What do adult children of wealth actually want from their parents financially?

Support, investment, and empowerment, not control. Kris Kluver, in The Dysfunctional Family Office, captures Tim Mitchell saying it directly. He doesn't want to live off the business. He doesn't want to be entitled. He doesn't want to be known as the founder's quiet son. He wants to make his own way. His father's response is the right one. His father responded that the family could help. Support, invest, empower, but not control. Most rising generation heirs want this exact combination and rarely get it. The default UHNW pattern is either no support, which produces resentment, or controlling support, which produces dependence. The healthy middle is support that funds the heir's own direction without dictating what the direction has to be. Investment in the heir's own ventures, education, or interests, with accountability but not control.