Business
10 Rich Celebrities Who Won’t Leave Anything To Their Kids
Here we go again. So many rich celebrities so many future poor celebrity kids. Being a celebrity comes with fame and a lot of money. What it doesn’t come with is a guarantee that there will be any money left over. Or, a guarantee that the celeb making the money will want to share it. Even in their ripe old age some celebrities just refuse to leave the money to their rightful heirs. Don’t get us wrong, we do believe that everyone should work for their own money. Whether they come from a rich family or not. However, like they say, you can’t take it with you. So, there are only a few options; leave it to family, spend it all, or… give it to charity. Most have opted to leave their money to a charity which is a great option. However, we can’t help but wonder how ticked off the kids are. It’s only natural for parents to work and leave their money and possessions to their children. So, we would certainly like to know who came up with this idea to start giving money to random people and charities? Okay, we know we sound selfish but it’s the least parents can do for their kids right? This must be a rich people thing because we are almost positive that middle-class people are not going out of their way to screw their kids over. Especially with the way society is right now. That being said, here is a list of more celebrities who just don’t want their kids to be as rich as them.
10. Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber is basically a musical genius. He is responsible for bringing so many musicals to the public. Because of this, he has made a lot of money. A LOT of money. Webber is worth 750 million pounds yes, pounds not dollars. The composer hadn’t always wanted to leave his children penniless. He said his mind began to change when he turned 60. Altogether he has 5 children and realized that he did not want his kids to grow up like many other celebrity kids. “I am not in favor of children suddenly finding a lot of money coming their way because then they have no incentive to work. So, I will give them a start in life but they ain’t going to end up owning the Really Useful Group”. He isn’t wrong a lot of kids who grow up with money are slightly less in touch with reality. Well, that is if they are given everything they want. So, what do Webbers kids think about this? He told Daily Mail.“They aren’t bothered. They don’t think that way. It is about having a work ethic – I don’t believe in inherited money at all”. He has started putting his money back into the community. Meaning, he wants to help struggling singers and musicians. His company Really Useful Group has been doing just that since 1977.
9. Philip Seymour Hoffman
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away in 2014. However, before his untimely death, he was very candid about almost every aspect of his life. One thing he was very candid about was the fact that he planned to leave no money to his children. He once told them, “There won’t be much money left because we are spending it!”. That’s the kind of father he was. Funny but determined to make sure his kids knew the value of hard work. Although he said this in a joking way in 2014 when he passed, his will proved he was not kidding. The actor left everything to his partner and mother of his kids Mimi O’Donnell. Almost as if speaking from beyond the grave, His will stated simply, she would “take care of the children.”. Like everyone else on this list, Hoffman wanted to ensure that his children didn’t grow up to be brats. Or as he called it, “trust fund kids”. He went on to tell Daily Mail, “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.”.
8. Kevin O’Leary
Dragon Den star Kevin O’Leary has made his money by investing in business’. Also, having his own business even well before he was on Dragon Den. During an interview with Chatelaine magazine, the investor got real about what is takes to be a success. And why he will never leave his hard-earned dollars to his children. He boldly said, “I am not planning on giving my kids any of my wealth. They know that when their education is over, I’m pushing them out of the nest”. Wow so truthful, so blunt. The businessman went on to say. “I tell wealthy parents that if they don’t kick their kids out of the house and put them under the stresses of the real world they will fail to launch – they will become unsuccessful adults”. He did, however, say that he will be looking out for his grandchildren by setting up generation skipping trusts. Who even knew that was a thing? “Fear motivated me, and it will motivate them. There’s nothing wrong with that: it’s how everyone does it and it’s extremely healthy”. Well, he has been right about other super important things so how can he be wrong about this one? The article really goes deep into some great ideas about how to introduce your kids to money, expressing how important money is. Oh, and of course, more details on that generation skipping trust.
8. Richard “Old Man” Harrison
The insanely popular show Pawn Stars recently lost its patriarch Richard Harrison, lovingly known as “Old Man”. however, we aren’t quite sure how loved he is after the stunt her pulled before he passed. The entrepreneur who died after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease made some changes to his will before he died. He left his son Christopher out of his will. His last words to his son, through his executor read. “I would like to express my love and affection for Christopher Keith Harrison; however for purposes of this Will, I have intentionally and with full knowledge failed to provide for him and his issue,”. There hasn’t been a follow up statement as to why he decided to single out Christopher and we will probably never find out. We know the family isn’t rich. There is certainly an assumption that they made a decent amount of money from the show. It ran for several successful seasons. So, there was certainly something to divy up. Initially, all his children and his wife were included in his will. But, sometime in 2017 he went out of his way to update his will and cut out Christopher not only money-wise but also from benefiting from his estate. We think the story behind why he got cut out is probably one piece of juicy gossip.
6. James Brown
Before he died James Brown tried to do something good for the community that was there for him from the beginning. The state of South Carolina that he had a special connection with. Brown planned on leaving his $100 million trust to needy children of South Carolina. He passed away in 2006 and by 2009 the money still was not allocated so why? Brown’s children felt like they deserved a piece of his fortune. He stated specifically in his will and to his children that he wasn’t going to leave any money to them. We guess they assumed he was joking because they were genuinely shocked when they actually received nothing. A bitter battle ensued literally a month after his death. But we have to wonder why Brown wouldn’t want to leave any money for his 7 children and his fourth wife. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Brown was not close to any of his 7 children. Apparently, they had to schedule appointments just to see him. Who he was close to were the children at the hospitals he would visit regularly. He played a benefit to raise money for sick kids in the 80s. When he actually met the children and saw how they were struggling he was touched. He told his producer Jacque Hollander, “I’m going to give them everything I have and touch their lives.’” you can’t be made at that.
5. Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford has long passed away but she will never truly die. The actress will always be infamous for her very public feuds. Two of those feuds were turned into productions. The TV show titled Feud about her battle with Bette Davis. And her original Feud titled Mommy Dearest with her daughter Christina. In 1978, when Christina had released the insanely shocking memoir she was already on horrible terms with her mother who had passed just a few months earlier. People just assumed she and her siblings would inherit their mother’s fortune and gain their own fame from her insanely bright shining star. Wrong. In fact, Crawford even got in one last dig from beyond the grave. She disinherited the kids she no longer liked. So this means that not only Christina but her brother Christopher got absolutely nothing. Everything was left to her twin daughter Cathy and Cindy and to charity. Everyone in Hollywood was buzzing about the book but couldn’t figure out why Crawford would do her oldest daughter and son so dirty. Word on the street was she had gotten wind that the book was being written and decided to give her daughter one last screw you. She even managed to have written in the will that her two oldest kids would get nothing because; “for reasons they knew,”. Ah cryptic AF. In the end, they contested the will and received an inheritance she must have been spinning in her grave.
4. Ted Turner
Over the years Ted Turner has given away a lot of money. He is one of the original people who would make bank from a project and immediately turn around and gave it away to a charity. Eventually, he just decided that he would use this method after death as well. He put in his will that his children will receive none of his money. Turner accumulated his wealth by founding news companies like CNN, and TBS. So, you know he has a lot of money. He has 5 kids from 3 different marriages and he said that they should not expect anything. However, it’s a mistake for us to assume that he isn’t leaving money to his kids because he wants to do some good for the less fortunate. Apparently, he was quoted saying he was “almost to the edge of poverty”. What in the world? How did that happen? It could be because of all that money he has already given away. Or, he could just be being dramatic. He went on to say that he basically just wants to have enough money left over so he can cover funeral expenses. Sounds like a solid plan if we are being honest.
3. Barron Hilton
In 2007, at the height of Paris Hilton’s… career (if we have to call it that). Her grandfather Barron Hilton made the decision to pledge his $2.3 billion fortune to charity. The money from the sales of Hilton Hotel Corp and Harrah’s Entertainment Corp will go into a trust. When the time comes, it will benefit the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Apparently, by the time the money would have matured to $4.5 billion. Can you imagine being an heir and missing out on that? According to Jerry Oppenheimer, who considers himself an expert on all things Hilton, Barron is simply disgusted. He profiled the Hilton family in a book titled House of Hilton. Oppenheimer stated, that Barron made it clear he was embarrassed by his granddaughter Paris’ behavior. He believes it has “sullied” the Hilton name. The foundation supports clean water for countries like Africa. In addition, they also support education for blind children and housing for the mentally ill. Hilton stated that he wants “to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute”. Paris and her siblings have never commented on the accusations of him being disappointed. Truthfully, they probably don’t care. They have all began making their own money one way or another and they won’t be totally left without anything. They have all received a trust of some sort.
2. Tess Daly
Tess Daly is the host of Strictly Come Dancing. This means her face has been splashed all over the TV for several years. She has managed to parlay this gig into making her a household name. Daly is now worth a good chunk of change she isn’t Bloomberg rich but she is pretty well off. She and her husband Vernon Kay have 2 kids together. They have decided together that they don’t believe it would be in the best interest of their girls if they just left them all that money. She told Mirror, leaving a large inheritance or handing over money to daughters Phoebe, 10 and Amber, six, would turn them into “spoilt brats”. She even went as far as to explain her financial situation.”I’m not in a financial position to provide for my children’s future, but even if I could, I wouldn’t want to”. She went on to say, “You can’t make life too easy, because you remove their will to succeed”. Daly makes over 250,000 pounds a year for her hosting gig. Her husband makes over 2 million pounds a year as a broadcaster. So, really, they have more than most people have but she’s right it may not be enough to provide for generations. Daly told You magazine: “I’d hate to have a spoilt brat – I’d think I hadn’t done my job properly. I want them to be appreciative”.
1. 50 Cent
Rapper 50 Cent has had a lousy relationship with his oldest son Marquise Jackson. Once fans think it’s over it starts right back up again. The rapper has not explicitly stated why his relationship with his son has gone downhill. However, his son has been more than candid about why he hates his father. There have been accusations from bullying to neglect. Marquise is now 20-years old and on his own path to be a hip-hop artist. He released a song titled “Different” where he takes a few shots at his dad. Now, we have to assume that this beef is going to continue to go on. According to Marquise, he started seeing less and less of his father when he was about 10 or 11. When he did see him it was toxic and always ended negatively. 50 has been quite harsh with his son by taking his own shots on social media. Even insulting the mother of his son. We can only assume that Marquise is not in 50 will. Or, if he is, it may be only to take one last shot from the grave a la Joan Crawford style. 50 has already commented on how he is counting down the days until he doesn’t have to pay child support. That should indicate where this is going.