The average age of participants in the Russian Forbes “Twenty” is 53.5 years. Just five years ago, with an average age of 45, the Russians were the youngest national team on the Forbes global list. Not so anymore. The average representative of the Chinese or Brazilian list is already younger than the conventional Russian competitor.

Among other things, the aging of Russian billionaires raises the inevitable question of heirs. In the vast majority of cases, participants in the Forbes rating already have adult, adult children. Who are they, are they ready to enter into inheritance rights, do their fathers trust them?

Not yet - this is a brief summary of the Forbes study (see page 49). Many of the children are involved in their parents' business, some have started their own projects. However, with rare exceptions, the scale of this business is not commensurate with the enterprises of fathers who prefer to train their children on projects within the system or let them wander freely under the supervision of their partners or old friends.

Children don't want to take the lead roles? No, some have been working hard for a long time, like, for example, Felix Yevtushenkov (see page 58) or Olga Rashnikova. Are they not willing to take risks? There are examples indicating the opposite, in particular, Emin Agalarov or Anton Avdeev. Nevertheless, in most cases, the heirs follow the beaten path, formally working in one or another position in their parents’ companies or heading charitable foundations - patronage of the arts, support of culture, medicine, sports... In general, something very pleasant and “ relaxed."

It seems to me that the answer to the question of why children do not risk jumping above the bar set by their parents is also related to country characteristics. Social elevators in the country have actually stopped, the level of competition is extremely low, in Russian society, where all government rhetoric has been reduced to preserving traditions and talking about social justice, entrepreneurial successes are generally not very welcome. Rich kids not only have no ambition to do something cool, but also no fear of losing what their dads have acquired. The social atmosphere in Russia, long reminiscent of a swamp, is turning into a quagmire.

It is no coincidence that one of the participants in the Forbes list, as he himself says, is glad that his son is running his own business in the USA. “The point is not that in the West it is calmer or the quality of life is higher - I can provide all this here, within the country. But there the businessmen’s eyes sparkle, and the young people have to move, spin…”

Shortly before prison, in 2004, Mikhail Khodorkovsky answered the Kommersant question “What should parents give their children?” The answer from the main owner of YUKOS was brief: “Education and health. They must get the rest themselves, otherwise it will not be children who will grow up, but backbiters.” Another member of the Forbes list believes that it is equally important to instill will and ambition in a child: “It doesn’t matter in what - business, sports or science - a child must have the skill to achieve success.” Continuing this thought, children should also leave a country in which they can use their education, health and ambitions. And in which all this is in demand.

Extinguished fire of ambition