For many, many reasons, we wish Shaq was our dad.
14 Tony Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis’ dad wrote all five of his kids out of his will, just a few months before he died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest. He explicitly stated each of his kids, by name, was getting jack squat, but didn’t give any explanation why. A year before his death, he auctioned off a ton of memorabilia, and almost all of that money went to his fifth wife.
13 Jackie Chan
A few years after Chan was named an anti-drug ambassador for China, his son was arrested on drug charges. Chan felt compelled to distance himself, announcing that he’d give half of his fortune to charity, and the other half to anyone but his son: “If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money.”
12 Anderson Cooper
He said he won’t have “some sort of pot of gold for my son,” but he’ll invest appropriately in his future: “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.’”
11 Mickey Rooney
Just a few weeks before his death, Rooney produced a will that cut out seven of his eight kids (the sole beneficiary was his stepson, who had been caring for him in his final years). The others filed a suit claiming “undue influence,” but it was ultimately fruitless, as Rooney’s entire estate was valued at $18,000 at the time.
10 Simon Cowell
When his son was three, Cowell had already made up his mind that his own kid wouldn’t get his $500 million fortune, but he was still mulling over who or what would get it: “I’m going to leave my money to somebody. A charity, probably kids and dogs.”
9 George Lucas
He said his multi-billion dollar fortune, since selling Star Wars to Disney, will go to education rather than his own kids: “As long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages.”
8 Michael Bloomberg
He says the only gift better than money is, well, money, but in other people’s hands: “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.”
7 Mick Jagger
He says if he ever sells the band’s catalogue, it ain’t going to his kids: “The children don’t need $500 million to live well. Come on.”
6 Sting
He said he has plans for just about every dollar he’s made, and praised his kids for never asking for an allowance: “I told them there won’t be much money left because we are spending it. Obviously, if they were in trouble I would help them. But I’ve never really had to do that. They have the work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit.”
5 Gene Simmons
The rock star has fully succumbed to capitalism and productivity culture: “Every day they should be forced to get up out of bed and go out and work and make their own way.”
4 Kevin O’Leary
The grumpy Canadian fascist wants his own children to suffer — “If you don’t start out your life with the fear of not being able to feed yourself and your family, then what motivates you to go get a job? Fear motivated me, and it will motivate them” — but in the event they blow it, he’s set up trust funds for his grandkids.
3 Warren Buffett
He’s been one of the most vocal give-it-away billionaires, and his reasoning is much less cruel and, ironically, capitalist than some of his peers’: “I’m not an enthusiast for dynastic wealth, particularly when six billion others have much poorer hands than we do in life.”
2 Laurene Powell Jobs
Powell Jobs is a big fan of inheritance and disinheritance: “I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth. I’m not interested in legacy wealth building, and my children know that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.”
1 Shaq
He’s not against handing some capital to his kids, but they have to prove they’ve put in the work: “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.’ You gotta have a 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.”
Get more Cracked directly to your inbox. Sign up for Cracked newsletters at Cracked News Letters Signup.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
