Who says those under 30 can't be a success? Not the parents of these five wunderkinds.
Mr. Whimpleton: Father of Darren Whimpleton, junior partner at NY law firm, age 28
At 55, Mr. Whimpleton hired his son to work at his law firm. At 65, Mr. Whimpleton's son was a junior partner. Not one to play by the rules, Mr. Whimpleton boldly refused to fire his son even in the face of chronic cocaine use, the theft of several office appliances including the break room fridge, and the unsolved murders of several small dogs.
Advice for Success: “Give your son every advantage and shield him from consequences.”
Mr. Gurperelli: Father of a professional actress, age 25
When Mr. Gurperelli died and left his twenty year daughter seven hundred thousand dollars, few thought she had what it took to have unlimited daytime availability for auditions. But Mr. Gurperelli's daughter proved them all wrong and enrolled in several expensive acting classes and paid to meet dozens of casting directors and agents. Within two years, she had appeared in several national commercials, and over twenty branded content videos on the Internet. Within three, she was booking more television pilots than she could count. Within five, she was married to the top cardiologist at Cedars-Siani, moved to Orange County, and gave up acting entirely. Who needs acting when you're such a success?
Advice for Success: “Work closely with the Bush administration in 2001 to severely lower the estate tax.”
Ms. Tilpfer: Mother of tech start up guru, age 24
In the fast-paced world of Silicon Valley, you can have all the advantages, but it all boils down to one thing: investors. When Ms. Tilpfer daughter came to her with her idea for an app that would work just like Venmo and Paypal but with a different name, Ms. Tilpfer knew her daughter was just a few high-profile investors away from forming a start up that would last three years before Facebook or Google would buy it out to maintain the oligarchy. With an army of rich friends she knew from her days of socializing at Stamford, her daughter's payment app went from just a crazy dream to make a lot of money without providing any sort of tangible product, to a reality.
Advice for Success: “in the new economy, you don't need to make something people want to buy”
Ms. Tranks: Mother of international supermodel, age 21
In the fast-paced world of fashion, you can have all the advantages, but it all boils down to one thing: being an adult woman with the body of a sick child. Ms. Tranks wisely decided to pass down her jaunty hips and meek cheekbones, launching her daughter into supermodel superstardom. With all that and a child-rearing strategy she self-describes as “anti-book,” it's no wonder Ms. Tranks' daughter is walking the runway to success.
Advice for Success: “Be born from my womb.”
Mrs. Selica: Mother of advertising executive, age 29
At a young age, Mrs. Selica's son showed exceptional promise in writing. The Selica house was littered with poems, short stories, even the occasional novella. Not one to let her son's talent go to waste, Mrs. Selica took her son aside and screamed at him daily until he went to college for advertising. Now, he's worth millions and can barely remember what it feels like to make something uniquely your own. There's plenty of space to house his eternal emptiness at his winter cottage in Aspen! Thanks Mrs. Selica!
Advice for Success: “Art is stupid.”