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GROWING RICH WITH GROWTH STOCKS<br />
research reports just as his older brothers and sister had done before<br />
him.<br />
A FORTUNE IN THE FUNDS<br />
After Davis Senior passed away, the $800 million fortune he<br />
amassed was put into a charitable remainder trust, which is now<br />
primarily invested in Davis’s many mutual funds, including New York<br />
Venture. Any in<strong>com</strong>e the trust generates goes to Davis’s mom, Kathryn.<br />
Upon her death, it reverts to the family’s charitable foundation.<br />
The trust was set up like this because the Davis family has long<br />
been against leaving large inheritances to family members. “We want<br />
our kids to be <strong>com</strong>fortable,” Davis explains. “But we think the biggest<br />
disservice you can do for somebody is to cut off their sense of ac<strong>com</strong>plishment.<br />
If I had a son or daughter who was going to get a great<br />
sense of ac<strong>com</strong>plishment by going into the ministry, for example,<br />
that wouldn’t bother me. I would make sure he or she were well<br />
enough taken care of to live a good life, just not with a jet airplane.<br />
I’m not going to leave kids money to be<strong>com</strong>e idle rich. I want them<br />
to pursue whatever career they want and do it extraordinarily well,<br />
just as I believe in having focus and staying within your circle of<br />
<strong>com</strong>petence in investing. You should look in the mirror and be able<br />
to feel proud of what you do in life, whether you’re an artist, minister,<br />
doctor, investor, politician, or anything else. The reason I’m against<br />
giving kids money is because I think it corrupts those instincts to<br />
achieve. My father did leave me money, in the sense that he gave me<br />
the opportunity to manage it. But he was willing to do that because<br />
I proved I could manage it well. If I don’t, the independent board of<br />
directors at our mutual funds has the power to fire me. So it’s not as<br />
if I was left an in<strong>com</strong>e stream that I don’t have to work for. I feel the<br />
same way about my kids. I want them to do well on their own, and<br />
I think they will.”<br />
WORKING FROM HOME<br />
When Davis turned over day-to-day management of New York<br />
Venture and Selected American to Chris, he had no intention of retiring.<br />
Far from it. He now works harder than ever. But he spends little<br />
time inside his New York office at the World Trade Center, which<br />
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