Trust fund babies: there is a perception that they are petulant, spoiled and blow their savings on everything. 

Are you familiar with the popular television show Shark Tank? Shark Tank features aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their investment ideas to seasoned investors like businesswoman, Barbara Corcoran. Corcoran actually refuses to do business with the children of wealthy parents, stating her belief that: “entrepreneurs from a privileged background don’t have the need to have their business succeed, and that can make all the difference when their back is against the wall.”

That may not be true for all rich children, but it certainly rings true in the case of 40 year-old Robert Wilcox.

Wilcox is a not merely a “trust fund baby” who sponges off of his wealthy family, but is perhaps one of the very few people who has actually sued his mother for his inheritance. In February of 2014, Wilcox hauled his mother into a New South Wales court and demanded that she relinquish control over her father’s estate to him. The presiding judge remarked that Wilcox: “expected the estate to be handed to him on a plate, instead of allowing natural events to take their course.” The judge also made note of the fact that Wilcox and his younger sibling had access to the best schools, opportunities and connections more than most men his age do, but failed to utilize their advantages into something better for themselves.

Wilcox’s explanation for giving up on several businesses he started was that they were “ too hard” to manage.

The court case against his mother was predictably thrown out. Wilcox gained little more than a reputation for notoriety, and for perhaps ensuring that he never sees a dime of his inheritance.