Those who inherited their wealth look at themselves as stewards of money they did not earn, and that part of their journey in life is figuring out a way to make the best use of the wealth they were given. They tend to be more philanthropic and socially conscious and feel a heightened sense of social justice and helping others, he says.

"There are a lot of people with inherited wealth who have a sense of guilt around it. Some of them are really uncomfortable with it," Hokemeyer says. "They're looking for ways to feel better about their wealth."

Those who earned their money, on the other hand, tend to operate more from a sense of scarcity, he says. There's a constant sense that there's not enough and that they will lose their wealth, so they're not as comfortable or generous in terms of paying taxes, Hokemeyer says.

"They tend to look for ways to avoid paying taxes, and they're not as philanthropic," he says.

Alexander A. Maguire Jr., a financial advisor with Adare Asset Management LLC in Wayne, Pa., doesn't necessarily agree. While the wealthy may want to give back, they don't necessarily want to do it through taxes, he says.

"Obviously, there are the Warren Buffetts out there who champion the idea of higher taxes as a way to give back. From what I've seen with this crowd, they want to give back but not in the form of higher taxes. They want to do it with charitable giving," he says.

Not only would they rather finance their own charitable giving-instead of paying taxes to the government for social programs-but some would rather have the private sector finance the economic recovery, Maguire says. Some affluent Americans don't want to give their money to the government because they simply don't believe Washington will spend it effectively. Job growth, for instance, is better handled by the private sector, Maguire says, where the jobs tend to be long term.
Government-created jobs, like census work or those related to stimulus-financed transportation projects, are short term, perhaps lasting six months.

"Investment in the private sector, by anyone, particularly the wealthy, will drive job growth," he says. He points to a product created by his company that invests in North Carolina community banks. The product helps raise capital for the banks, which, in turn, lend out money that fuels the economy and eventually helps create jobs, he says.

In fact, many were worried that if the capital gains tax rate rose, as it was supposed to do prior to the passage of the new tax legislation, it might hinder the economic recovery further. Maguire says he knew a lot of people running money in the 1960s, '70s and '80s who didn't want to sell their positions because capital gains rates were too high. The same thing happened last year, as managers and investors feared the capital gains rates were going to rise, he says.

"People think, if I give away 28% of my position, I have to do that much better in my new position. So they wind up saying, I'm just going to keep that position," Maguire says.