Children of Wealth

"Wealth gives you gunpowder; when you explode gunpowder you can go in any direction. Either way you are going to go very fast."

Thus says Will from California. One of 55 children of Citi Private Bank's richest clients where you need at least $10 million to qualify for a cheque book.

Jim White spent a week mingling with these scions of the super-rich in the comforting old-world charm of London's Dorchester Hotel.

Citi's motive for putting on a lavish week of contemplation and recreation was not entirely a philanthropic one. Research shows most inheritors tend to switch banks. They hired some of the finest minds in the financial world to advise this next generation of world-class wealth on how to keep it, spend it or give it away.

But did the so called "Next Gens" take any notice; were they more interested in hooking up with that blonde from Lithuania, than blazing a trail in the world?

Producer: Kevin Mousley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2008.