Most people assume famous parents will automatically pass their entire fortune on to their children, but a number of stars have said they don’t plan to do that.
With celebrity children often labelled “nepo babies” for benefiting from family connections and financial security, some well-known parents have pushed back against the idea of handing over vast inheritances.
For these wealthy figures, the focus is often on motivating their kids to build independence—whether that means prioritising education, learning the value of money, or encouraging them to create their own success.
Several celebrities have spoken candidly about their approach, including Mick Jagger, Bill Gates, Gordon Ramsay, Shaquille O’Neal and Ashton Kutcher.
Here’s what they’ve said about it.
Mick Jagger has suggested that a large chunk of his fortune could end up going to charity, arguing that his children don’t require an enormous inheritance to live comfortably.
Jagger is dad to eight – Karis, 55, Jade, 53, Elizabeth, 42, James, 40, Georgia May, 34, James, 40, Gabriel, 28 and Lucas, 26. He welcomed his youngest son, Deveraux, eight, with girlfriend Melanie Hamrick in 2016.
“The children don’t need $500 million to live well,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “Come on.” Instead he hoped to ‘do some good in the world’ by potentially leaving his millions to charitable causes.
Bill Gates, who shares three children—Jennifer, 30, Phoebe, 23 and Rory, 26—with ex-wife Melinda French Gates, has also been open about limiting what they will inherit.
Speaking on the Figuring Out With Raj Shamani podcast, he said his children have had a “great upbringing and education,” but explained they will receive only a small slice of his overall wealth, because he doesn’t believe a massive handout would help them long-term.
“You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support for them and your love for them,” he said.
“So, I do think explaining early on your philosophy, that you’re going to treat them all equally and that you’re gonna give them incredible opportunities, but that the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest.”
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has similarly insisted his money won’t simply be handed down, stressing that the point is to avoid raising spoiled children rather than to punish them.
Ramsay, who is worth $220 million, told The Telegraph: “It’s to not spoil them. The only thing I’ve agreed with Tana is they get a 25 percent deposit on a flat, but not the whole flat.
“I’ve been super lucky, having that career for the last 15 years in the U.S. Seriously, it has earned a fortune and I’ve been very lucky, so I respect everything I’ve got.”
Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has framed his approach around education and personal achievement, making it clear his children will need to put in the work if they want access to his wealth.
O’Neal has explained that he wants his kids – daughters Taahirah, Amirah, and Me’arah, and sons Shareef and Shaqir – to be educated, telling Good Morning America: “My motto is, ‘You have to get three degrees to touch some of my cheese’.
“You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have education, you can’t make it grow. I didn’t want to be like 80 percent of the athletes who stop playing and have nothing… So, I educated myself. I want that for my kids, too.”
Ashton Kutcher has also spoken about not setting up traditional trust funds for his children, Isabelle and Dimitri, saying he and Mila Kunis would rather direct their money elsewhere.
In an interview with Dax Shepard on his podcast Armchair Expert in 2018, Kutcher explained that his children Isabelle and Dimitri won’t be having ‘a trust set up for them’.
Instead, he and Mila Kunis are planning on donating their money to charity and ‘to various’ things.
He said their thinking comes down to the fact their children already have an extremely comfortable upbringing, even if they don’t realise how unusual it is.
“And they’ll never know it because this is the only one that they’ll know,” Kutcher continued.
“If my kids want to start a business, and they have a good business plan, I’ll invest in it. But they’re not getting trusts.”