The New Currency of Wealth: Educating Heirs Before They Inherit

For Australia’s high-net-wealth families, the question is no longer how to grow wealth—it’s how to ensure the next generation knows what to do with it.

“Most affluent parents aren’t staying up at night worried about the next investment opportunity,” says wealth adviser Antony Selby. “They’re worried their money will mess up their kids.”

In an era marked by skyrocketing intergenerational transfers of wealth, Selby has observed a dramatic shift in his clients’ priorities. Increasingly, they’re not just seeking financial strategies—they’re seeking guidance on how to prepare their children for the emotional, practical, and psychological burden of inheritance.

“It’s one of the most common requests I get: ‘Can you help educate our children about money?’” Selby says. “There’s a growing realisation among wealthy families that simply leaving money isn’t enough. If the recipients aren’t prepared, that wealth can quickly become a liability instead of a legacy.”

Selby, who has advised Australia’s affluent for decades, says the old model of wealth management—built around transactions and product sales—is obsolete. In its place, a new approach has emerged: one that blends traditional financial advice with legacy planning, values-based education, and even elements of family therapy.

“We’ve moved from preparing money for heirs, to preparing heirs for money,” he explains. “That’s a fundamental change.”

The timing couldn’t be more critical. With Baby Boomers now well into retirement and multi-generational estates becoming more common, the next wave of wealth recipients—many of them in their 20s and 30s—face an unprecedented challenge. Unlike their parents, who often built wealth through work, these heirs risk inheriting it without the context, responsibility, or resilience to manage it.

And that, Selby says, is the real risk.

“Wealth can distort perspective. It can create dependence. It can rob young people of direction, and of the emotional tools they need to live independently,” he says. “That’s why so many of my clients now see their role not just as benefactors, but as mentors.”

What does that mentorship look like? For Selby, it often involves structured conversations about money values and family purpose. It means involving children early in philanthropic decisions, educating them about investment basics, and creating environments where financial literacy is as important as academic success. In some cases, it includes working with external coaches, psychologists, and advisers to help adult children develop their own identity outside the family’s financial narrative.

“There’s no simple formula,” he admits. “But three things make a difference: being intentional about values, developing real-life skills, and giving heirs the right mix of independence and support.”

While popular culture paints the ultra-wealthy as laser-focused on returns and deal flow, Selby says the reality is more nuanced. “Behind closed doors, it’s not about chasing more wealth. It’s about risk management, family cohesion, and the question we hear again and again: ‘How do we make sure this wealth is a force for good?’”

He points to the old proverb, “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations,” a warning that’s echoed across cultures. “It’s a reminder that financial inheritance must be matched with emotional and intellectual inheritance too.”

As the face of wealth management continues to change, Selby believes the industry must evolve alongside it—offering not just financial tools, but guidance through some of the most deeply personal challenges families will ever face.

“Money isn’t neutral,” he says. “It shapes families, for better or worse. The difference lies in how well we prepare the next generation to carry it.”