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Ross Gerber says young people’s complaints are overblown, investing like Warren Buffett means he sleeps well at night, and keeping his kids grounded is a constant challenge.
Many Gen Zers are stressing about high living costs, AI-fueled layoffs, and other obstacles to their life goals. Gerber told Business Insider that every generation faces challenges, which in his case included lofty housing costs, hefty mortgage rates, and high unemployment.
The CEO and cofounder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management said it’s an “abundant and opportune time” for young people to flourish, as it’s easier to start a business and break into many industries than in the past. He said an entrepreneur can start a company using Shopify to set up its e-commerce and AI to design and run marketing campaigns.
College graduates can earn six-figure incomes if they gain skills and work hard for a few years, while people without a college degree who learn a trade like plumbing are “just killing it,” Gerber said.
Gerber said some young people complain because they have a “complete false expectation of reality.”
“They don’t have a trade or a skill other than playing Roblox, and then they come into work and they’re all entitled thinking that work is a four-hour-a-day job and then they can work from home,” he said.
Gerber is rich, but wants his kids not to be entitled
Gerber told Business Insider that, as a wealthy parent, stopping his two sons, 10 and 13, from becoming entitled was the “hardest challenge of my life.”
The tech investor said he grew up in an “extremely wealthy, entitled environment” where his peers’ families had “mansions” and “planes,” and he watched a lot of his rich friends fail to launch.
“I’m so worried about my kids turning out like my friends from high school,” he said.
Gerber said giving children everything is “not good,” but he and his wife face a “battle” of trying to hide the family’s wealth from their kids, or allowing them to avoid some of life’s discomforts.
“My kids have never sat in economy on a plane,” Gerber said, adding that he thinks about making them do it but “economy sucks.”
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Gerber said he focused on ensuring his kids understand the connection between work and money. They visited his office from a young age, and he’s made it clear they’re “absolutely expected to work” and won’t just be handed things in life. He’s also put them to work, having them “dig holes in the yard or plant trees.”
They’ll have an “opportunity to get an education that I’ll pay for, and an opportunity to have a job one day when they graduate,” he said. “That’s it.”
Gerber said he wants them to understand how lucky they are, “even though our life is nothing like other people’s.”
“I’m trying to also teach them to be good people,” he added.
Good night’s sleep
When asked what kept him up at night, Gerber said he sleeps well. He said his secret was investing in a way that he’d still be happy with if the market tanked 20% within the next three months.
Investing in companies for the long term, like Buffett is known to do, makes the job easier, Gerber said.
Buffett famously wrote in his 1996 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”
Gerber said his conservative approach means he’ll “probably never be a billionaire,” as he doesn’t want to “take risks that could lose all of his and clients’ money.”
“I’m trying to hit doubles and triples and not home runs,” he said. “I think it’s easier to sleep at night when you’re not gambling, especially other people’s money.”
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