The heir to the Onassis fortune, Athina Roussel found herself with an estimated $2.7 billion in cash, a private jet, the Greek island of Skorpios and more when she celebrated her 18th birthday on Wednesday, January 29. In one day, Roussel became one of the world's richest teenagers. But can a teenager handle such a large financial responsibility? "Clearly, she is not doing this alone," says Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at California State University at Los Angeles. "It will be tightly controlled."
Roussel had known about her inheritance for years; she may be little changed by her newfound responsibilities. Yet the new access to funds may cause problems. "There is a dark side for anyone with that much money, whether you're 18 or 80," explains Fischoff. "There is nothing built into you that says no."
The risk is that there is not much someone that affluent cannot do, and that might lead to trouble. "It's a world of yeses," continues Fischoff "It happens with athletes and music stars and celebrities all the time. You see how, money takes people down when they suddenly get a bunch of it."
