If you’re a follower of the ShaqFu Radio blog (and we know you are…) we’ve talked about the big man’s business dealings, his sponsorships and even a little Shaq-history over his personal money story. In the past, O’Neal has tackled about his money being HIS money, and not his kids. Now that story may have an interesting update.
Of course being in the top 99% of income-earners has got to be a very good thing. Probably something few of us will ever really know… but we get to experience stories like Shaq’s (and others) and those stories can help us in developing our own positive money-mindset.
In the world of the very wealthy, there’s a term that speaks to having enough money to take care of your family for years to come, not just during your lifetime, but a lot, lot longer than that. It’s called “generational wealth,” and it means having the money to make sure your children, and their children, are well taken care of for years to come.
Still, Shaq has talked about how HE has the money, and that money is not automatically going to his children. He’s said it more than once: “You’re not rich (speaking to his kids), I’m rich.”
Seems O’Neal is thinking ahead, and learning lessons that have been a part of family life for extremely well-to-do people the world over: How do you prevent your children from growing up to be spoiled, do-nothing, lazy couch potatoes who are simply counting the days until their inheritance kicks in? So they can squander the fortune hardworking past family members have put in the effort to create?
The personal wealth of high achievers in the worlds of sports and business are easy to find out. In fact, there are websites out there that list those numbers in very public ways. Without going into the nitty-gritty details, it’s not a stretch to say one Shaquille O’Neal is worth many millions of dollars.
Shaq’s money comes from a vast array of business dealings and personal endorsements and sponsorships. Sure, he made a lot playing in the NBA, but he’s still crushing it, business-wise, in his “retirement” years.
This week – as of this writing – Shaq is continuing a visit to Australia, doing some speaking engagements and other business. Speaking with 7News Australia’s morning show, Shaq apparently gave a new clue – something we hadn’t heard before – when it comes to his thoughts on how (or if?) he’ll split up his fortune among his children.
It’s a simple formula that any of his eight children may choose to follow before they can inherit a dime of his fortune: “In order to get my cheese, you have to present me with two degrees.”
Meaning… to get any of dad’s money, you’ll need to have earned not one, but TWO college degrees. Wow!
Shaq continued: “I’m teaching them about generational wealth right now. I tell them all the time, we don’t need another NBA player in the house. If you want to play, I can help you get there. But I would rather see a doctor, a dentist, a veterinarian, a world traveler, a hedge fund guy…”
You gotta hand it to dad! He’s creating an incentive program in his own family that will instill disciplines of hard work, creativity and intelligence. Shaq is probably figuring that informed and intelligent people are much less likely to squander their fortune.
So far, no official responses from any of O’Neal’s children. Will they take up the challenge? Knowing what their father is worth – and how he can help them in just about any endeavor – we’d say it’s a challenge well worth the effort!