Shaquille O’neal
(Picture: Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Shaquille O'Neal is making sure his kids forge his own path when it comes to wealth—and that doesn’t involve his own.
The NBA legend shot down giving his any of six kids cash handouts during a recent interview on the finance podcast "Earn Your Leisure." And while he shared that his parenting method has made them “upset,” he won’t be backing down.
"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," O'Neal said on the podcast.
Shaq to his kids: “We ain’t rich, I’m rich.”
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 27, 2021
Teaching them work ethic. 💪
pic.twitter.com/RbCNgkL5BV
O’Neal spent 19 years playing in the NBA for six different teams and is said to have made over $10 million per season from 1999 to 2009. Apart from his iconic basketball career, he’s also managed to have a successful career as both a sports analyst and businessman.
The former basketball star continued to share that he expects all of his children to go to college and earn degrees. Once that happens, if any of them decide they want to start their own company he said he would then be willing to invest in them—after they present it that is.
"You gotta have bachelor's or master's [degrees], 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," O’Neal said.
Despite his extensive career playing ball, O’Neal isn’t championing for his kids to do the same and keep the game in the family.
He said, "I don't care if you play basketball. I don't care about none of that," and added: “Listen, I got six kids. I would like a doctor, somebody to own a hedge fund, a pharmacist, a lawyer, someone that owns multiple businesses, someone to take over my business. But I tell them I'm not going to hand it to you. You gotta earn it."
His final thoughts? Money isn’t everything. “I came from nothing. But, just because I made it doesn’t mean I’m bigger than you, smarter than you — just because I have more money doesn’t mean I’m better than you. I’ve never been that way and I never will be that way,” O’Neal concluded.
