Portuguese term (edited): av� rico filho nobre e neto pobre

This is not the exact wording and Google isn't helping me much. Perhaps this will be a clue that will jog someone else's memory. Maybe I have the number of generations wrong; maybe the words rich and poor are rendered by more literary words; this is definitely the idea, though.

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Note added at 1 hr 11 mins (2004-11-28 16:47:51 GMT)
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I keep thinking - the real proverb is something about clothing, such as from shoestrings to shoestrings in X generations...(shoestrings is not right word). In other words, the neto is as poor as the grandfather once was before he got rich, but perhaps to be accurate with the Portuguese, the avo has to be a bisavo.

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Note added at 1 hr 18 mins (2004-11-28 16:55:05 GMT)
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I FOUND IT -

The old adage of \"from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations\" is no myth....the earnings of grandsons and grandparents are hardly related. Apparently, the opportunities provided by a
modern economy, along with extensive public support of education, enable the majority of those who come from lower-income backgrounds to do reasonably well in the labor market. The same opportunities that foster upward mobility for the poor create an equal amount of downward mobility for those higher up on the income ladder. ``

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Note added at 1 hr 20 mins (2004-11-28 16:56:50 GMT)
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THE Chinese have a saying, “Fu bu guo san dai,” or “Wealth never survives three generations.” America has its own version of this saying: “From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” As with most old proverbs, there is a grain of truth to this—and the new rich are searching for ways to avoid history’s curse.

Portuguese term (edited): av� rico filho nobre e neto pobre

The saying is usually the other way round - but this inversed version can also be found.

... Ever since the new mangement, the Grand Hotel has gone from riches to rags! There was a foul smell from the side of the ...
tripadvisor.com/ ShowUserReviews-r2331751-Grand_Hotel-Wildwood_Cres

... were confiscated at the beginning of the "Movement of Liberation". His family went from riches to rags overnight ...
www.clearharmony.net/articles/ 200307/14175.html

Portuguese term (edited): av� rico filho nobre e neto pobre

I would keep it literal: Wealthy grandfather, noble son, poor grandson ( explanation)