Well, maybe they still need other things as well.

When Bill Ackman was in Tel Aviv, he ended his talk with a discussion of the NY school that his young daughter attends. He described a type of AI-based educational program that would make up much of her learning time. I figured that a school like the one he described costs around $50,000 a year or more. We have already learned that several universities are charging over $100,000 a year.

The president’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, has been in the news a fair amount since she spoke at the 2024 Republican Convention. I imagine that she has time to speak with Elon Musk, Scott Bessent, and certainly her mother’s boyfriend, Tiger Woods. Access to such minds and successful figures no doubt will contribute as much to her future success as will her present college studies.

The idea of the “rich getting richer” is nothing new. If a person can provide his or her child opportunities or interactions with people and ideas that are not available to everyone, does he have to say no thank you? People go to Harvard in part to have access to the professors there, many of whom are at the top of their fields. And while many from wealthy backgrounds have failed and many from hard-scrabble beginnings have risen to the top, it’s not surprising that those who are wealthy and connected use their status and access to the best to help their children get a leg up on their futures.

But what is the key factor for a child succeeding? I am sure that there are plenty of books on the subject, and one also has to define what “success” means. If a person is a top Hollywood actor but has as many ex-wives as movies made, is he successful? While one can debate what success is, I have a feeling that the one thing that a child needs more than anything else is independent of wealth........

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