I can't think of anything I would rather do with my money than

The historian Niall Ferguson once proclaimed: “I can’t think of anything I would rather do with my money than buy my children the best possible education.” In this statement, he lifts a truth that has guided wise parents and noble societies throughout the ages: that wealth, no matter how vast, is fleeting, but education is an inheritance that endures. Gold can be spent, lands can be lost, fortunes can crumble—but the gift of knowledge equips a child with treasures that no thief can steal and no misfortune can erase.

To spend money on fleeting pleasures is to satisfy the moment; to invest it in education is to plant seeds for generations. Ferguson’s words carry the echo of every parent who has longed not only to provide for their children’s survival, but to prepare them for greatness. For the best gift a father or mother can give is not comfort, but capacity; not luxury, but the ability to build a life of purpose, dignity, and strength. In education, all other blessings find their foundation.

History offers radiant testimony to this truth. Consider the story of John Adams, second President of the United States. Though his resources were limited, he devoted himself to the education of his son, John Quincy Adams. He sent him abroad to study languages, politics, and philosophy. That son would rise to become President himself, and a statesman remembered for his integrity. The father’s sacrifice bore fruit not only for the family but for the nation. Thus we see that the true wealth of parents is measured in the opportunities they create for their children to learn.

The ancients also honored this path. In Athens, it was said that a man who left his child without education left him poor indeed, even if he left him riches. For riches without wisdom are quickly squandered, but wisdom without riches can create new fortunes. This was the vision that sustained generations: that the power of the mind, once cultivated, could overcome the accidents of fortune. Ferguson’s words are but a modern echo of this timeless creed.

Yet his saying carries a sharper lesson as well: that the priority of education is not accidental, but deliberate. Many squander wealth on vanity, forgetting that true legacy is not seen in possessions but in the strength of the next generation. To prefer jewels, mansions, or fleeting pleasures over the shaping of one’s children is to choose shadows over substance. Ferguson’s choice—to devote his money to education—is a call to all parents to measure their wealth not by what they keep, but by what they sow into their children’s futures.

The lesson for us is clear: let every parent, guardian, and leader place education at the center of their sacrifice. Ask not first what toys, clothes, or entertainments your children may have, but what lessons, teachers, and wisdom they will carry into life. Invest in books before banquets, in learning before luxuries, in the cultivation of mind and character before the fleeting delights of fashion. For the child who is well-educated becomes not only a blessing to the family, but a light to the community and a strength to the nation.

Practical action lies before you: read to your children, support their studies, provide them mentors and guides, and when the choice comes between fleeting pleasure and lasting knowledge, choose the latter. If you are without children, invest your time and money in the education of others, for every seed planted in young minds bears fruit in the orchard of humanity.

Thus let Ferguson’s words stand as both reminder and charge: the greatest use of money is to provide the best possible education for the next generation. For in this act, wealth is transformed into wisdom, and wisdom into destiny. Those who follow this path leave behind not merely an inheritance, but a living legacy that endures beyond their days, carried forward in the lives of those they prepared to rise higher than themselves.