Some famous parents have an unusual ultimatum regarding wealth transfer.
Guy Fieri has set a strict condition for his children.
His older son, Hunter, and his nephew, Jules, need two degrees to access any portion of his wealth. Hunter is currently pursuing an MBA. Jules is a law student. They are following their grandfather’s advice: Fieri told him he would die broke.
But Ryder, his younger son, was not pleased with the terms. The high school senior thought demanding an MBA before college was excessive. He wanted to finish school first.
Marie Osmond takes this concept further.
The singer believes that handing over money destroys potential. She thinks it breeds laziness and entitlement. She wants her eight children to discover who they are. And to do that, they must work.
“If you start it, you finish. It doesn’t matter if it’s designing dolls. If you leave, you can never do it again. You finish.”
Osmond plans to spend her fortune on her husband Steve Craig and her experiences. She refuses to leave a fortune that might lead her children astray. Rich families often struggle because kids don’t know how to function without financial cushions.
How Bill Gates plans his billionaire inheritance
Bill Gates agrees with Warren Buffett on this issue. Both believe leaving massive sums of money is not a kindness to the recipient.
In 2025, Gates shared more specifics on the Figuring Out podcast. He plans to leave less than one percent of his wealth to his children, Jennifer, Rory, and Phye. That amounts to slightly over $1 billion.
His reasoning?
The kids already have a great upbringing. They have elite education. But beyond that, Gates wants them to feel their own significance. He wants them to experience their own earnings. He does not want his children overshadowed by his success or the sheer scale of his fortune. The rest will go to charity.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have also made choices about celebrity inheritance planning. They won’t set up a traditional trust. They plan to give their wealth to charity.
Kutcher wants his kids, Wyatt and Dimitri, to be resourceful. If the kids ever start a business, Kutcher will invest—but only with a solid business plan. No free handouts.
Kunis takes it even further.
The couple does not exchange presents with the children on Christmas. The goal is to avoid raising “assholes.” Wyatt and Dimitri live in a privileged environment, but they are unaware of it. To them, this lifestyle is normal. They only know one life.
Gordon Ramsay is also strict about this.
The British chef refuses to leave a large inheritance to his five children with wife Tana. He wants them to work for their success. He and Tana agreed that the kids could get a deposit on an apartment. Twenty-five percent. That’s it.
They won’t buy them a flat outright.
Ramsay doesn’t even like discussing money. He is more interested in the work.
“Want to be a chef? Get out of my kitchen. Find another chef. Learn something else. Come back and make the business better.”
He has told this to any of his kids who show culinary ambition.
Celebrity views on family legacy and spending
Daniel Craig has called the idea of large inheritances “distasteful.” The James Bond star believes dying a rich person means you failed. He points to Andrew Carnegie as an example of how to handle massive wealth: give it all away.
Craig wants to avoid this problem entirely.
“I think inheritance is quite distastephilosophy. My philosophy is: get rid of it. Give it away.”
He shares two daughters, Ella and Grace. He does not intend to burden them with his own accumulated assets.
Elton John also prioritizes time over tangible wealth.
He and husband David Furnish decided long ago that they would not leave a massive pile of cash. Instead, they spent their money on life. They spent it on experiences.
Having children changed everything for John. He learned that a single minute with them was worth more than paintings or hit records.
They toned down their lifestyle. They acquired fewer things. John believes giving a child a “silver spoon” ruins their life. He wants his boys, Zachary and Elijah, to be in a sound financial position. But not an obscene one.
Sting echoes these sentiments.
The musician tells his six children that there will be little money left after he dies. Why?
Because they spend it now.
“What comes in, we spend. There isn’t much left.”
Sting has commitments. Lots of them. But the kids rarely ask for money anyway. He respects this independence.
“I would help if they were in real trouble. But they have a work ethic that drives them to succeed.”
Jeff Goldblum is even more blunt.
The actor says parents need to stop rowing the boat for their kids. His two sons have to navigate their own paths.
He doesn’t intend to bail out his kids. Or buy their boats.
Goldblum believes you have to find where your passion meets your necessity. Even if they don’t perfectly intersect, you figure it out anyway. And if they need a boat, they row it.
