This was used recently by an MP.

That being said I agree with your thoughts, however:

> How many fourth generational heirs do we see among America’s wealthiest billionaires? Essentially zero.

This is probably true but I'd like to ask the question: how many of them simply inherit a lot of money without any of the fame associated with it, and just go unnoticed? I've met such a person, actually.

EDIT: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-36009963 - this is what I was thinking about.

So, you pay gift taxes instead.

Unless you use fake business transactions.

Quite a few. Not sure how long you would make four generations, but let's say 100 years.

There are the obvious famous families; Ford, Rockafellers, Du Pont, Mellon, Mars, Hearst, SC Johnson ("a family company"), etc. But there are a number of billionaire families that aren't recognized much outside of their "home towns" because they started mundane things like retail stores or own mineral rights.

That's not even getting into families whose wealth has diluted, but whose descendents are politicians, actors, or otherwise notable / influential people.

Granted, most billion dollar businesses are <4 generations old, but more sophisticated investment vehicles exists for preserving wealth than existed even 50 years ago.

Plus, that money may get divided and spent over time, but it’s usually invested. It’s not like after 100 years it’s the same amount of money adjusted for inflation, if the next generations didn’t mismanage it.