Born Rich - Movie Review

Armed with economic power and the celebrity access of his own social privilege, Jamie Johnson (heir to the Johnson & Johnson company empire) is able to gather together ten wealthy friends to talk about money. Some of the richest young people in America discuss the realities of growing up with huge financial assets, ideas for what to do with it, and feelings about losing it. The son of a gaming industry giant, Luke Weil reveals his feelings about going to boarding school, while Ivanka Trump talks about her experiences as the daughter of Donald and Ivana. Also features discussions with the young heirs to the Bloomberg, Newhouse, and Whitney fortunes.

This documentary provides a voyeuristic view into the private lives and thoughts of rich kids (college age) who didn't work for their money, but instead inherited it. I thought it might be interesting to see what types of problems (if any) the rich kids encountered growing up due to the fact there were born with silver spoons in their mouths. I was also curious to see how they spoke and acted. What I got was a range of personalities (smug, aloof, well-spoken, driven, laid back, dour) and a bunch of kids that weren't entirely sure what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. In other words, they weren't unlike regular kids figuring out who they are and deciding which path to take in life. The main difference is that they really don't have to worry about money, however it was quite clear that just having money was not the recipe for happiness. Overall, it was interesting, but not very insightful as it just scratched the surface of what it could have been (I'm sure lawyers were involved).

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Georgina Bloomberg, Ivanka Trump, Si Newhouse IV, Juliet Hartford, Carlo von Zeitschel, Stephanie Ercklentz, Christina Floyd, Josiah Hornblower, Cody Franchetti, Luke Weil

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.