Wealth is often described as “having money,” but in its true essence, wealth is not just about accumulating assets and enjoying a certain lifestyle. It is about the opportunity and responsibility to manage the impact it will have on the things that matter most to the wealth owner and their family.
According to a study published by Credit Suisse and UBS, global wealth is projected to rise 38% by 2027. Most people who have achieved significant success understand that seeing your balance sheet grow only represents numbers on a financial statement. The real value comes in the influence and impact these resources can create as “money in motion” through being an intentional wealth steward. This concept of intentionality is crucial in the journey of true wealth stewardship, elevating it from mere wealth management into something more significant and, frankly, more rewarding.
Getting into the mindset
Throughout my career helping hundreds of families successfully manage their wealth, I’ve noticed one thing over and over. There comes a transformative point in the journey of wealth when the narrative shifts and the realization dawns that the money amassed will far exceed what one can spend in a lifetime. The money earned ceases to significantly impact your personal lifestyle. It’s a mindset shift — a perspective that every dollar you make, whether through investment returns, earned income or passive income, now serves a purpose beyond your immediate needs. This realization marks the understanding that wealth can become a tool for broader impact. It is not just about amassing riches for personal enjoyment, but rather, about actively shaping the legacy you want to live, share and leave behind.
Which raises a profound question for the wealth owner: What do I want this money to do?
This journey challenges individuals to think deeply about their purpose and how they can be great stewards. How can they develop deeper meaning in their lives; support empowerment, growth, and achievement for the next generation; and enhance our current and future society? Embarking on this path isn’t a one-time event. Being an intentional steward of wealth is a continuous journey because people, wealth and society are constantly evolving. To be a successful multi-generation steward of wealth requires periodic reflection, a commitment to open communication within the family, and the active involvement of family members to ensure a lasting and positive impact on future generations and society at large.
To obtain guidance on your journey, you can read books and seek out other resources, such as following certain experts. You can also join a peer group, like R360, which offers the opportunity to learn from other people in similar situations.
Don Wenner, founder and CEO of DLP Capital and an R360 member, realized in his late 20s that as he built his business, he also wanted to be intentional about his life decisions. “People don’t put in the time and effort to plan what they want to accomplish and set personal goals,” he says. Don and his family have a family meeting once a week to talk about the things they value. They’ve also put together a family roadmap of what they want to accomplish over the next 30 years. “We try to focus on building an extraordinary family, building an extraordinary legacy and making an extraordinary impact,” he says.
The six forms of capital
If the first step to being an intentional wealth steward is asking yourself what you want your wealth to do, the next step is to understand that wealth consists of more than just financial assets. Financial assets are very, very important. But if you manage only your financial capital, statistics show that there is a very high failure rate in terms of generational success. To ensure generational success, you also need to focus on understanding and managing the other forms of capital: intellectual capital, social capital, human capital, emotional capital and spiritual capital.
- Financial capital is exactly what you think it is — your monetary assets, such as cash, bonds, public and private securities, real estate holdings and commodities, and other assets. Strategically deployed, this form of capital is a resource for the building and development of the full array of a family’s wealth.
- Intellectual capital is the knowledge and wisdom you and your family have accumulated, both from formal study and life experience. Intellectual capital involves intentional growth and learning new things because the world is constantly changing.
- Social capital includes philanthropy but also focuses on the family’s impact on society. Common social capital questions include: “How do I make the impact on society that I want to make? How do I manage my network and my influence within the community?”
- Human capital recognizes that you’re only as good as your mind and body allow you to be. Human capital involves managing your health, your diet, your exercise, your mindfulness and your stress levels, and it’s not just doing it for yourself; it’s creating a practice within the family of using your human capital to maximize your abilities.
- Emotional capital delves into the intricacies of operating within the family ecosystem and the broader society — regulating emotions, increasing emotional intelligence and resolving conflicts in a healthyway.
- Spiritual capital is often misconstrued as religion, but really, we’re talking about a focus on purpose. It encompasses living with intentionality, being the best version of oneself, and having a family with purpose and a plan, whatever your belief system is.
Once you know all the forms of capital, you can begin to analyze each area. Ask yourself, a “What is my family doing or what am I doing in all six areas? Are we maximizing each form of capital? What are we doing intentionally for society?”
You have four tools at your disposal that can help you in your discovery. You can use them as a lens to overlay onto these forms of capital:
- Time: The hours you can put into being intentional.
- Influence: This includes your reputation, who you know and what actions you can take to achieve things.
- Resources: This can encompass a wide variety of things, such as people who can help you, real estate you own and books you can read.
- Wealth: The actual money itself.
Using these tools, you can break down each form of capital and do some self-analysis, saying, “How am I using my time, my resources, my influence and my wealth in each one of these domains?” When you begin to do this, the answers are enlightening. You begin to steward your wealth and your life much more intentionally.
Real estate investor and R360 member Bobby Castro spent much of his career building a billion-dollar business with his wife. But as his career progressed, he realized that he wanted to be more intentional in each stage of life. “I am a father and a grandfather, and I really want my children and grandchildren to have integrity as human beings and understand that all the material things and shiny objects take away from the true intention of what freedom is,” he says. “Freedom is really about time — being where I want to be, doing what I want to do with whom, and focusing on our family, legacy and giving back.”
Communication is key
The last component of intentionality is appropriate and purposeful communication with your spouse or significant other, your children and other key family members. The way you create the next generation of wealth stewards is to use a collaborative approach. Instead of leaving wealth to the next generation after the current generation’s passing as a one-time wealth transfer event, intentional wealth stewards make it a shared experience that happens over time. This gives the current generation the opportunity to participate in the journey. Through this approach, they can help shepherd the next generation — giving them the chance to succeed and sometimes fail, but in small doses, so they can learn and grow. The concept is to collaborate in building businesses, doing philanthropy, and investing. As a steward, you observe, you coach and you support them, so they can define their journey with your help. Your role is to enhance wealth for the next generation, and that comes with communication and education.
Holding family meetings regularly, talking about wealth and the six forms of capital, and answering family questions are all part of being an intentional wealth steward. The most successful families ensure that they, their spouse and their kids are all on board.
“Our family meets quarterly with our financial and other advisors to build our 100-year roadmap of what we want to accomplish as a family,” says Castro. “We also talk about how we are operating as a family and get everything out. Since we’ve started doing this, I see monumental movement for all of us and who we are as a whole.”
Wealth is a true partnership of the whole family. Setting aside time, thinking deeply about your goals, getting input from valued sources, and discussing goals and challenges with family members all work in tandem to create a more fulfilling, intentional life and legacy.