John Knowlton's journey from scaling through mergers and acquisitions to creating a revolutionary "shared governance" wealth model destroys the traditional estate planning approach that fails families generation after generation. Instead of keeping wealth secret until death and leaving kids unprepared to handle massive inheritance, John invited his adult children into managing family wealth together right now, creating a family board with mission, vision, values, and committees where his daughter runs philanthropy and they all learn to be stewards while he's alive to guide them.
Who is John Knowlton:
John Knowlton is a multi-generational wealth builder, author, and former wealth management CEO who built and sold a billion-dollar business before age 52, then took a year-long sabbatical that completely transformed how he views success and legacy. Starting his career by "stumbling into" wealth management after being rejected for numerous jobs (he was painting apartments to put food on the table), John spent over a decade mastering mergers and acquisitions—learning to buy wealth management firms in chunks rather than building client-by-client. In 2015, he and his partner set an aggressive goal to reach $1 billion in assets under management.
5 KEY TAKEAWAYS
Shared Governance Prevents Generational Wealth Destruction - Traditional estate planning documents values in trust documents but fails to transfer the skills and traits that built wealth. John's revolutionary model: kids are technically disinherited (Knowlton Family Trust is beneficiary), but they're invited into managing wealth together NOW while he's alive to guide them.
The Dinner Table is Your Primary Wealth Transfer Mechanism - John and his wife insisted on family meals virtually every day, not to eat food but to communicate and transmit values.
Selfish Thinking Destroys, Other-Focused Thinking Builds - From his jail chaplain work, John saw the pattern: inmates focused entirely on themselves ("I want to be different so I didn't have a job and stole money," "I used crack to do my job and can't understand why they arrested me").
Weekly Meetings Create Trust and Prevent Money Conflict - John and his wife have weekly meetings since before kids: review calendar for next 7 days in detail (who's driving kids where), plan meals (he can tell you what they're eating Friday and who's cooking), discuss money. When money was tighter, they talked about it weekly (bills coming up, money coming in, tithes to pay).
Success is Purpose Fulfillment, Not a Finish Line - John sold at 52 with plenty of money but realized during his year-long sabbatical that work provides three essentials: purpose (something to do), meaning (stewarding something for others), and social contact.
CONNECT WITH JOHN KNOWLTON
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