How are you, Reader?

I was talking to my husband about this topic for the past few weeks and I thought of sharing it with you to get your insights too.

We’ve been discussing wealth, billionaires, ethics, and just where life is headed given today’s economy.

This whole train of thought started when I came across a post about Billie Eilish donating $11.5 million to a charity and then calling out all billionaires to give their money away too.

A few days later, I stumbled on another video about billionaires, and I got curious so I tried to study how big 1 billion really looks like.

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Just how Big Is 1 Billion really?

We often hear “a billion” and treat it like a bigger cousin of a million, but the gap is enormous.

If you had $1 billion and tried to spend it all in just one year, you would need to spend $2.7 million every single day to use it up.

And if you were to spend that same amount over 50 years – assuming you became a billionaire at 30 and lived until 80 – you’d still have to spend $54,795 every single day for five decades.

Every. Day. For fifty years.
And that’s without earning anything new.

Now, keep in mind: Elon Musk’s net worth is estimated at around $500 billion.

While most of that wealth is tied up in stock value, company ownership, and non-liquid assets, when you look at wealth at that scale, it becomes clear why no human being can realistically “use up” that amount through normal living.

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Which brings me to the next part of the conversation.

Of course, when income increases, so do expenses – bigger houses, more staff, higher insurance, more investments, more obligations. That’s normal.

But when I tried to research what it actually costs to live a deeply comfortable life – a home, car, health insurance, eating out without guilt, raising a child well, sending them to college, traveling, saving for retirement – the numbers didn’t even scratch the surface of a billion. Not even a quarter.

It really begs the question:

Is Being a Billionaire… Ethical?

Not the act of becoming wealthy – that part usually involves risk, creativity, contribution, or in some cases, privilege.

But the act of staying a billionaire… or even keeping hundreds of millions untouched.

Is it ethical to hold that much while the world struggles?

Some might say, “But they donate through foundations.”
But let’s be honest: A lot of these foundations are also tax vehicles, inheritance shields, and reputation tools.

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These questions were not meant to attack billionaires or anyone who wants to be financially abundant.

If anything, they led me and my husband to really reflect and write our own wealth manifesto.

They made us ask bigger questions about ourselves, our values, and the inheritance we want to leave our son.

We were actually relieved that our businesses didn’t scale too fast before we formed these thoughts. We were grateful we reached this clarity early because I am not building wealth for the sake of being “rich.” I’m building for the next generation. To leave something meaningful behind.

So we sat down and asked ourselves:

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1. How much is “enough”?

Oftentimes we get caught in our ambitions and goals without even stopping to define when is enough, enough?

We asked ourselves: Do we want to become multi-millionaires? Is there a number where we say “Past this point, everything else is given away?”

2. If we exceed that amount: what happens next?

Where does the extra go? Which causes matter to us? What do we want our wealth to heal or change?

3. What do we want to leave for our son?

What kind of inheritance? Do we even want to leave assets… or would we rather leave systems, trust structures, or shared values?

4. How do we define “wealth” beyond money?

5. What impact should our family name stand for after we’re gone?

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These questions shaped everything that came next.

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The Five Capitals We Want to Pass On

When Solomon wrote about building a house in Proverbs 24, he wasn’t just talking about architecture. He was describing how to build a life, a lineage, and a legacy.

This tells us something important:
​Inheritance isn’t only about money.
It’s about the layers of capital you build and pass down.

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Here are the five capitals we’ve identified that we want to pass on as inheritance:

1. Financial Capital

Money, investments, property – tangible tools that create opportunity. We do not want to be in a position where our son is expected to support us financially when he starts working – a mindset deeply ingrained in Filipino culture.

2. Wisdom Capital

Financial literacy, life skills, discernment, decision-making, and even the ability to make and keep good friends. These are the tools that allow a child to steward resources, not just inherit them.

3. Spiritual Capital

Personally, this is the most important – faith in Jesus, values, prayer, reliance on God, and moral grounding. I could never be where I am or share what I share without God guiding me every step of the way.

4. Social Capital

Relationships, community, mentors, networks – and the wisdom how to grow and keep relationships.

5. Character Capital

Integrity. Work ethic. Responsibility. Generosity. Resilience. These traits outlast money. They outlast us.

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When you look at these five capitals together, you begin to see inheritance differently – money becomes just one part of the picture, not the whole story.

Building wealth that is less about accumulation and more about multiplication: multiplying wisdom, multiplying faith, multiplying opportunities, multiplying character.

And defining what “enough” means becomes essential, because once you know how much is truly enough for your family’s needs, everything beyond that becomes capacity for impact, generosity, and purpose.

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Questions For Your This Week

• If your child (or future self) inherited your current habits, beliefs, and values around money – would that be a blessing or a burden?
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• What did you grow up believing about money that you now want to unlearn?

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What do you think about this week’s newsletter? Which part helped you the most?

I’d love to hear them – let me know my replying. 😊

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Here’s to us becoming truly rich!!

Dane ( ˘͈ᵕ ˘͈♡)💸