大部分美国人没有钱传给下一代，但他们选择传承这些“资产”
每当我看向两岁女儿的眼睛时，我就无时无刻不在提醒自己：要确保她有机会追求梦想，这无比重要。为了给她创造追梦的机会，我和丈夫尽力把拥有的资源、想法、经验和爱传递给她，这些可以告诉她，哪怕是她最疯狂的梦，也是有可能实现的。我们希望把我们的财富交给她，让她有选择生活道路的自由。
从根本上说，我们相信代际财富的力量。我们不仅想把财富传给女儿，还想传给她的子子孙孙。作为一名美国黑人，我不是孤身一人。根据2021年Ariel-Schwab的调查，美国黑人想把财产留给子女或继承人的概率是白人的两倍。
传统意义上的财富会被简单理解多少美元多少美分。皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）将财富定义为净值，即“家庭拥有的资产价值，如房屋或储蓄等”，或者是“为子孙后代提供安全感和社会地位”的收入来源。在美国，这一类的财富数额巨大，2018年美国家庭持有超过98万亿美元的净资产（家庭资产为113万亿美元，债务为15万亿美元）。这类资产的形式通常也十分多样，其中75%是股票、共同基金、退休账户和私人企业。
然而，对许多美国人来说，积累财富是不可能完成的任务。大量详实的研究得出了有力结论：美国的体制从根本上就阻止了某些群体获得财富。这种机会和权力的不平等、不平衡能够追溯到美国建国之初，当时，相比起公平的繁荣和增长，种族剥削和牟取暴利更重要。黑人和白人之间持续存在的贫富差距显示，无论是历史上还是现在，这个社会都拒绝创造一个对所有人都包容公平的经济环境。举个例子，白人家庭的平均净资产为17.1万美元，几乎是黑人家庭平均净资产（17150美元）的10倍。黑人和白人家庭之间的财富不均是长期不平等、种族主义和歧视的后果。我在Next Street工作时，通过和客户合作，为被边缘化的小企业主提供更多资金，工作中实打实的数据显示，真的存在系统性障碍阻止有色人种小企业主成长壮大。
新冠肺炎疫情进一步加剧了长久以来的种族不公和社会经济不平等，这之后人们也为缩小种族财富差距作出了巨大努力。远的不说，美国新一届政府对种族平等的关注就说明了这个问题对我们整个国家的重要性。
尽管如此，我还是不认同这个观点：即美国人，特别是有色人种群体仅仅应该用传统标准来衡量他们的财富和成功，因为一些群体从一开始就不具备通过传统体系获得财富的能力。我们创造财富的体系是有缺陷的，是破碎的，用一个本质上会将某些边缘群体排除在外的体系来衡量你的所有财富，你只会失望。
我认为，要拥有超越金钱的财富。财富还必须包括一个人的无形资产，比如你独特的技能和天赋、幸福、情感和心理健康、教育机会、关系和网络，以及获得各种文化形态（例如艺术、博物馆和旅游）的机会，这些资产可以提高一个人的社会资本。
财富是能够让你获取自由、有机会过上理想生活的有形和无形资产的总和。我最近出版了《一个富有的女孩：通往繁荣、和平和个人力量的7个步骤》（A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power）一书，主要原因是我的女儿，但我也受到了母亲和祖母积累的有形和无形财富的启发。这本书提供了可以创造财富的具体步骤，同样也提供了一种无形资产，不仅能够让我女儿受益，任何读者都可以受益。也就是说，书中的知识其实是另一种能够代代相传的资产。
要想为代际财富实现整体转移创造路径，特别是为有色人种群体创造路径，需要人们承认有形和无形财富都很重要。为了成功实现这种财富转移，需要系统中的所有参与者——企业、政府、还有慈善——都认识到现在的系统性问题以及自己在其中的角色作用，这样才可以努力共同创新解决方案，努力为所有人创造公平的财富。
如果我们能够做到这一点，我坚信，未来几代人将把这个想法变成现实——任何人，不分种族、民族、性别或性取向，都可以过上他们的理想生活。（财富中文网）
查里斯·柯娜楠·约翰逊是Next Street的管理合伙人，著有《一个富有的女孩：通往繁荣、和平和个人力量的7个步骤》一书。
译者：Agatha
每当我看向两岁女儿的眼睛时，我就无时无刻不在提醒自己：要确保她有机会追求梦想，这无比重要。为了给她创造追梦的机会，我和丈夫尽力把拥有的资源、想法、经验和爱传递给她，这些可以告诉她，哪怕是她最疯狂的梦，也是有可能实现的。我们希望把我们的财富交给她，让她有选择生活道路的自由。
从根本上说，我们相信代际财富的力量。我们不仅想把财富传给女儿，还想传给她的子子孙孙。作为一名美国黑人，我不是孤身一人。根据2021年Ariel-Schwab的调查，美国黑人想把财产留给子女或继承人的概率是白人的两倍。
传统意义上的财富会被简单理解多少美元多少美分。皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）将财富定义为净值，即“家庭拥有的资产价值，如房屋或储蓄等”，或者是“为子孙后代提供安全感和社会地位”的收入来源。在美国，这一类的财富数额巨大，2018年美国家庭持有超过98万亿美元的净资产（家庭资产为113万亿美元，债务为15万亿美元）。这类资产的形式通常也十分多样，其中75%是股票、共同基金、退休账户和私人企业。
然而，对许多美国人来说，积累财富是不可能完成的任务。大量详实的研究得出了有力结论：美国的体制从根本上就阻止了某些群体获得财富。这种机会和权力的不平等、不平衡能够追溯到美国建国之初，当时，相比起公平的繁荣和增长，种族剥削和牟取暴利更重要。黑人和白人之间持续存在的贫富差距显示，无论是历史上还是现在，这个社会都拒绝创造一个对所有人都包容公平的经济环境。举个例子，白人家庭的平均净资产为17.1万美元，几乎是黑人家庭平均净资产（17150美元）的10倍。黑人和白人家庭之间的财富不均是长期不平等、种族主义和歧视的后果。我在Next Street工作时，通过和客户合作，为被边缘化的小企业主提供更多资金，工作中实打实的数据显示，真的存在系统性障碍阻止有色人种小企业主成长壮大。
新冠肺炎疫情进一步加剧了长久以来的种族不公和社会经济不平等，这之后人们也为缩小种族财富差距作出了巨大努力。远的不说，美国新一届政府对种族平等的关注就说明了这个问题对我们整个国家的重要性。
尽管如此，我还是不认同这个观点：即美国人，特别是有色人种群体仅仅应该用传统标准来衡量他们的财富和成功，因为一些群体从一开始就不具备通过传统体系获得财富的能力。我们创造财富的体系是有缺陷的，是破碎的，用一个本质上会将某些边缘群体排除在外的体系来衡量你的所有财富，你只会失望。
我认为，要拥有超越金钱的财富。财富还必须包括一个人的无形资产，比如你独特的技能和天赋、幸福、情感和心理健康、教育机会、关系和网络，以及获得各种文化形态（例如艺术、博物馆和旅游）的机会，这些资产可以提高一个人的社会资本。
财富是能够让你获取自由、有机会过上理想生活的有形和无形资产的总和。我最近出版了《一个富有的女孩：通往繁荣、和平和个人力量的7个步骤》（A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power）一书，主要原因是我的女儿，但我也受到了母亲和祖母积累的有形和无形财富的启发。这本书提供了可以创造财富的具体步骤，同样也提供了一种无形资产，不仅能够让我女儿受益，任何读者都可以受益。也就是说，书中的知识其实是另一种能够代代相传的资产。
要想为代际财富实现整体转移创造路径，特别是为有色人种群体创造路径，需要人们承认有形和无形财富都很重要。为了成功实现这种财富转移，需要系统中的所有参与者——企业、政府、还有慈善——都认识到现在的系统性问题以及自己在其中的角色作用，这样才可以努力共同创新解决方案，努力为所有人创造公平的财富。
如果我们能够做到这一点，我坚信，未来几代人将把这个想法变成现实——任何人，不分种族、民族、性别或性取向，都可以过上他们的理想生活。（财富中文网）
查里斯·柯娜楠·约翰逊是Next Street的管理合伙人，著有《一个富有的女孩：通往繁荣、和平和个人力量的7个步骤》一书。
译者：Agatha
As I look into the eyes of my 2-year-old daughter, I am reminded every day how important it is to ensure that she has every opportunity to pursue her dreams. One of the ways that my husband and I want to provide this opportunity is by passing on to her the resources, ideas, experiences, and love that remind her that her wildest dreams are possible. In essence, we want to transfer our wealth so that she has the freedom to choose her own path in life.
In essence, we believe in the power of intergenerational wealth. We not only want to transfer our wealth to our daughter, but to her children and beyond. As a Black American, I am not alone. Black Americans, according to the 2021 Ariel-Schwab survey, are twice as likely as their white counterparts to say that they want to leave money to their children or heirs.
Traditionally, wealth has been diluted down to dollars and cents. Pew Research Center defines wealth as net worth or “the value of assets owned by a family, such as a home or a savings account” and as a source of income that “provides security and social status for future generations.” In America, this wealth is plentiful, with American households holding over $98 trillion of net worth in 2018 (with $113 trillion in household assets and $15 trillion in household debt). These assets are often diverse in nature as well, with 75% taking the form of stocks and mutual funds, retirement accounts, and privately held businesses.
However, for many people in America, accumulating wealth is just not possible. Plenty of well-documented research forcefully concludes that America was set up to prevent certain communities from obtaining wealth. The out-of-balance discrepancies in opportunity and power stretch back to the very founding of this country, where racial exploitation and profiteering were prioritized over equitable prosperity and growth. The ongoing wealth gap between Blacks and whites reveals a society that historically, and to this day, refuses to promote an inclusive and equitable economy for all. For example, the average white family’s net worth, at $171,000, is almost 10 times as great as that of the average Black family at $17,150. This inequality of wealth between Black and white households reveals the aftermath of accumulated inequality, racism, and discrimination. In conjunction with my work at Next Street, where we work with clients to drive more capital to marginalized small-business owners, the hard data unveils real systemic barriers that prevent small-business owners of color from growing and scaling.
In the wake of the ongoing racial injustices and socioeconomic disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous efforts to close the racial wealth gap. We can look no further than the new Biden-Harris administration’s focus on racial equity as a sign for how important this issue is for our entire country.
That said, I also challenge the notion that Americans, especially communities of color, should measure their wealth and success solely by traditional measures, since some communities weren’t equipped to achieve wealth through traditional systems in the first place. Our systems that bring forth wealth are flawed and broken, and by measuring all of your wealth by the same system that inherently shuns certain marginalized communities, you’ll only be left with disappointment.
I think it is important to have wealth that goes beyond dollars and cents. Wealth must also encompass one’s intangible assets, such as your unique skills and talents, well-being, emotional and mental health, educational opportunities, relationships and networks, and access to cultural forms (such as art, museums, and traveling) that enhance one’s social capital.
Wealth is about the tangible and intangible assets that give you the freedom and opportunity to live the life you desire. I recently published A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power because of my daughter, yet I was also inspired to document the stories of tangible and intangible wealth accumulation by my mother and grandmothers. The book offers practical steps to generate holistic wealth and provides an intangible asset that not only my daughter will benefit from but any reader as well. This knowledge, therefore, is just another asset that can be passed down from one generation to the next.
Creating avenues for holistic intergenerational wealth transfer, especially for communities of color, requires an acceptance that both tangible and intangible wealth matter. In order for this kind of wealth transfer to happen successfully, we need all of the players in the system—corporate institutions, government, and philanthropy—to understand the systemic issues at play and their own role in the problem so that they can commit to being part of innovative solutions that work toward generating equitable wealth for all.
If we can do this, I believe wholeheartedly that future generations will be the manifestation of this reality—that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality, can live the life they desire.
Charisse Conanan Johnson is a managing partner at Next Street and author of A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power.
