Many people assume celebrities leave their kids an automatic inheritance but that isn’t always the case. In fact, some are completely opposed to it for various reasons. Here are a few celebs who have confirmed passing down the big bucks is not in their plan.
1. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal has been open about not wanting to spoil his children with his wealth. He told Business Insider, “My kids are older now. They’re kinda upset with me. Not really upset, but they don’t understand. I tell them all the time. ‘We ain’t rich. I’m rich.'” He emphasizes the importance of education and wants his kids to understand that they need to earn their own success. He continued: “You gotta have Bachelor’s or Master’s, and then if you want me to invest in one of your companies, you’re going to have to present it, boom boom boom, bring it to me. I’ll let you know, I’m not giving you nothing.”
Comedian George Lopez has expressed that he won’t leave his daughter Mayan Lopez a large inheritance. He wants her to be independent and responsible for her own life. Amid the divorce from his ex-wife, Mayan Lopez told People though she won’t be receiving an inheritance she “…inherited wonderful gifts,” from her dad. She continued: “The biggest life lesson he taught me was to try to be the best comedian I can be.”
3. Bill Perkins
In Bill Perkins’s book Die with Zero he expresses how “Inheritances are useless by the time they’re received,” and why he thinks “gifting money earlier when it will do the most good is a smarter move.” The author and former Wall Street trader explains how he intends to spend his money before he dies. “When it comes to the kids, Die With Zero shows thoughtfulness by having put your kids first, which you do by thinking deliberately about how much to give them and then doing so, before you die,” Business Insider reports.
4. Akon
Innovator and Singer Akon told VIBE that he doesn’t want to leave his children wealth they haven’t earned, as it could lead to entitlement and lack of motivation. He emphasizes that his duty as a father keeps him responsible and accountable which he wants to pass on. He said: “While I’m taking care of my responsibility to make sure the family has a roof over their head and food, if I have the time to do that and show love, yes, I will do that. But my responsibility is to make sure they grow up responsible and strong.”
Filmmaker Tyler Perry shared with Steve Harvey that he wants his children to understand the value of hard work and not rely on his wealth. He expressed possibly passing down his legacy to his son, but only if he really wants it.
Anderson Cooper told E! News that he doesn’t believe in leaving vast wealth to his children. He wants them to build their careers and lives. He mentioned how his upbringing shaped his views on money and value. He said: “I grew up watching money being lost and knowing it was being lost. I’ll go with what my parents said, which is, ‘College will be paid for, and then you gotta get on it.’ I don’t believe in passing on huge amounts of money. I don’t know what I’ll have. I’m not that interested in money, but I don’t intend to have some sort of pot of gold for my son.”
7. Tony Curtis
The late Tony Curtis’s estate held an auction about a year after he died to sell tons of memorabilia. According to Forbes, the auction was online and raised over a million dollars. The money went to his fifth wife and widow, Jill Vandenberg Curtis, and some to charity. However, when it came to his five kids, not one was mentioned regarding an inheritance. Forbes states, “Tony Curtis redid his Will and Trust in May of last year, a few months before he died from cardiac arrest. When he did so, he cut out all of his children. His will lists all five by name — including Jamie Lee — and states that he intentionally disinherited them. No reason was given in his will.”
8. Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is a significant example. He told Roulet Law He plans to give away 99% of his wealth, encouraging his children to make their own way in the world. “After much observation of super-wealthy families, here’s my recommendation: Leave the children enough so that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.” He believes in the balance of having enough to make a means and not too much that everything loses its meaning. “Society has a use for my money; I don’t.”
9. Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson is opposed to any idea of an inheritance. Along with a few other celebrities in the 1%, she thinks that leaving her children money when she’s gone will do more harm than good According to the Guardian she said “I am determined that my children should have no financial security.”
10. Jerry Lewis
According to documents retrieved by The Blast and Forbes, Jerry Lewis is another celebrity who didn’t consider his six children. The comedian’s will seemingly intentionally excluded his his first and ex-wife Patti Palmer. Instead, his grand estate was passed down to his widow and actress SanDee Pitnick and in the event she passed, to their adopted daughter Danielle.
Actor Jackie Chan publicly stated that he would not leave his son an inheritance upon his death. The LA Times reports that the bulk of his fortune ($130 million to be exact) will go to charity as opposed to his son Jaycee. He took the tough love approach stating: “If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money.”
12. Sting
Renowned rock star Sting boldly stated that his children will have to pave their own ways financially despite assumptions from the public suggesting otherwise. He added: “People make assumptions, that they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but they have not been given a lot.” He emphasized that inheritance is out of the question because he will be spending all of his money. “I told them there won’t be much money left because we are spending it! We have a lot of commitments. What comes in we spend, and there isn’t much left.” He continued: “I certainly don’t want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks. They have to work. All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate.”
13. Kevin O’ Leary
In an interview with CNBC businessman and Shark Tank host, Kevin O’ Leary explained the importance of financial literacy and why he isn’t giving his kids an inheritance. “No free lunch, it’s just the wrong thing to do,” O’Leary says. “You curse a child when you de-risk their lives. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help them. And listen, if [my son] ever has a kid, that trust is going to take care of that child from birth to the last day of college.”
14. Michael Bloomberg
Former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg is another billionaire who’s publicly pledged his money to charity as opposed to his children. He wrote in a letter to the Giving Pledge: “If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing — by far — is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children. And by giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time.” He continues on, saying, “nearly all of my net worth will be given away in the years ahead or left to my foundation.”
15. Laurene Powell Jobs
The widow of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs told The New York Times, in an interview why inheritance isn’t happening in her family. She said: “I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth. I’m not interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.”
