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Rich Dad Poor Dad ? CEO Private School Background and Firm Risk

Yifei Bi et al.

European Financial Management2026https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.70043article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We examine the effect of CEO childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on firm risk. Using hand‐collected data on US CEOs' private high‐school attendance as proxy for high‐SES, we find that firms led by high‐SES CEOs exhibit 5.35% lower firm risk. This effect diminishes with CEO tenure, analyst coverage, and institutional ownership, consistent with the market expectations hypothesis. High‐SES CEOs do not differ in corporate risk‐taking, incentives, ability, performance, or crisis management. Our findings support the SES theory, which suggests that socioeconomic background acts as a signal that shapes investor expectations, rather than reflecting differences in CEO behaviour or competence.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.70043

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@article{yifei2026,
  title        = {{Rich Dad Poor Dad ? CEO Private School Background and Firm Risk}},
  author       = {Yifei Bi et al.},
  journal      = {European Financial Management},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.70043},
}

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Rich Dad Poor Dad ? CEO Private School Background and Firm Risk

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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