Whoever said money doesn't grow on trees has probably never taken a good look at the Quote 500 rich list. The Quote 500 is a magazine published every year in the fall, that contains lists and rankings of the Netherlands's wealthiest citizens. In this paper the fortunes of the richest are classified as either a inherited fortune or a self-made fortune. Next I investigate how the status of the fortune, self-made or inherited, affects the trend of the fortune. Additionally, I investigate whether the economic sector of origin of the fortune has a significant effect on the trend of the fortune. Lastly I look at whether inherited and self-made fortunes are generally achieved in specific sectors. The models created to perform this research include a two-step linear regression model and a Bayesian stochastic multi-level model. The results indicate that when a fortune is inherited this has a positive effect on the trend of the fortune. Furthermore the sectors Industry, Construction, Transport Storage and Communication and Immovable Property and Rental of Movable Property and Services have a significant negative effect on the trend of the fortune and last we generally find inherited fortunes in the sector Trade and self-made fortunes are most found in the sector Immovable Property and Rental of Movable Property and Services.

Franses, Ph.H.B.F.
hdl.handle.net/2105/17104
Econometrie
Erasmus School of Economics

Groot, C.R. de. (2014, October 21). The Goddess of Fortune. Econometrie. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/17104