72-year-old claims his 35 to 45-year-old kids don't work as hard as he did, despite him receiving $1500 a month since he was 18 years old from a trust fund: 'They want everything handed to them without effort.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Dec 1, 2025 8:00 PM EST

He can't even acknowledge that he's had a considerable boost in life that has nothing to do with him working hard.

It's funny to get financial advice from somebody with a completely different economic background. If someone has their college paid for by their parents and receives financial support from them into adulthood, they are likely to assume that most everyone else has a similar economic background. Maybe for their group of friends, they're right, but the advice they give probably won't help someone who has financially supported themselves through college and is still paying off student loans they've had for 10 years. 

If you're someone who came from nothing and worked hard for your entire life to build wealth, I think you have a right to complain about middle-class capable people who sit around and complain about their financial situation without putting in any work to change it. However, if you came from money and had a financial safety net set up for you by your family, you might want to think twice before saying someone else didn't work hard enough for their money. Getting an inheritance or a cash gift from your parents is rarely the result of elbow grease. 

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  • An older man smiles politely for the camera
    via Age Cymru

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The old man in this story is totally out of touch. He's upset that his adult children aren't working hard enough to earn more money, but he's had his income supplemented by a trust fund for his entire adult life. He didn't work hard to earn an extra $1,500 a month, yet he gets it.

  • The hilariously out of touch nature some people are practically born into

    This weekend, my dad sat down with a number of his relatives, including a cousin of his. (Son of my great uncle.)
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • This cousin was complaining that: "Kids (and he was meaning those of his kids age - 35-45), these days don't know how to work hard enough to make good money. Their work ethic is trash. They want everything handed to them without effort."
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • His sister in law then asked: "Don't you have a trust fund?" My father's cousin, since he was 18-20 (not sure which), was gifted a trust fund that paid him $1,500 a month for the rest of his life.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • 100 US dollar bills
    via Nathan Dumlao

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • He's now 72, been retired since he was 50. Granted, $1,500 isn't much by today's standards, but it allowed him to get an education, buy a house at an early age, and allowed him to live debt free his entire life.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • White wooden house with green tree
    via Erik Mclean

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • There's no telling what that trust fund pays him now, all these years later when you consider interest over that many decades.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • He didn't have to work when he graduated, but he made investments his father suggested, and because of it he's led an especially good life.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • NubsackJones Let's just say he got it at 20. That's 52 years ago, 1973. The average individual income in 1973 was ~$8k. The average household income was ~$12k. So, in less than 6 months, he got more than the average individual annual wage. In 8 months, he got the equivalent of the average income of an entire household.
    via u/NubsackJones
  • D-Laz And if the monthly amount went up with inflation, which is reasonable as if he wasn't getting any of the principal and it was properly managed it should have been able to beat inflation. He would be getting over $10k.
    via u/D-Laz
  • doodler1977 considering the APR on savings and bonds in the late 80s, all he had to do was save it
    via u/doodler1977
  • DrewNumberTwo > $1,500 isn't much by today's standards, Today, for many people that is a life changing amount of money, especially because it is every month for life no matter what, and it's more than the current minimum wage. If he got that much 50 years ago, today that would be $9,055.76/mo, which is $108,669.12/yr. He would pay taxes but not need to set aside anything for retirement. Additionally, housing
    via u/DrewNumberTwo
  • and education in particular were much cheaper then, even accounting for inflation. This is a person who has never had to worry about paying bills unless he was extraordinarily stupid. If he was smart, he could have easily lived without working. If he was ethical, he could have helped a lot of people in need.
    via u/DrewNumberTwo
  • treedecor Even $1500/month today would still cover my rent, which is a large chunk of my monthly expenses... If it weren't for rent I'd be able to save WAY more over time so yeah, even before inflation that's not bad lol
    via u/treedecor
  • erikleorgav2 OP It would be a lot of money for me, I can say that. But just that per month isn't enough to live off of. You combine it with a normal income, then we're talking potential.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • Unblurred Lines I mean, if he got $1500 per month back when he first started receiving it, it's absolutely enough to live off of. It was enough to raise a family on back then. Unless one is especially set on squandering such a gift that would put life on easy mode.
    via u/UnblurredLines
  • Just_saying19135 two things: 1. One of course is the trust fund itself, helped him huge in life. 2. The knowledge passed from his father, who was able to set up such a trust, helped him throughout his life. help him make investments, helped him go to school, probably helped him with getting his first job. All of this it seems he didn't pass down to his kids. That's the worst type of privilege, taking it for yourself and not even passing it down to your kids. Fucking selfish
    via u/Just_saying19135
  • Olas Nah Even without a trust fund, most people that have solid two parent households of middle class or better income are typically out of touch with anything resembling poverty. The closest they'll ever come is struggling with money as a college student because they're not in regular contact with their parents who would assuredly throw a few hundred bucks their way if it was absolutely needed. But they're always there as a bail out.
    via u/OlasNah
  • GwizJoe This is the typical narrative regurgitated by the ignorant that believe they come from an en-lighted position. Most usually their true position is blind entitlement. I cannot, and will not, say this is a generational issue, as I have witnessed it from several positions myself.
    via u/GwizJoe
  • FishermanOrnery1602 It always makes me laugh when I read about parents being disappointed in their children's work ethic and that their kids don't know what hard work is. Those parents don't realise that their disappointment is because of themselves and the lack of effort they should have invested in as parents.
    via u/FishermanOrnery1602
  • pinkpugita I once had coworkers who were just there for job experience but they are already set to inherit a family business. Their parents gifted them cars and a condo to live in, while I commute 3 hours a day because rent is too expensive. The money they spend on coffee is my
    via u/pinkpugita
  • allowance for the entire day. We had the same job but in vastly different levels of comfort and stability. Some of them quit after they felt like they had enough experience or just had to take a break from working. This was never a choice for me. If I don't work, I don't eat.
    via u/pinkpugita

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