Inheritance of the Super-Rich

This song, written by Tin Pan Alley lyricist Gus Kahn and composer Richard A. Whiting, paired with a lively foxtrot rhythm, was performed by Van and Schenck and reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart, holding the position for nine weeks. That year, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 11.7%, and industrial production had fallen by 31.6% compared to the previous year. This was a result of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates to 7% to curb inflation after World War I. The recession ended the following year, with unemployment dropping to 6.7%, and by 1923, it had fallen further to 2.4%. The Jazz Age boom began from here. The song was born at the very bottom, just before that prosperity arrived. Though the melody was cheerful, the lyrics told a different story. Rent was overdue, and creditors lingered at the door. Yet the chorus asked with a smile, 'Ain't we got fun?' The following lines went: 'One thing's sure and nothing's surer / The rich get rich and the poor get children.' F. Scott Fitzgerald did not miss this song. In *The Great Gatsby*, the protagonist orders Klipspringer, a guest lodging at his mansion, to play the piano. The song plays as Gatsby and Daisy reunite after five years. In September 2026, asset information company Altrata projected that over the next decade, 44% of the global ultra-wealthy's assets—$6.6 trillion, approximately 9,000 trillion Korean won—would be inherited by spouses and adult children of around 5,000 individuals. The combined assets of these ultra-wealthy, numbering just over 3,000 people, exceed the total assets of the poorest 50% of the global population, around 4 billion people. However, since women make up a significant portion of the inheritors, the gender gap within the wealthy class is expected to narrow. More than a century after this song's release, its analysis is half-right and half-wrong. The rich have indeed grown richer, but the poor are experiencing declining marriage rates—and consequently, falling birth rates.