An old Yiddish saying: God doesn't favor the rich. Look who he gives money to. Another saying: The rich have heirs, not children.
Both back up the idea that money can't buy you happiness. And if the bitter, generational squabbles of the super-rich are any indication, lots and lots of money makes for a miserable existence indeed.
Pick up any celebrity magazine, any financial glossy, heck, even a history book. The rich and powerful have always fought amongst themselves. History is built on the stuff. The Windsors have been a mess for generations. On this side of the pond, the Astors have always made headlines, and the Vanderbilt's were suing each other and contesting wills 100 years ago. Shelves of books have been written about the Onassis dynasty. The nasty in-fighting of the wealthy continue today: The Pritzgers,The Murdochs, The Redstones.
Little wonder these kinds of stories have provided rich fodder for Hollywood over the years. Who wasn't glued to Dynasty 20 years ago? Now it's Dirty Sexy Money and Cane. Even the foibles of Britney Spears and her ex-husband, battling in court over custody of their two sons and their attendant child support fortune, sells millions of copies of People Magazine every week.
Closing Bell: Can't go up every day (BAC, HE, HPW, COMS, BRCD, WMT, AMD)
Wal-Mart grows profit and cash flow in Q3, but comps still ailing
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2
