Having a family member with a lot of money

[mrssavy42112]

I have plenty of cousins who are wealthy and one cousin that is very wealthy. Maybe it’s different because it’s a cousin & not sister (I’m an only child), but it doesn’t affect me in any way. Most of my cousins are wealthy due to inheritances. But the one very wealthy cousin worked & continues to work very hard for it. She has made many sacrifices. I’m not jealous at all. We only get to see her 1-2x a year, but it’s always totally normal interactions. She isn’t flamboyant. Staying in her LA mansion a few years ago was pretty sweet.

[dragonfly08]

Jan 7, 2013 10:11:44 GMT -5 sapphireblue said:

I have a very wealthy relative--my mother's brother. It is compounded by the fact that if my mother had not allowed her brother to take my shares of the family company when I was about 9 years old, I would probably be sharing in the wealth too.

Sounds similar to my family. My mom's brother is *very* well off. He's in real estate now, but started earning his money by going into a different business with my dad years ago. And screwing my dad badly in the process. Had that not happened, when the business took off and ultimately sold, my family would have shared in that.

That said, I only really feel badly about it because of my dad. He could have used that money...as big a heart as he has, he never planned well for the future and is paying the price now. When he should be retired, he's still dragging himself to work every day because he and mom wouldn't have enough to live on otherwise.

As far as my uncle, he doesn't flaunt it. And he's incredibly generous with the little ones in the family. My kids, my niece and nephews, my cousin's son, and my two young cousins all receive extremely generous birthday and holiday gifts. My understanding is that they're all named in my uncle's will, as well. And he foots the bill for a fancy Thanksgiving dinner every year for whomever wants to join him. So he's not stingy with it. I'm ok with that.

[kateross]

My cousin married a really rich guy. I get very jealous with her travels, toys, houses, vacation homes, 20 TV's, etc.

Most of our friends definitely have more discretionary income than DH and I, but not in the same level as cousin.

I get jealous of course, but then I get over it. None of them really hold my relationship with them over it, so it's a non-factor to me.

I agree with PP's that you're going about this the wrong way. This gives you an opportunity and open new doors for new experiences for you. Instead of getting jealous on the side, you should join them in their activities/shopping, what have you.

[niq]

My sister has gone to therapy for years because while our dad paid for our private k-12 and private college education (excluding books) and took his second wife on big trips but never took his teenage/young adult children on any big trips.

I'm only slightly exaggerating.

My sister needs to grow the fuck up.

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