IRISH MILLIONAIRES LOSE CONFIDENCE

Irish millionaires have lost confidence in the economy and fear their wealth will be destroyed by a combination of unpredictable investment returns and higher taxes, The Sunday Times reports.

A survey of 2,000 millionaires from 20 companies by Barclays Wealth, a wealth manager, showed Irish respondents as the most pessimistic, with only 35% of them believing their children would be wealthier than they are.  As a result, they are putting away more money for their children than other similarly rich individuals in other countries.

“The Irish buck the trend in the developed world on responsibility for their children financially,” said Pat McCormack, the head of Barclays Wealth Ireland. “Because they fear their heavily indebted children will be worse off, they probably feel obliged to offer greater support. More than 60% of Irish respondents spend less now than before the economic downturn, which could be because they are putting aside more for their children.”