Generational Wealth is Fool's Gold

July 18, 2021

Everywhere I go it seems like Black people are on this generational wealth tip. As a Black software engineer, I run into many of my peers who want to work at whatever company pays them the most (or whatever startup will have the biggest IPO), who want to buy rental properties, or get promoted all to set their family up for generations to come. I even seen a Robinhood commercial mention it. There's so much evidence that shows this is like trying to fill a bucket that has a small hole at the bottom with water. For example, the New York Times wrote an article highlighting a study that supports this analogy. The article states that most white boys raised in wealthy families will stay rich or upper middle class as adults, but black boys raised in similarly rich households will not.

Now why is that? In an anti-Black world, your assets are inherently devalued. Your home will be worth less than if a white person owned the same home — your business too. In an anti-Black world, all of the financial institutions will prevent you from growing your business to the same size of a white person's business by giving you less money at higher interest rates. In an anti-Black world, your content holds no value until white people steal and repackage it because white gaze rules supreme. It is foolish to think that you will be able to acquire and then hold on to assets for generations when the system is setup to devalue it and strip it from you at every turn. We have to stop this foolish mission.

Now don't get me wrong — I don't have a problem with acquiring stability or even financial independence¹. I think it is only human to try to escape harm and acquiring money will grant you more privilege for sure. However, when we reach that point in our lives, we should be using that privilege to dedicate our time and resources to supporting organizers, developing our radical politics through learning and unlearning, and using our specialized skill set to aid in dismantling systems of oppression. Generational wealth is a proxy for the real goal. We want to be safe and free from harm. We want to have all of our needs and the needs of our children provided for. The only way we can do that is to eradicate white supremacy. Running the rat race to acquire wealth does nothing to eradicate white supremacy.

Acquiring generational wealth is a fool's mission and I feel like I must inform everyone of this. I haven't figure out how I want to talk to them or what kind of conversation I want to have. It's hard because I am conflict avoidant but I realize that it's imperative that I do this every time. I feel one of the most important things I can do at the moment is help others develop their radical politic. We need numbers in this fight.

¹ FWIW, I do not consider generational wealth and financial independence the same. You are financially independent when you don't have to trade most of your time for money to support your livelihood. I define generational wealth as trying to acquire enough money so that the generations after you never have to work which would be something like $50+ million in today's dollars.