Shaquille O’Neal’s six children unhappy NBA icon won’t leave them £500m fortune
Shaquille O'Neal's six children are unhappy with their father after the NBA legend revealed he will not leave them his £500million fortune.
The four-time NBA champion has built up a net worth with an estimated value of $500million from his career as a player and since retiring a decade ago.
He now works as an analyst and pundit on American TV coverage of the NBA and is also paid handsomely by reported 50 different endorsement deals.
In addition to his brand endorsements, O'Neal has business ventures with a range of US restaurant chains, most notably with pizza firm Papa John's.
However, he revealed on the Earn Your Leisure podcast that his kids are unhappy with him as he will not be passing his fortune onto them.
“My kids are older now. They kinda upset with me. Not really upset, but they don’t understand," explained the former Los Angeles Lakers centre.
“I tell them all the time. We ain’t rich. I’m rich.”
“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.”
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He went on to reveal that he has high hopes for his kids, saying: “There’s one rule: education. I don’t care if you play basketball. I don’t care about none of that.
“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.”
O'Neal's 19-year NBA career saw him win four championships with the Lakers and the Miami Heat, while he also won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.
His playing career also included spells with the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.
O'Neal's latest comments come off the back of him downplaying his celebrity status in a recent interview with The New York Post.
“I came from nothing," admitted the 49-year-old.
"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.”
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