Wealth generators are generally confident in their ability to overcome adversity. Wealthy people who made their own fortunes feel more secure in the face of an economic downturn than wealth inheritors, according to PNC Wealth Management's latest Wealth and Values Survey.

"Among the earned wealthy there is a strong correlation between their willingness to take risks and confidence that they can recover from a major negative financial event," says Thomas Melcher, managing director of Hawthorn, PNC Wealth Management's ultra-high-net-worth division. "Those who inherited their wealth often view themselves as stewards for future generations."

Earners

And because they perceive wealth as something held in trust -- at least figuratively -- for their succesors, inheritors "tend to be more conservative in their approach to investing," Melcher adds.

But it seems their are many more "earners" out there than inheritors. The fourth annual Wealth and Values Survey suggests that nearly 70% of Americans with more than $500,000 in investable assets have grown rich through work, business ownership or investments; only 6% say they inherited it. The rest -- a good quarter of the sample group -- attribute their wealth to a combination of inheritance and their own efforts.

Among the earners, 77% feel they had control over their financial futures -- yet 36% of them say say they are consider a recession a "concern." Among inheritors, 67% consider themselves in control of their financial futures and only 27% worry how they'd fare in a recession.

Most earners -- 68% -- think that each generation is responsible for creating its own wealth; only 28% of inheritors agree. An even greater percentage of inheritors -- 92% -- think it important for children to appreciate the value of money through hard work. Among inheritors, 71% shared this opinion.

PNC Wealth Management's latest Wealth and Values Survey was based on an online poll of affluent adults in three categories: those with jobs and incomes of $150,000 or more, non-retirees with at least $500,000 in investable assets and retirees with at least $1 million in investable assets. -FWR

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