jmvo I heard about this movie and have been wanting to see it for quite a while. I actually date someone who, as he puts it, is a member of 'the lucky sperm club'. He is dating outside of his social class - don't tell the rest of them! This is a very revealing and true to life account. The stories I hear about these families and their 'lucky' offspring are unbelievable. First hand I can tell you that these kids are searching for meaning and purpose almost more than the rest of us are. Many of them struggle with having that much money and how to be responsible with it. Also, many of them were raised by nannies and sent to boarding school and crave a connection with their parents who never had time for them. They don't know how to trust or love someone. Money doesn't replace any of that. Mock them, feel sorry for them, envy them - whatever you want.....but they are real people. And some of them are quietly going about living meaningful, productive lives. But don't tell anyone they are dating outside of their social class!

greenskreen Just saw this film on DVD - several years after its release. Congratuations to Jamie Johnson for making the film and thank you to all the people who took part in it.My take on this film is a bit different than other reviewers. What I saw was a group of young people seeking to find their way in the world - just like everyone else. Of course some of them said less mature things - because that is what young adults do. If you took a group of young people from a different socio-economic background or let's say a typical college campus, you would still hear a range of issues about money, thoughts, obsessions, indulgences, etc., and certainly not all would be wise and mature. People are often still finding and defining themselves when they are so young. Obviously money isn't a magic bullet to make life easy, sleep well, or solve all of one's problems - but it's fascinating that money DOES enable hiring lawyers to sue your young friend rather than working through underlying issues.My final reflection on this film is that - if you live in the US - to realize that we are ALL like these kids. Just after seeing this movie, I happened to read a national geographic magazine describing insane poverty and desperation in a developing country ravaged by all sorts of problems. If you live in a western industrialized country, we are all so very wealthy compared to a lot of other people in the world in terms of how our income is many multiples of average salaries in other places. Should I splurge and buy a $3 coffee today? That is a week's salary in some countries. So, if you felt these kids are a bit sheltered from the reality that others may face, perhaps think again about the "norms" that we take for granted in our life. Thanks to Born Rich for addressing the tough, fascinating issue of money.

Denise Beck-Clark I watched this last night and wake up thinking about it so I conclude it was thought provoking, though I think it could have gone deeper. On the other hand, maybe the rich inheritors who were interviewed went as deep as they could! These are people who have the status that millions of us try to get each day as we shell out our hard earned bucks for lottery tickets. I believe we have to be somehow entitled to our karmic destinies, otherwise it would be impossible to justify why some people are born as natural lottery winners and others need 3 jobs just to pay the rent.The one burning question I have after seeing BORN RICH is Where is Paris Hilton? Was she purposely omitted from this or did she decline? I would have been interested in getting the most famous heiress's take on being born rich.

leychica It is well-known that those with money do not ever speak of money--theirs or anyone else's. Jamie Johnson admirably shattered this longstanding taboo, despite pleas from his own father and lawyer not to make the film, and discovered the hard way what happens when the secrecy curtain is lifted from the uber-wealthy. "Born Rich" is ostensibly Johnson's way of finding normalcy, whatever that may mean to those born into wealth; unfortunately, he was ostracized from the Gen-X upper class for turning a mirror onto the real lives of his blue-blood friends.The most fascinating part of Born Rich isn't what is seen on camera, but what took place offscreen. Luke Weil sued Johnson to have his footage cut from the film, claiming that he--an Ivy-league-educated adult--was tricked into signing a release. Weil's lawsuit was thrown out, and it is now apparent to the world why he didn't want his footage seen. Among other gems, Weil tells the interviewer that any woman who wouldn't sign a pre-nup is "an ungrateful little bitch," brags of coasting through Brown University without attending class, and how he would taunt classmates with "I can buy your family." Sadly, Weil is not even the most odious of the film's assembled characters. That distinction belongs to Carlo von Zeitschel, a minor European royal who claims to be a descendant of Kaiser Wilhelm II (strangely, his name does not appear in the Kaiser's family tree). With his chain-smoking and foreign flippancy, he sneers "I have no intention of being loyal to any woman anytime soon, not that I probably ever will be... One day I'll fall in love and I'll get married, whatever. I'll probably get divorced a couple of years later." (In the DVD's deleted scenes, he dismisses his American peers as "so cheesy, they're like the f*cking Brady Bunch.") Weil's and von Zeitschel's contributions to the film are embarrassing to watch, and epitomize everything that is wrong with inherited wealth. The other heirs in the film do not fare much better: Stephanie Erklentz quit her job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch so she could spend her days shopping and sipping Bellinis with her friends. Cody Franchetti is an Italian textile heir who works as a model because he doesn't want a "real job." Juliet Hartford fancies herself a starving artist (minus the starving part) who, when asked what she would do with a million dollars in cash, says "I'd give it to the homeless," then bursts out laughing and spurts, "Just kidding!" However, these vignettes also speak volumes about the sense of narcissistic confusion that stems from having enormous wealth handed down without integrity or values. The real problem with some of these kids is poor parenting, not excess. It is very clear that well-rounded, responsible adults come from proper mentoring, not undeserved wealth or social status.And despite soundbites like these, Johnson manages to make you feel sorry for his subjects; despite their grossly excessive lifestyles, their wealth is tremendously isolating. These children are locked in their own private world, surrounded only by others like them. They have been trained to never socialize or date outside the upper crust, and while most attended college, their trust funds give them no incentive to make a meaningful contribution to the working world, and no mentors to provide guidance. (When Johnson asks his emotionally-detached father for career advice, he is vaguely advised to become a collector of historical maps.) He goes to great lengths to show the perils of having too much money, using his grandfather's messy life as an example.The bright spot of "Born Rich" is Ivanka Trump, who is witty and articulate, and balks at the notion that the rich have no problems. She, along with S.I. Newhouse IV and Josiah Hornblower, appear to be the most well-adjusted of the bunch. They have contemplated the bizarreness of their lives, and seem to be aware of the trappings of decadence and materialism. (Newhouse chose to live in a shared college dorm instead of his father's plush Manhattan penthouse.) These three have no pretenses: they are just young adults with big bank accounts and huge legacies to fulfill.The film is very short - barely over an hour - and Johnson doesn't attempt to delve into the more meaty issues characterizing the class war. He simply turns the camera on his friends, and allows them to expose the classism on their own. Some seem refreshingly average, others troubled, others spoiled, arrogant and mean. But they are all human, and face the same struggle for self-identity as anyone else.This is why it is extremely important to remain thoughtful and open-minded while watching, and not to categorize all super-rich as "elitist snobs," or naysayers of the rich as "jealous." If you have such pre-formed opinions, you will find little here to change your mind or encourage you to think deeper. Still, every viewer will have a strong reaction to the film in some way, because inherited wealth is at odds with the capitalist principle of worth by way of achievement. That idea will undoubtedly rankle you, regardless of sympathies.It took enormous chutzpah for Johnson to make this film. Though it is unlikely to change high society's hush-hush attitudes about wealth, or the public's reaction to class clash, this film is a daring experiment and (hopefully) a promising start to a great film-making career.