Your Youngest Sibling Is More Likely To Be A Successful Millionaire, According To Research
Oldest kids are smarter, but the family baby still winds up on top.
When you're the youngest sibling in your family, it can feel like the world is against you and you don't get the attention you deserve. But when you're trying to determine the best ways to be successful, the youngest child may have a better chance than everyone else.
If you have a younger sibling, you may want to reframe your goals for the future because, as it turns out, the youngest sibling has an advantage over their older brothers or sisters.
Is the youngest child the most successful?
According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, the answer is yes — youngest children tend to be the most successful of their siblings.
The research found that the youngest sibling in a family is way more likely to take risks in their developing careers, and thus end up far more successful and way more likely to be a millionaire. Researchers say this because the youngest kid has a natural tendency to rebel.
The study found that the youngest children are more likely to be their own bosses.
This is supposed to reveal their "rebellious" temperament, but it kind of seems like the most logical choice after an entire childhood of people insisting that they are the boss of you.
My youngest brother is a poster child for this study. He's finishing the final year of a graduate program at a super-prestigious university and already has a ridiculously great job lined up for himself.
But this study doesn't say anything about brains. In fact, research done on that score still indicates that it is the oldest who is the smartest sibling. (I believe it. As the oldest, it was my responsibility to teach my father how to read. Still, that's cold comfort when I'm cleaning houses in addition to my day job just to make ends meet.)
This is ultimately a study about personality, not about success in life. But it's refreshing to read research that doesn't equate amassing wealth with success.
I don't know about you, but it will be a whole lot easier to fall asleep at night knowing that while my brother might one day have a money bank the likes of which would inspire even Scrooge McDuck to see green (with jealousy, not currency), there is a very strong likelihood that he's not smart enough to find his way out of said money bank once he jumps in for a swim.
This study says absolutely nothing about the middle child of the family because the study in itself is actually also another study being performed to see just how much mistreatment a middle child can handle before they totally snap.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a freelance writer, editor, former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek, and former Senior Staff Writer for YourTango. She has a passion for lifestyle, geek news, and true crime topics. Her bylines have appeared on Fatherly, Bustle, SheKnows, Jezebel, and many others.