Trust Fund and Diplomat Progeny:
Be Who You Are and Help Companies Win

I once knew a diplomat's son. Spoke six languages. Hung out with the grandchildren of a famous world leader and activist. Had access to rooms most people would kill to enter.

He was fun. Charming. Connected to people doing genuinely important work—heads of state, venture capitalists, infrastructure developers.

And he was flustering around like a court jester, trying to broker deals he didn't understand, for companies that couldn't deliver on the scale his network required.

He wanted to make money with his friends. But he was matching International infrastructure investors to  scrappy American hustlers that could barely fund a $500K deal, let alone the $50M projects his contacts needed.

He had access, network, and potential without strategy, discernment, and positioning.

He thought he was a dealmaker. He wasn't. He was a connector who didn't know how to monetize connection.

The Problem: Nepo-Babies Who Try to Be Operators

Let's be honest: being raised with considerable wealth and connections invite criticism. And sometimes, well-deserved. But often, the truth through the eyes of the common-man is skewed by disillusionment, a lack of faith and safety in the system, and a lack of upward mobility. This is where you shine! You get to introduce hard-working, capable bootstrappers to resources they otherwise wouldn't have access to. And you bring the truly disruptive ideas and geniuses to the money. 

They're handed access that others spend decades trying to earn. They grow up in rooms where billion-dollar decisions are casual dinner conversation. They've met heads of state, tech founders, and cultural icons before they're old enough to drive.

And then they enter the workforce and... flounder.

Because access is not the same as skill. And most of them try to be operators when they should be connectors.

The Mistakes They Make:

• Trying to close deals themselves instead of introducing closers to opportunities
• Starting companies they're not qualified to run instead of joining boards as strategic advisors
• Pretending they earned their position instead of owning their access and monetizing it honestly
• Matching anyone to anyone instead of becoming laser-focused on connection-discernment
• Treating their network like a party trick instead of treating it like the high-value asset it is

The diplomat's son I knew? He was doing all of this. And he was broke because he didn't understand his role.

The Success Case: Paris Hilton

Let's talk about someone who figured it out.

What Trust Fund holders, and Diplomat's Progeny Should Actually Do

If you're born with access—through family, diplomatic connections, old money, proximity to power—stop trying to be an operator if you were not groomed to be.

You're not good at execution, but connection comes naturally. Own it. Monetize it. Do it well.

The Right Roles for You:

1. Strategic Advisor

Companies pay you $5K-25K/month (or equity) to open doors, make introductions, and provide access to networks they can't penetrate on their own.

You're not running anything, you get to flow through your network naturally and become the bridge. Pressure if off and success is merely a numbers game.

Example: A tech startup trying to break into African markets hires you because you know ministers, investors, and local operators. You make three introductions. They close $10M in deals. You take 2-5% advisory equity. You just made $200K-$500K for facilitating connection, and strengthened relations between yourself and business partners in two international markets.

2. Board Member / Non-Executive Director

You join boards of companies that need your network more than they need your operational input. You attend quarterly meetings, make strategic introductions, open doors at the highest levels.

Compensation: equity, board fees ($25K-$100K/year per board), and the legitimacy of being associated with successful companies.

3. Lobbyist / Government Relations

If you're a diplomat's kid, you understand how governments work. Companies pay massive fees ($10K-$50K/month) for people who can navigate regulatory environments, make introductions to policymakers, and translate between private sector and public sector.

This is literally your inheritance. Use it.

4. Connector / Dealmaker (But Not Deal-Closer)

You broker introductions between the right people. But you don't try to close the deal yourself. You get paid for the introduction—flat fee ($5K-$50K per intro) or success fee (1-3% of deal value if it closes).

Example: You know a billionaire looking to invest in African infrastructure. You know a Kenyan developer with a $100M solar project. You introduce them. They close the deal. You take 1% = $1M. You didn't build the solar plant. You didn't negotiate terms. You made one introduction.

5. Brand / Influencer (The Paris Hilton Model)

If you have charisma and don't mind being public, become the product. Build a personal brand. Monetize attention through endorsements, product lines, speaking fees, and sponsored content.

Your access becomes content. Your network becomes legitimacy. Your life becomes the offering.

How to Sharpen Your Connection-Discernment

The diplomat's son I knew was matching anyone to anyone. A solar developer in Kenya to a New Jersey credit firm. A VC looking for $50M deals to a company that couldn't fund $1M.

This is why he failed. Volume doesn't equal value. Precision does.

The Questions You Need to Ask Before Making an Introduction:

• Scale Match: Is the opportunity the right size for the company? (Don't introduce a $50M deal to a $500K operator)
• Capability Match: Can this company actually deliver? (Access means nothing if they can't execute)
• Timeline Match: Does this company move at the speed this opportunity requires? (Fast-moving VCs won't wait for slow-moving operators)
• Values Match: Will these parties respect each other? (Don't introduce your diplomat father to a shady broker)
• Reciprocity: What's in it for you? (Don't make free introductions—get paid, get equity, or get future favors)

If you can't answer yes to all five, don't make the introduction. You're burning credibility—the only asset you actually have.

What the Diplomat's Son Should Have Done

Instead of trying to be a dealmaker for a company that couldn't handle his network, here's what he should have done:

Step 1: Position Himself Correctly
"I'm a strategic advisor specializing in African market entry. I have direct access to ministers, investors, and operators across East and Southern Africa. I'll open the doors to your strongest closers, and support in international business development."

Step 2: Find the Right Clients
Not a Brooklyn credit firm. But: tech companies expanding into Africa, infrastructure funds looking for projects, multinational corporations navigating regulatory environments.

Step 3: Set Clear Compensation
$10K-$25K/month retainer OR 1-3% success fee on deals that close OR equity in companies he helps establish in African markets.

Step 4: Sharpen His Discernment
Stop introducing everyone to everyone. Become known for making three perfect introductions per year instead of thirty mediocre ones.

Step 5: Build His Brand
Write about African markets. Speak at conferences. Become THE person people think of when they need International government relations, or high-level introductions.

If he'd done this? He'd be making $500K-$1M/year easily. Instead, he was chasing $10K commissions on deals that never closed.

The Lesson

If you're privileged to come from generational wealth and social resources, you've been handed something most people will never have: access.

You can resent it. You can try to prove you're "more than that." You can pretend it doesn't matter.

Or you can own it. Monetize it. Do it so well that companies win because you helped them.

Paris Hilton understood this. She didn't try to run Hilton Hotels. She became the product. She turned access and attention into an empire.

The diplomat's son didn't understand this. He tried to be a dealmaker when he should have been a door-opener. He's still flustering around, chasing commissions on deals that don't close.

The difference? One of them knew their value. The other one is still trying to prove it.

For the Privileged Few Reading This

If this resonates, ask yourself:

• Am I trying to close deals I'm not qualified to close?
• Am I starting companies I'm not equipped to run?
• Am I matching anyone to anyone without real discernment?
• Am I underselling my access because I'm embarrassed by it?
• Am I trying to prove I'm "more than just my network"?

If you answered yes to any of these, you're doing it wrong.

You're trying to be salt or sulfur when you're mercury.

And mercury is the most valuable element in the equation—if you know how to use it.