Arctic Boot Camps and Tough Sailing Expeditions Are the New Lengths
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wise u p, Left, Pippa Middleton with Earl Percy, whose father, the Duke of Northumberland, deferred his inheritance. Above, the late John Hervey, rich kids! Right, Alnwick Castle, the 7th Marquess of Bristol. Below, Percy family seat Ickworth House, which Hervey Arctic boot camps and tough sailing lost, along with his entire expeditions are the new lengths that fortune. Below left, the Earl of Sunderland, who will super-rich parents are going to in order to now receive the inheritance originally intended for his father, knock their spoilt children into shape... the Marquess of Blandford and, of course, to protect the family fortune. Keith Dovkants talks to the trainers behind this radical trend Left, Jamie, Marquess of Blandford, whose father, the Duke of Marlborough, partly disinherited him. Right, Blenheim Palace, the Marlborough family seat eorge Percy had an unusual experience as a schoolboy. His father took him to court. Why, it might be asked, would a wise and kind man like the Duke of Northumberland take legal action involving his 14-year-old son? The answer is bound up in an issue that has bedevilled wealthy families throughout history: how do you stop your heir becoming a spoilt brat? At 14, the earl was at Eton and not in the least brat-like. But he was due to inherit £1 million in cash and £250,000 a year on his 18th birthday in a family will and his father was worried the money would turn his young head. The High Court agreed. With the full approval of George, who is now 27, the inheritance was deferred until he was 25. ESS, ESS, R The duke, whose family fortune is estimated at £315 million and includes Alnwick Castle, was ESS, ESS, R making a preemptive strike against a syndrome that can be the curse of wealth: children grow up A P R surrounded by money, with no need to earn their own. It provides a plump cushion between them and a : ALPHA P world of effort and achievement. The overwhelming temptation is to do nothing or to indulge themselves ES UR in a pointless sybaritic descent into trouble. So what does a parent do, short of cutting off the cash supply? More and more families are turning to PICT experts for help in making sure the transfer of money, land or a business from one generation to the next CH R goes smoothly and that their offspring emerge as competent adults. Sandy Loder is one of the leaders in ESEA the field, a fifth generation member of the Fleming banking family and a former army officer who R DOMINIC O’NEILL, CAME GETTY IMAGES ALAMY, specialises in preparing people to inherit. ‘The sons and daughters of successful entrepreneurs often have low self-esteem,’ Loder says. ‘Dad is like an immortal, probably a controlling personality who spends most of his time working. He may be a remote figure who compensates by throwing money at the kids. They, in turn, have Top, A H Loder Advisers chief no consequence in their lives. They might already be getting a vast amount of money. It doesn’t really matter if executive and founder Sandy they don’t get out of bed in the morning. The most pressing question might be: do I buy a Ferrari for the Loder. Above, a Loder client summer?’ Over the past six years, Loder has worked with more than 300 Next Generationers, as they are called, braves the Arctic. Left, the and has noted a trend. A highly motivated entrepreneur might create a substantial fortune but depressingly few Cirdan Sailing Trust’s 104-foot inheritances are maintained beyond the second generation. ‘The qualities of enthusiasm and drive can be Baltic trader Queen Galadriel sapped by money,’ Loder maintains. ‘A rich young person may find that nothing they do really matters. This is Above, a Loder expedition one of the tragedies of great wealth. And the very rich share some of the problems of the chronically poor. They en route from northern become habitually lazy. You can hear it in their vocabulary.’ The question of consequence is at the heart of Norway to Sweden. Right, Cirdan customers aboard Duet TaTler S ePTeMBER 2011 00 Left, Nicholas Far left, former troubled teen Leigh Horowitz and, left, her father, Tommy Hilfiger co-founder Joel Horowitz Knatchbull, far right, Sandy Loder’s philosophy. Turner says a spell at sea is capable of helping even the toughest for troubled youngsters. Leigh tried to escape. Two minders brought who once had drug It is vital, he says, to cases. Cirdan offers berths on its three vessels from around £80 a her back. Eventually, she settled down to life in the camp, surrounded problems, with his father, Lord Romsey, stimulate a sense of day for those who can afford it. It works hard to raise funds for those by snow trails and mountains. Joel Horowitz experienced a sense and the Prince of accomplishment: ‘Some who can’t. For the better-off, there is an opportunity to charter of serenity when he first saw the place. ‘For the first time in years, we Wales. Below, Debbie Next Gen individuals an entire vessel, with skipper and crew. ‘This is a tremendous didn’t have to worry where she was or what she was doing,’ he said. Reynolds with her need to do something for family-bonding experience,’ she says. ‘It takes people outside their After six weeks of detox, Leigh moved to a special boarding school that children Todd and themselves; they need to comfort zone. Children see their parents do things; parents realise cost Horowitz $5,000 a month. She was there for 30 months. The Carrie Fisher. Carrie be shown what they are what the kids are capable of.’ Chartering Cirdan’s 72-foot classic yawl school was run along boot-camp lines. Pupils were expected to do their went on to battle capable of. Perhaps do Duet for a week costs £3,640 for up to seven people. share of cooking, cleaning and other chores. It also specialised in drug addiction something even Daddy According to recent figures, the country’s leading 1,000 rugged outdoor pursuits, especially those involving teamwork. The aim hasn’t done.’ multimillionaires increased their collective wealth by more than was to build self-esteem and a sense of responsibility. It worked for Leigh In April, Loder took five of his clients, including two women, on £60 billion in the past year. Naturally enough, a lot of this money is Horowitz. She turned her back on drugs and became an artist. 30, has battled drug problems since an expedition to the Arctic. These individuals, it should be stressed, finding its way to their doted-upon offspring, creating a potentially his schooldays at Eton. At one were not troubled youngsters, but rather people who either have or dangerous trap. One parent who has witnessed at first hand the effects ut there is no panacea, it seems. The Ascent point, his parents sent him to a refuge may inherit big responsibilities. ‘It’s about getting a sense of achievement,’ of big money on kids talked to Tatler. Sophie (not her real name), a operation and the company that owned it, the on Osea Island, a remote spot off the he says. Certainly, the six-day trip from northern Norway across the mother of four children between the ages of four and eight and the wife Brown Schools, ran into difficulty after allegations of Essex coast where Amy Winehouse snow and frozen waters of the Arctic into Sweden could be considered of a successful and very wealthy manufacturer, deplores an unhealthy mismanagement and controversy over its methods. sought treatment. a gruelling feat. The group, led by two local guides, used sleds pulled atmosphere of competitiveness. ‘The pressure in London now is In 2005, Brown experienced financial problems and Building confidence and character by teams of huskies. They travelled all day and camped at night. They incredible,’ she said. ‘You have these helicopter mums who want to much of its operation was closed down. At that time is an important part of preparing carried food with them – reindeer stew for the humans, tripe for the outdo everybody else. So when the child has a party, real swans and dry in the United States, the business of taking care of the Next Gens, but so, too, are the dogs. At one point the party was hit by a blizzard. Blinded by stinging ice are laid on. In the goodie bags there are Playmobils costing £60 troubled young people was estimated to be worth $2 billion a year. practical aspects. Most banks, snow and hardly able to stand, the team had to pitch camp, feed the each. Entertainers are flown in from around the world. We went to a BThere has been some contraction since then, following a number of including Coutts and C Hoare & Co, dogs and themselves and make everything secure for the night. Sandy party for a one-year-old at the Dorchester. There were acts brought in disappearances and cases of suicide among those attending American have departments that specialise Loder believes in helping people test themselves to their limits. During from everywhere, while the baby was crying in a corner.’ therapy centres. Many parents, even those familiar with the happy in advising on succession. Rothschild the Arctic trek, which cost £4,800 a person, his clients were invited Sophie says the influx of rich Russians has raised the stakes. ‘There ending of the Leigh Horowitz story, were nervous about exposing Private Management runs its own to dive into the frozen waters of a lake.