“Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.”
Wait. What?
If you’re contemplating what that could mean, let me save you the inevitable Google search.
It’s an old proverb that describes future generations’ inability to manage and maintain the wealth passed down from previous generations. Another way to look at it, as the matter-of-fact Scottish proverb goes, is this: “The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs.”