Building a 'legacy' is overrated

A legacy has to be the outcome of your work

I asked my grandfather how he would have liked to be remembered, about three months before his death.

His response was:

“When I am dead, I am gone. I have no control over what you’ll do, and your grandchildren will not even know who I am.

I will do my bit when I am here and then the responsibility falls on you.”

His biggest passion was maintaining the mango orchards at our ancestral home in Kokan and tending to them in such a way that future generations would benefit from them.

It takes 8–10 years if properly and patiently tended and nurtured, for the famous Devgad Alphonso Mango to fully develop and bear its maximum bloom.

Knowing fully well that his descendants, not himself, would be enjoying the 'fruits' of his labor, he still toiled and tended to the trees — trees that my father passionately manages today.

Towards the later years of his life, he has also lost the ability to walk uphill on the slopes to tender to the mangoes, he would still go with my father to visit and play whatever part he could.

He left us with two of the largest haapus mango orchards, the fruits of which our family is enjoying today.

He also maintained the Mahim Sarvajanik Vachnalay (our local library in Mumbai) and supported it till his last day, purely with the objective of providing low-cost access to students and folks who couldn’t afford private libraries.

Today, my father carries on his tradition.

Ask anyone who knew him, and they will tell you, “He was a great human being and did a lot for society.”

SO, WHAT IS THE POINT OF THESE STORIES AND GLOATING ABOUT MY GRANDFATHER’S LEGACY?

The point is that he did not give a damn about “leaving behind a legacy” — he only focused on doing good work while he was around.

“His legacy” is just a byproduct of the work he did.

Urdu texts from the last millennium teach us this concept through the jaagir and amaanat systems.

Amaanat implies trusteeship—we don’t own it but are a temporary custodian tasked with passing it on safely to future generations.

Jaagir, on the other hand, implies ownership—we have absolute rights with no expectations of prudence.

Many Western countries have been burdened by debt from generations of leaders who were thinking of their own times and what ‘legacy’ they would leave behind. Now, current generations are reeling under what has been passed on to them. Had they turned to the concepts of amaanat and jaagir, they could have been in a better place.

Lee Kuan Yew is considered one of the greatest political leaders of all time because of his work building Singapore and its governance system. He aligned the country’s interests with the fair remuneration of its leaders, and today, Singapore is one of the most thriving and richest nations.

The country’s progress was not stalled by a leader working to leave behind their own “legacy”

In Indian mythology, ‘greed’ is being consumed by our own hunger at the cost of those who feed us. When we’re in need, we seek swarga (heaven) for ourselves and others.

When we’re greedy, we seek swarga for ourselves, even if it means pushing others into naraka (hell).

“Building a legacy” is subconsciously a way of our minds being consumed by this greed.

This comes down to differentiating between need and greed, as explained by Devdutt Pattanaik in 12 Ways to Get Rich, where he says that ‘need’ is seeking to satisfy our hunger and the hunger of those who feed us. When we start treating our wealth as a jaagir, the next generation suffers.

Holding true to an amaanat system allows us to enjoy our lives in the moment while also safely passing on custody to the next generation. Focusing on “legacy” induces that sense of greed.

Warren Buffett gives away 100% of his wealth to charity, which means he does not need to use unethical means to protect his money.

He is not “attached” to the “wealth”

An investor’s job is to partially judge the management of the companies they invest in, and I personally judge Buffett’s behavior in the highest order. I know that shareholders will always be his utmost priority and that he will do what is right for them.

Buffett’s approach to his “legacy” shows that his work is his utmost passion and that he will be remembered for the value he creates and leaves behind — not the amount of money he makes.

In this interesting conversation, Ashish Dhawan, a pioneering philanthropist and a key participant in India’s education movement, shares his insights.

He founded one of India’s most successful investment firms, ChrysCapital. Despite building the fund from scratch, he chose to transition fully into education and philanthropy and give up his entire economic interest in the fund he created, once he decided to leave and follow philanthropy.

The host asked him:

“This is counterintuitive, Ashish. You set up a fund and then eventually passed on the entire economic interest to your partners after deciding to leave—something unheard of. What made you do that?”

To which he responded:

“Investment firms are people businesses. They are the ones who create value, and therefore, they are the ones who should own and run it. If you look at successful firms like Warburg Pincus, you’ll see that ownership is quite spread out and dispersed among the partners.

When the CEO or lead partner retires, they fade into the sunset, and the next generation takes over ownership to run the business.

If you want an organization to sustain as an investment firm, this is the right model.

However, if you’re running it purely to maximize your wealth and eventually sell to capitalize on it, that’s a different discussion.”

Jack Welch is known to be one of the greatest CEOs of his time for leading General Electric to great highs by “almost never” missing quarterly earnings estimates each quarter but what kind of legacy did he leave for this next generation?

Under his leadership, GE became synonymous with short-term performance, often prioritizing financial engineering and cost-cutting over sustainable growth. While this approach drove impressive stock performance during his tenure, it left his successors with unrealistic expectations and a fragile foundation. When the broader market environment shifted, GE struggled to adapt, revealing the cracks in Welch’s short-term focus. This pursuit of quarterly perfection ultimately undermined the company’s long-term stability, contributing to GE’s decline after his departure.

This phenomenon occurs with Indian listed companies across sectors, where new management teams often have to dust off the skeletons left in the cupboard by their predecessors.

Today, most top Indian listed businesses have their second generation stepping in, as the previous generation slowly fades away after running the companies for decades. It’s crucial to observe what kind of processes they build for the future.

Ratan Tata is a rare gem—celebrated today and destined to be celebrated by Indians for centuries. As an outsider looking at his ‘legacy,’ it is evident that he worked toward the greater good of humanity rather than focusing solely on leaving behind a lasting legacy. It’s clear he will be remembered for generations to come, just like J.R.D. Tata.

I spoke to a very senior financial advisor about what legacies mean to him. He handles clients who are at a stage in life where they have built prestige and are now looking to pass on their wealth or create a lasting name. I was happy to see that he shared similar thoughts from his experiences:

“As you grow older, the desire to leave a legacy increases. It's an attempt to live beyond a person's physical life.

Like startups, only a few legacy attempts succeed, but that doesn't stop people from trying.

You see this very often with people in top leadership positions who make drastic changes in an attempt to leave a lasting legacy. These attempts do not always fructify.

I had a client who, in the evening of his life, developed a desire to leave behind ₹100 crores for his family. He sold his residential flat, moved into rental housing, and used the money—plus borrowed more—to invest in shares, hoping to achieve his goal. Fortunately, he did not enter F&O and avoided losses. But he got nowhere close to his target and took completely unnecessary risks in the evening of his life.

This is what the desire to leave a legacy can do to people.”

People in places of high power historically chase this “legacy” and eventually end up leaving the next generation in ruin.

Let me conclude this essay with a beautiful take on this by Ryan Holiday:

“You want to do big things. You want to achieve. You want to leave your mark on the universe. You want to conquer the world.

This is what Alexander the Great did—literally. And yet where did it get him?

Marcus Aurelius took pains to remind himself that the man died and was buried like the rest of us.

The band Iron Maiden has a lyric: “Measure your coffin / does it measure up to your lust?” As it happens, there is a much older poem–from Juvenal writing sometime between around 100 AD—who pointed out that in life, while the world was not big enough for Alexander’s ambition, in death, a coffin was sufficient.

No one is saying you should put all your drive aside, that you should not try to do anything. Clearly, Marcus Aurelius tried to be a good person, tried to be a good ruler, tried to be a good philosopher.

But that’s the point: He measured his life not by the size of the monument he hoped they would leave to him (and there are some) but instead by the things he controlled.

In the end, it’s not about the empire you build or the fame that outlives you. It’s about the character you lived by, the person you were, and the impact you make on those who matter most. Aim high, but remember: your legacy isn’t measured in the grandness of your ambition—it’s measured in how you live each day.”

Conclusion

Legacy is overrated.

Social validation is overrated.

What people think of you when you’re alive is overrated- and after you’re gone, it’s even more irrelevant.

The effect you have on others is the legacy you leave behind.

The earlier we come to this realization in life, the better we'll be able to help ourselves and do meaningful work.

The legacy we’re seeking might just emerge from that.

Relevant Reads from My Blog:

1. You cannot rush growth- Part 1 and Part 2

2. There is always someone better than you

3. Anxiety is a normal human feeling

Order my debut book today- The Health and Wealth Paradox