He’s Upset His Parents Give His Brother $150,000 A Year To Fund His Art Career In Addition To A Trust Fund
This 30-year-old guy is the middle sibling in his family, and he has two brothers: one older and one younger.
His parents are incredibly successful, and growing up, they really encouraged him and his brothers to be the same way.
His dad was constantly gone for work, and his mom worked a part-time job, though she took a 10-year hiatus to care for his youngest brother.
His parents constantly made more money as their childhood years wore on, and they did make sure to share the wealth.
“Our parents generously bought us each our first car, and the change in quality is apparent over just the time passed from each of us hitting age 16,” he explained.
“My oldest brother and I got used Saturn and GM SUVs. When I was a senior in high school, our parents sold their business for a ludicrous amount of money, I don’t know the exact amount but probably in the range of $30 million.”
“Our youngest brother was quickly moved to the most expensive private high school in the area, and his first car was a brand new, fully loaded Mercedes.”
As he and his older brother went through high school, which was public, by the way, his mom and dad pressured them greatly to make sure they picked high-paying careers to support their future families.
His parents bashed their ideal jobs and pushed them to pick things that would make them more money in the long run.
LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
His oldest brother dreamed of being a history teacher, yet went to medical school, and he always wanted to be an astronomer but picked software engineering.
His little brother got treated differently than they did, though. His little brother had a hard time fitting in and got bullied, so that was a main reason why his parents moved him to a pricey private school.
The private school his little brother went to told their students a different message than his mom and dad did; and that was to make sure you follow your passion.
His little brother became passionate about fine arts, and went on to go to one of the most expensive colleges for that.
After graduating, his little brother couldn’t land a job, and his parents stepped in to enable him not having to really work.
“Now comes the privilege portion and what upsets me,” he explained. “In an effort to have support for each of us be financially equal, our parents created 3 separate trusts which pay each of us $120K per year for life.”
His spouse and his oldest brother’s spouse both make excellent money, so he and his older brother don’t really need to rely on their trusts.
Instead, they’re squirreling this money away for their future generations or finding ways to donate what they really don’t need.
However, his little brother spends everything he gets annually from his trust on lavish art supplies, traveling, and other luxuries.
“In an attempt to help him launch his art business, my parents purchased an expensive property with a world-class art studio and a really nice home, which my youngest brother lives in and uses rent-free,” he said.
“I won’t say where exactly, but it’s California. In addition, my parents financially support his travel to painting locations “for work,” – which often amounts to 2-week vacations to Yosemite or the like. The total amount of this yearly support is honestly in the range of $150K/year, and it seems as though it will continue for life (in addition to what he is already receiving).”
“My parents don’t view this as giving him extra money since it’s not being “paid out,” but instead, they’re just letting him use something that expensive for free. My brother is not mentally handicapped, but my parents treat this situation as though he would be incapable of surviving on his own in the world. They fear he would have a mental breakdown and be unhappy if he had to get a real job. In a large part this is their fault, because he has been so sheltered and so privileged for his entire life that he has never had to learn the skills to operate in the real world.”
He’s so frustrated with his parents for allowing this to happen, and his mom is the true enabler here. His mom clearly favors his little brother and has for as long as he’s been alive.
Whenever he spends time with his mom, she gushes about his little brother’s art career and acts like he’s thriving when he’s not.
It also bothers him that his mom and dad constantly talk about how they make things equal among them as siblings in regard to how they have structured the different trusts.
But that’s simply not true, as they don’t take into account all of the money they’re dumping into his little brother’s art career.
He and his older brother aren’t getting that exact same money at all. He’s become so upset about being treated differently than his little brother that he can’t even pretend to be happy about his bogus art career.
“It really disgusts me that I was pushed to pursue something practical, and he is living his dream pursuing a luxury hobby supported by mom and dad,” he continued.
“I don’t know what to do. I would feel terrible asking them to throw him out and pursue a real job, although I feel this is what would be best for him in the long run. I have told them in the past that if he worked somewhere else managing an art collection/museum for a few years or in art education, he would be more prepared for the real world and to run his own business afterwards.”
“He truly couldn’t pay for the studio and house himself out of his “stipend” because it’s so expensive, and he burns through the rest of his money. A part of me would feel better if my older sibling and I were also being provided a similar additional amount as him; I could put it towards our mortgage or save for our future kids or donate more to good causes – but I can’t think of any way to bring this up to my parents without sounding like a greedy [jerk], and the truth is that neither of us “needs” the money.”
He can’t get over how unequal and unfair everything is, so he believes it’s time to speak up and reveal reality to his mom and dad.
He doesn’t care that things aren’t equal between him and his brothers, as it is his mom and dad’s money to spend how they choose, but he wants them to admit this is happening.
He’s concerned his bitter feelings will ruin his relationship with his parents and little brother, but if he keeps on not saying a thing, that makes him wrong.
What advice do you have for him?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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