08/22/24 Afternoon CommStock Report – Old Money Trying to Survive as the American Dream

It took a while but America has now come of age where there is generational wealth. Just a few hundred years ago, no one, not even the indigenous peoples of North America had a lock on the title to their lands. The waves of immigrants that arrived in America intended on establishing generational wealth by their presence. They survived hardships including wars and quickly established the legal system that embraced private ownership as the law of the land.  A 60 Minutes program caught my attention about a family, the Gardineers that was bequeathed an island in Long Island Sound by King Charles who made a deal with the Montaukett tribe in 1639 that they have managed to maintain in the family. Their ownership survived the French and Indian War, American Revolution and the War of 1812.   Not all Billionaires in the US are public figures such as Buffet, Gates and Musk. Those familiar billionaires are all present generation new money. Warren Buffett and the late Charley Munger both attributed their longevity as one of the reasons for their wealth. Both said that they benefited from having “extra innings”. All old money started out once as new money. There are…