Recently I've been flooded with news about Wendi Deng's daughters interning at Goldman Sachs.
Although Goldman's internship acceptance rate is less than 1.5%, since they are the daughters of Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng, it all makes perfect sense.
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Wendi Deng's Daughters at Goldman Sachs: Sparking Jealousy?
As daughters raised in luxury by Wendi Deng and Murdoch’s cherished late-in-life princesses, the sisters split their time between mansions in Beverly Hills and Arizona.
Sisters Chloe and Grace are both starting summer internships at Goldman Sachs. One in the Technology, Media and Telecom group, the other in Consumer Retail.
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Although Goldman's less than 1.5% acceptance rate is ruthless, being born as Murdoch's daughters means they've already won the lottery of life.
As Gen-Zers, each holding a $2 billion family trust, they are not only young, beautiful, wealthy socialites but also top students well-versed in arts and academics. Older sister Grace is at Yale, younger sister Chloe at Stanford.
Still, some people complain online that these rich kids are taking resources at a Wall Street bank 👇
How is anyone still asking this in 2024—if an investment bank doesn't hire the children of the wealthy to bring in business, how else would they survive? 😅
When Murdoch sold assets to Disney five years ago, Goldman Sachs raked in a $105 million commission. So having the client’s daughters work there is just royalty descending to the ranks.
Rather than asking why Goldman hired them, we should be asking why the sisters chose Goldman.
Of course, most Americans get it:
"Who doesn’t intern junior year? They’re just padding their résumé like everyone else."
"Getting into Goldman is as easy for them as getting into an Ivy League."
"Move along, folks, just go back to work."
As 20-year-old tycoons with a $2 billion trust fund, the sisters' goal is definitely not to become Goldman Sachs employees.
Interestingly, Wendi Deng seems to be a die-hard fan of Eileen Gu, liking her Instagram posts daily, and her younger daughter has been photographed partying with Gu multiple times.
Wendi is someone who blazed a trail through high society with her social skills. She has long mapped out every detail: who her daughters should befriend, which schools to attend, and what paths to follow.
Wealthy families always have their intrigues, and the sisters hold no real power in the company, but the succession war has always been this silent.
After all, their mother is Wendi Deng and their father the head of a hundred-billion-dollar media empire. With the sisters' internship directions so clearly defined, who knows—maybe they're paving the way for future inheritance.
Steve Jobs' Son Studying Humanities Mocked?
Turns out many kids of the ultra-rich love to study humanities at elite schools.
Steve Jobs' son, Reed Jobs, dropped pre-med and switched from oncology to history at Stanford. A Gen-Zer, he's now the founder of Yosemite venture capital firm, focusing on cancer treatments.
His eldest daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs is a Harvard graduate and a writer.
His youngest daughter Eve Jobs, a Stanford grad, is a well-known model and equestrian.
Some netizens feel that as children of a tech titan, not inheriting the father's business and studying humanities is a waste 👇
They're overthinking. With parents worth tens of billions, the whole point is to give children freedom in life. Whether they go into business, politics, or just chill, they've already won.
Obama's Daughters: Letting Loose?
During Obama's years in office, the whole family looked as polished as a scripted drama 👇
Now that Dad is retired, the Obama sisters have really let loose. Not only has all socialite aura vanished, they've even let themselves go physically.
Out of the White House spotlight, the two sisters are now quintessential California college girls.
Netizens joke: Obama's daughters played debutantes for their dad, and Ivanka went folksy for Trump—now everyone's just being themselves 😅
The elder daughter Malia graduated from Harvard and works as a screenwriter in Hollywood.
Younger daughter Sasha chose USC, a school packed with rich kids, to study sociology.
Some netizens feel that as daughters of a former president with Ivy League degrees, having zero idol baggage and following careers that aren't conventionally successful might be a pity.
Such worries are totally unnecessary. Being Obama's daughters means they were born in Rome—we don't need to fret about them being stay-at-home jobless 😅
The Beckhams: Only Push Themselves, Not Their Kids
The Beckhams are tiger parents only to themselves, putting all pressure on their own hustle, not on their kids.
The couple are insanely disciplined and singularly focused on making money.
Victoria herself was born into wealth—when she was little, her dad drove a Rolls-Royce 👇
Yet she didn't settle for being an heiress but became a singer, started companies, and founded her own fashion brand.
David Beckham, a legendary football star, after retirement built his own team and became a boss; endless endorsements keep rolling in—he's a money magnet too.
The couple is now worth about $500 million, yet they emphasize a happy, pressure-free education for their children.
The eldest son Brooklyn has married into a wealthy family and mainly lounges around. He’s clearly given up on ambition.
Second son Romeo is a footballer, but slim chance he'll match his dad.
Third son Cruz is into music but hasn't produced any major hits yet.
Little daughter Harper Seven is the family's darling, living like a Disney princess.
Beckham and Victoria probably realized: if the kids don't have great talent, no need to force it. Better to push themselves than the kids—only hustle themselves, not the children.
Enlightened Celebrity Parents
There are many celebrity parents who only push themselves, not their kids. The empire they built, the children get to enjoy.
The Kardashians spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on birthday parties for their daughters every year 👇
Li Xiang is also a representative of raising her daughter in luxury.
Netizens love comparing Wang Shiling and Duoduo—Shiling wins hands down.
Happiness isn't about which school you attend or how many designer bags you buy—you can see it in the eyes.
Netizens' sharp comment: This is the difference between having money from Dad vs. money from Mom 😅
Actually, there are many enlightened celebrity parents; it's the netizens who worry too much.
Yi Nengjing's son has achieved sartorial freedom, wearing see-through outfits and cosplaying Jane Birkin. Netizens asked: Can you accept this?
Whether we accept it or not really doesn't matter. Isn't the biggest success of parenting that her son dares to be himself?
Bezos gives his daughter $50,000 a week as allowance and insists she must spend it all. Sounds absurdly lavish, but there's a billionaire's parenting logic behind it.
Bezos says: "She should be buying the rights to Star Wars, not discounted Converse."
For these super-rich kids, it’s more important to figure out how to multiply money like their parents, not fritter energy on pinching pennies.
Although they dote on their children, these titans always start their kids' education at prestigious schools.
Bill Gates' daughters are all Stanford grads; his son graduated from UChicago.
Trump's daughters also graduated from old-money political bastions like Georgetown or Wharton at UPenn.
Middle-Class Climbing Ivy, Returns on Education
If the middle class climbs the Ivy League for upward mobility, then the rich and famous sending their kids to elite schools is more about social needs.
Whether they study humanities or sciences no longer matters—all roads lead to Rome.
Return on education is something only us common folk have to worry about.
Education endures while parents change. No matter how society evolves, some deep-rooted ideas may never change: valuing conventional success, flocking to CS for big tech jobs, studying medicine or law, etc.
From the "humanities are useless" mantra to calculating prestige ROI, and the public's judgment that "Harvard girl Liu Yiting has become utterly mediocre", all carry a tint of elite-school filters and educational utilitarianism.
Did Liu Yiting really "fail"? From the original hyper-tutored child idol that parents nationwide chased after, to now a regular middle-class American who has fallen from grace—this doesn't fit the public's expectation of a golden child, but perhaps it's simply real life.
Times have changed, and Harvard is no longer an unreachable myth. While not as common as XiaoHongShu would have you believe with everyone attending HYPMS, this generation of international students has more opportunities, wider choices, and more diverse paths to success.
When it comes to the educational styles of the rich and famous, us ordinary folks should just watch from the sidelines for fun.
After all, we lack Murdoch's financial firepower to give his daughters a $2-billion trust fund, and we don't have the Beckhams' courage to hustle only themselves and not their kids. What their forebears built, the children enjoy—that's just rational use of resources. No need to be envious.
Other people's educational approaches and outcomes are ultimately theirs alone. Every family has too many variables to serve as a complete reference. Even raising cats or dogs differs case by case, let alone humans.
I hope both parents and children can find the path best suited to them—no total slacking, but also no need for useless anxiety.
Don't care too much about others' opinions; finding your own direction is what matters most.
