Canadian Rich Suffering From Affluenza

Stephen Harris

9 March 2006

According to a new study, almost 25 per cent of Canada's rich are worried that their offspring will not inherit their work ethic and squander their money, an affliction that Sensus Research refers to as "affluenza". The report, "Values and views of ultra-affluent individuals", analysed the responses of 165 Canadians each with a net worth of more than C$10 million ($9 million) about issues concerning their wealth. "People are very much worried about their kids and as to how much of a work ethic they'll have," said Thane Stenner, a senior partner at wealth management advisors T. Stenner Group, which commissioned the report. He went on to say that many wealthy Canadians had set up a family foundation to tackle this issue to prevent the next generation from spending money just for their own purposes. The survey also found that although a third of the respondents worried about how they would maintain their lifestyle, more than half had made charitable donations of between C$100,000 and C$500,000 in the last year, while 5 per cent had made donations of more than C$1 million.