Some people are successful spending their time and money successfully collecting rare and valuable items. However even for those people, it is the case that nobody want their sh*t.

The things we find fascinating will likely not interest the next generation. Things go out style. Times change. That’s okay. That’s simply the nature of life.

A recent example of this fashion designer Stuart Weitzman who accumulated a collection of rare (and valuable) coins and stamps. Despite his success, he is auctioning them off and donating the proceeds to charity. From a James Barron piece in the New York Times.

“No one takes a U-Haul to the cemetery,” he [Weitzman] said. “We have to figure out what to do with all this stuff.”

“The reason I’m doing the selling is my children don’t want to inherit these items,” added Weitzman, who sold his company to the luxury fashion house Coach in 2015 for $574 million. “They say, ‘It’s great to do with them what you did, but we don’t want to have to worry about them, fuss with them, protect them, figure out what to do with them.”

Does this calculus change because collectibles are getting financialized or art is going digital? I don’t think so.

We ultimately don’t know if NFTs will end up being a dangerous trap or the future of art. Only time will tell. But my guess is that just like your physical possessions, nobody is going to want your digital sh*t either. So plan accordingly.

 

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