I'm not convinced it's as black and white as that. Look at the example given (Rocket Ismail). Not to pick on an individual, but he doesn't seem to be taking responsibility for any of his losses, even with the supposed "hindsight" he now enjoys:
-"One of his advisers pitched the idea as"fail-proof, with no downsides," Ismail recalls. He never recouped his money and has no idea what became of the restaurant."
-(COZ Records) "The guy was a real good talker," says Rocket
-(Cosmetics) "We were not prepared for the sharks in the beauty industry"
-(Retail stores) "The main store opened up in New Orleans, but doggone Hurricane Katrina came two months later". The shops no longer exist.
What strikes me about these examples is they're all supposedly somebody else's fault.
To my mind, what isn't being taught (both to young athletes, and to the population in general) isn't so much personal finance, but personal responsibility.
I think the issue is, we're all thinking they're stupid for not realizing the risk of their investments, but maybe they do! Or maybe they recognize half or a quarter of the risk. But they don't understand the alternatives. Nobody is on the "other" side saying "invest in mutual funds!"
They probably get "exciting business opportunities" and "help your friends and family" and "spend it all on hookers and blow!" and the "exciting business opportunity" might sound like the best way to keep their fortune going compared to the other options.
I suspect that you're right and possibly because of the following reason: they've had a lifetime of outsize results. They were always the fastest, strongest, got the girl. Now comes along either a normal ETF with average returns, or the promise of outsized ones sold as insider tips between experts. It'd be tempting and in-character to swing for the fences.
These examples mostly sound like they're about financial literacy, or at least the first thing you learn: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
-"One of his advisers pitched the idea as"fail-proof, with no downsides," Ismail recalls. He never recouped his money and has no idea what became of the restaurant."
-(COZ Records) "The guy was a real good talker," says Rocket
-(Cosmetics) "We were not prepared for the sharks in the beauty industry"
-(Retail stores) "The main store opened up in New Orleans, but doggone Hurricane Katrina came two months later". The shops no longer exist.
What strikes me about these examples is they're all supposedly somebody else's fault.
To my mind, what isn't being taught (both to young athletes, and to the population in general) isn't so much personal finance, but personal responsibility.