It is said that it is nearly impossible to pass on family wealth and have it last beyond the grand-kids. Studies have found that 70% of family assets are lost from one generation to the next, and 90% of assets are gone by the third generation. That's because a crucial element of successful inheritances is often neglected. Traditionally, the focus has been on the givers of wealth, but it should rather be on the receivers. Investing assets wisely and making a good estate plan are crucial to success, and so is the training of the next generation in terms of finance. In other words, a successful inheritance is as much about parenting as it is about money management. This rule goes as much for multimillionaires as for mom-and-pop investors with only one million to pass along.

Notes:

(1) pass on 传达/传递

a. Tenants remain liable if they pass on their lease.  

如果房客将房子转租，他们仍承担责任。

b. He has written a note asking me to pass on his thanks.  

他写了张便条让我转达他的谢意。

c. I think I'll pass on the hiking next time.  

我想远足的事下次再说吧。

(2) asset n. 

 a.~ (to sb/sth) a person or thing that is valuable or useful to sb/sth 有价值的人（或事物）；有用的人（或事物）

She'll be an asset to the team.

她将是这个队的骨干。

In his job, patience is an invaluable asset.

他干的这份工作，耐心是无价之宝。

b.[常用复数] a thing of value, especially property, that a person or company owns, which can be used or sold to pay debts 资产；财产

Her assets include shares in the company and a house in France.

她的财产包括公司的股份和在法国的一座房子。

(3) inheritance n.

a. [可数名词, 常用单数形式, 不可数名词] the money, property, etc. that you receive from sb when they die; the fact of receiving sth when sb dies 继承物（如金钱、财产等）；遗产继承

She spent all her inheritance in a year.

她在一年之内用完了所有继承的遗产。

The title passes by inheritance to the eldest son.

这一头衔按世袭传给长子。

b. [不可数名词, 可数名词] something from the past or from your family that affects the way you behave, look, etc. 遗传特征；遗产

Physical characteristics are determined by genetic inheritance.

身体的特征取决于基因遗传。

(4) estate n.

a. By his own admission, he evaded taxes as a Florida real-estate speculator.  

他亲口承认自己在佛罗里达从事房地产投机生意时逃过税。

b. The allowable deduction is apportioned between the estate and the beneficiaries.  

减免的税额在地产和受益人之间分摊。

c. We went straight to the estate agent and wrote out a cheque.  

我们径直到房地产经纪人那里开了一张支票。

(5) multimillionaire n.千万富翁

a. At 25 he inherited a fortune and become a multimillionaire.  

25岁时,他继承了一大笔财产,成了千万富翁.

b. A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism - counseling program. 

一位身份数百万的媒体大亨,坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班,令员工大为惊愕.

c. He became a strategic master planner and a multimillionaire gambler.  

他是犯罪战略规划大师,又是千万富翁赌徒.

参考译文：

据说将家庭财富传给孩子并在孙辈保有这些财富几乎是不可能的。研究表明，家庭财产在从一代人转移给下一代人时会损失70%，到第三代，这些财产将损失90%。这是因为成功的继承遗产一个至关重要的因素往往遭到忽视。传统上，关注的重点是财富给予者，但实际上关注的重点应该是财富接受者。明智地投资资产并制定出色的不动产计划对成功继承遗产至关重要，对下一代进行财务方面的训练也至关重要。换言之，对成功继承财产来说，培养孩子和管理财产同样重要。这一规则既适用于千万富翁，也适用于只有100万可供继承的家庭投资者。