Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

“Mr. Buffett believes the son and daughter of a successful banker should have to become bankers themselves to replicate the family lifestyle. He huffs that letting savings pass from one generation to the next is like choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics.

Yes, if you’re the type who sees money chiefly as a way of “keeping score” and believes the purpose of existence is to create a pile. In my Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, many folks still think of building a business as a way to save their kids from having to build businesses, so they can become doctors, teachers, architects and scientists. By Mr. Buffett’s logic, the country must be going down the tubes as more families become rich enough so children don’t have to choose their work with earning an income uppermost in mind.

In other words, Mr. Buffett would probably be Mr. Buffett even if he had started life rich.We would still be benefiting from his talents. Donald Trump, Ted Turner and Richard Li come to mind as rich kids who became moguls in their own right, just as anybody can name a scion of great wealth (marine biologist Julie Packard) who chose to do something else.

Mr. Buffett lays much store by the word “meritocracy,” but his understanding of it seems more than a little idiosyncratic. Our economy rewards people according to how much money they can make for somebody else. We can all appreciate the social utility of this mechanism without confusing it with merit.”

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