SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- More than 90 percent of the children of millionaire families in the United States aged between 16 and 26 years old want to inherit their parents' values more than their wealth, based on the results of a survey by a local private bank released Wednesday.
More than 84 percent of Generation Z and Millennial children of the rich families expressed their interest in sustaining and building on their family's legacy, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Private Bank said in a report.
Generation Z refers to the group born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s (aged 16-21), after the Millennial Generation (aged 22-26), which account for about a quarter of the U.S. population.
The results of the national survey by the Wells Fargo Private Bank show that more than 84 percent of the respondents say their family's charitable giving is aligned with their own values, while about 63 percent report they are giving together as a family.
"These are the generations responsible for carrying on the family legacy, so it makes a big difference when families collaborate and communicate their shared values," said Katherine Dean, head of family dynamics for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
More than 40 percent of those children want to have a stronger voice in their family's charity efforts, while about one in three of them say they have their views heard by their parents when charity activities are involved, based on the survey covering more than 1,000 American young people.
The children from the rich families with a net wealth of at least 1 million U.S. dollars agreed that they are aware of their family wealth, but more than 90 percent do not regularly meet to discuss family finances, according to the study.
"Families become more philanthropic through the generations, and we often see charitable giving as a way to get people together, talking more and getting on the same page," said Beth Renner, head of philanthropic services for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
The young people want to play a more active role in deciding how much and to whom their family gives, and the "shared interests can really bind a family together," Renner said.
