wanted the family wealth to be used responsibly throughout the generations, he recognized that those concepts had overshadowed the true reason he built his business—to pursue his own passions. He realized the purpose of his wealth was to empower his children to do the same—a purpose not at odds with stewardship, but a different route towards it.

Pairing stewardship with purpose

The truth about stewardship is that while it plays a critical role in preserving and growing a family’s financial and non-financial wealth, it is not always enough on its own. It can be heard as too narrowly focused on defense, which can limit the full potential of what wealth can achieve. To truly harness the power of financial wealth, families can pair stewardship with a clear, proactive purpose. By doing so, they can avoid the unintended consequences of misinterpretation and stay committed to working in ways that inspire and fulfill their highest aspirations. This balanced approach is what ultimately leads to a legacy that is not just preserved but actively lived, evolved, and celebrated across generations.