Children with rich pals ‘end up wealthier’

HAViNG rich friends as a child can boost your chances of earning more as an adult, a study suggests.

it looked at more than 70million Facebook users and identified their childhood friends via school links. it found those who had more friends from affluent backgrounds did better as adults.

Simply increasing the proportion of rich people they associate with, from a quarter of their friends to half, could result in a poor child earning 8 per cent more as an adult, the study suggests.

Professor Matthew Jackson, the coauthor of the study from Stanford University in the United States, said: ‘Spending time with richer people as a child can change your aspirations.

‘it might be that poorer kids see their friends preparing for university, or their parents telling them to do their homework, and change their own behaviour.

‘They may see their friends’ lifestyle and want that too, learn how to present themselves differently, or gain opportunities from their friends. All of these factors combined can be very powerful.’

The study, published in the journal Nature, worked out likely income using an algorithm based on factors such as where people live, their educational achievement and the type of phone they have.

The effect continued in adulthood, with those from poorer backgrounds able to earn more if they have more rich friends.

This result is based on poorer people growing up in neighbourhoods where rich and poor children have a similar proportion of well-off friends.