97% of wealth transfers fail for one reason: family dynamics.
Poor communication. Lack of trust. Unprepared heirs.
The time-tested principles that helped the remaining 3% preserve and grow multi-generational wealth — and why peace of mind, not portfolio returns, is the real measure of success.
“Chris's guidance has enabled our children's knowledge and understanding, putting them on their own paths toward building wealth.”
Most family wealth does not make it to the third generation.
Not from bad investments. Not from poor estate planning. Not from lack of effort. It is lost to poor communication, a lack of trust, and poorly prepared heirs.
After 40 years managing over $1 billion, I can tell you three things that will improve your chances and your outcomes. Now, for the first time, I'm pulling back the curtain.
October 19, 1987.
Black Monday.
I'm 25, watching the Dow crater 22.7% in six hours. Blue-chip stocks trading 30–50% below what's blinking on our screens. Companies vaporizing. Fortunes built over generations gone before lunch.
But here is what I learned.
Not everyone lost that day. Some clients barely flinched. Same crash, same chaos, completely different outcomes. Families with thoughtful plans, conservative investments, and excellent communication survived and thrived.
Since then I've managed $1 billion+ through four more “once-in-a-lifetime” disasters, built Citi Smith Barney's Private Wealth Management into the industry's best UHNW platform, and advised families with generational fortunes.
This book reveals how to accumulate wealth, communicate across generations, and why peace of mind — not money — is the real prize.
What do the families who preserve wealth for 100+ years have in common?
I spent decades looking for their secret advantage — the special strategy, the insider connections, the sophisticated techniques. What I found shocked me. These families were doing more communicating, and less of this:
Instead, they focus on three things.
Communicating Values
A life well lived is not defined by net worth. It is defined by the positive impact you have on your family three generations down, and on your community decades later.
Budget, Save, Then Invest
Living below one's means is not popular, but it is essential to financial independence — in every generation.
Inform, Involve, Entrust
Educating and involving the next generation over a decade or more gives you ample opportunity to guide without suffocating.
You don't need to beat the market to achieve financial independence. You need to structure wealth to survive human nature, emotion, family dynamics, and the inevitable transitions that come with ambition and affluence.
Read this book immediately if…
Whether you're managing generational wealth or building it, inside you'll discover…
The Sacred Art of Listening — why it may be your most powerful wealth preservation tool, especially during transitions.
The “Inactive Investing” philosophy that beats 85% of active traders without watching CNBC, reading earnings reports, or timing the market.
Liquidity → Lifestyle → Legacy — a framework for structuring assets by purpose and time horizon.
Involve → Inform → Entrust — preparing heirs, including specific age milestones.
The “dignity test” — when it's time to turn over financial control, and the three-stage handoff that prevents family warfare.
Why rebalancing during a crash often locks in permanent losses — and what to do instead.
The six-word phrase that defuses prenup tension before it starts.
Most importantly: you'll learn why managing wealth has always been more than managing money — and why, when your values are clear, decision-making becomes easy.
What the industry's most trusted voices say
Chris has built a reputation as a trusted advisor, mentor, and leader for over forty years — a protective steward of his clients' capital, unafraid to go against consensus when he has conviction.
Chris is an extraordinary wealth advisor and partner who internalizes clients' goals, applying portfolio fundamentals alongside proprietary thinking grounded in decades of cross-cycle experience.
Trust has to be earned, and Chris has earned my unwavering trust through all of his endeavors. His ability to listen is one of his most valuable traits.
Only 500 numbered hardcover copies.
After they sell out: eBook only until 2027. Limited stock remains at early-bird pricing.
The rock-solid “better questions” guarantee.
Read the whole book. If you don't find yourself asking better questions of your financial advisor afterward, I'll refund your money.
Going Independent
A Practitioner's Guide to Launching Your Advisory Firm.
Frequently asked
Is this book only for people with $25M+?+
Not at all. While Chris's clients typically have $25M+, the principles apply to anyone serious about preserving and growing wealth. If you have $500K+ in investable assets — or aspire to — you'll find tremendous value here.
I already have a financial advisor. Will this conflict with their advice?+
It will help you become a better client and get more value from your advisor. Many advisors have purchased copies for their own clients because it elevates the conversation and creates better outcomes.
How is this different from other investment books?+
Most investment books focus on beating the market or getting rich quick. This book focuses on the harder — and more important — challenge: keeping wealth once you have it.
Will this work for my specific situation?+
The book includes case studies across dozens of family situations — business owners, inheritors, sudden wealth recipients, multigenerational families, blended families, and more.
What if I'm already wealthy and just want to avoid mistakes?+
Perfect. Chapter 10 alone (“Why Aren't More People Rich?”) could save you millions by helping you avoid the behavioral mistakes that destroyed 98.5% of wealthy families.
How long will it take to read?+
Most readers finish in 3–4 hours. But you'll reference it for years.
Christopher Poch
Founder & CEO of Promethium Advisors, a private wealth management firm based in Bethesda, Maryland.
With over 40 years advising ultra-high-net-worth families, Chris has led divisions at Smith Barney, Citigroup, Bessemer Trust, and Morgan Stanley, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and The Financial Times.
Money & Meaning is his second book and his most personal work to date.
You get to choose which side you're on.
In 1935, roughly 60,000 families were wealthy enough to create dynasties — today's equivalent of billionaire status. By 2025, only around 900 billionaires exist in the US. That means 59,100 families lost their financial standing. For many reasons, but perhaps the most important:
From lack of structure.
This book won't make you richer. It will make you wiser. It won't promise financial freedom in five years. It will show you how to preserve what you've spent a lifetime building — with frameworks that have protected wealth for centuries.
Money is not the main point. Peace of mind is.
Get your hardcover copyWilliams and Preisser, Philanthropy Heirs & Values, Robert D. Reed, 2005
