Just because you've made a name for yourself and become financially successful doesn't
mean you'll be giving any of your money to your family.
Which actors are choosing to donate their fortune?
And which musician says he won't have much left?
Keep watching to find out!
We've all heard stories of celebrities whose parents uprooted their entire lives so their
kid could follow their dreams.
And many of those famous faces have repaid the favor.
But on the flip side, you have massively successful screenwriter and director, Quentin Tarantino.
He's worth an estimated $120 million.
But after his mom once declared that he'd never make anything of himself, he vowed to
never funnel any cash her way.
On "The Moment with Brian Koppelman" podcast, Tarantino opened up about his childhood, recalling
of an argument with his mom:
"She said, 'Oh and by the way […] this little writing career that you're doing?
That s— is f—ing over!”
Of course, the comment didn't sit well with the future star.
And with that, he thought to himself,
"Okay, lady.
When I become a successful writer, you will never see penny one from my success.
There will be no house for you, there's no vacation for you, no Elvis Cadillac for Mommy.
You get nothing because you said that."
He admitted to once lending his mom money to deal with an issue with the IRS, but other
than that, he kept his promise.
"To me, that's a good night at the movies."
"Don't you forget it."
Portraying Agent 007 is a lucrative deal.
Pierce Brosnan is worth a cool $200 million, and Sean Connery was worth an estimated $350
million at the end of his life.
And as the sixth actor to be cast in the role, Daniel Craig has made it very clear that his
kids won't see a dime of his $160 million.
As he told Candis magazine, he will instead dole out his earnings to worthy causes.
"I'm the money."
"Every penny of it."
And it looks like he'll have a decent amount of cheddar to donate.
According to Variety, Craig is set to bank more than $100 million for his work in the
second and third installments of the "Knives Out" franchise.
The name's Rich.
Super Rich.
If there's one thing reality TV judge Simon Cowell is all about, it's brutal honesty.
The British record exec has raked in roughly $600 million forming popular boy bands and
crushing the dreams of people whose friends lied to them about how they could totally
become professional singers.
"It was like you'd swallowed a load of people and they're all screaming."
But Cowell isn't going easy on his son, either.
And he's not planning on leaving any funds for him to coast through life upon.
As he explained to the Mirror,
"I'm going to leave my money to somebody.
A charity, probably — kids and dogs.
I don't believe in passing on from one generation to another.
Your legacy has to be that hopefully you gave enough people an opportunity, so that they
could do well, and you gave them your time, taught them what you know."
Well, as of 2022, it looks like little 8-year-old Eric Cowell has a few years at least to plot
his own world-wide domination.
And, y'know…save for retirement.
Legendary actor Joan Crawford didn't leave her kids money, but she did pass on some serious
drama.
The Academy Award winner had a $2 million fortune when she died in 1977.
And of her four children, only two got her cash.
As her will noted,
"It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina
for reasons which are well known to them."
"You'd do anything for money, wouldn't you?"
Understandably, the two contested the will in court, ultimately getting $27,500 each.
Joan's other daughters, Cynthia and Kathy, were each left $77,500.
Kathy then raked in over $400,000 when she later auctioned off her mom's Oscar.
Although we'll never know Joan's real motivation, we got some more details when daughter Christina
published her memoir "Mommie Dearest" that eventually hit the big screen.
The plot revealed their toxic mother-daughter relationship.
And, apparently, it was never mended.
"Don't f— with me, fellas!"
Mila Kunis isn't sharing any of her estimated $75 million with her parents.
But it's not for the reason you might think.
Originally from the Ukraine, Mila immigrated to the U.S. as a child.
And her parents sacrificed everything so their daughter could make it in the industry.
Once Mila found success, her mom and dad refused to take any of her earnings.
In a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, the star opened up about her family's financial
situation when she was a child actor.
"Your parents, which I really do applaud, they never took a dime from you."
"We were really poor and I had money."
And it sounds like not much has changed all these years later.
Kunis says her parents still insist on buying her dinner, and have always seen her money
as her own.
Now a mom of two, Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher won't be passing their money onto
their children, either.
As Kutcher explained on the "Armchair Expert" podcast,
"I'm not setting up a trust for them.
We'll end up giving our money away to charity and to various things."
Since the '70s, Sting has won over fans across the world with his talent — and he's got
an estimated $550 million to show for it.
But if any of his six kids want to enjoy a luxurious life, they're not gonna do it on
his dime.
He told the Daily Mail in 2014,
"I certainly don't want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses around their necks.
They have to work.
All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and
appreciate.
Obviously, if they were in trouble I would help them, but I've never really had to do
that.
They have the work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit."
At the time, Sting was employing about 100 staff.
And he said that even if he wanted to leave his kids money, he's not sure there would
be much left!
Well, can't blame him for enjoying the fruits of his labor.
Plenty of stars have promised their fortunes to people who don't share their DNA.
But one actor actually went through with it.
Industry legend Kirk Douglas lived a true rag-to-riches story.
After experiencing poverty as a child, he died in 2020 — at 103 years old — with
a $60 million fortune to his name.
"Anybody else wanna try their luck?"
He was generous during his life, as well as in death, giving nearly all of his wealth
to the Douglas Foundation.
But as the Mirror reported, he didn't leave a cent to his son, actor Michael Douglas.
Considering Michael's own estimated $350 million fortune, it looks like the actor is doing
just fine without any help from his dad.
After learning that Kirk Douglas had donated all of his money, longtime variety show icon,
Marie Osmond, revealed that she had a similar plan.
She explained that her nest egg won't be going to her kids when she dies.
As she shared on "The Talk,"
"My husband and I decided that you do a great disservice to your children to just hand them
a fortune because you take away the one most important gift you can give your children,
and that's the ability to work."
And Osmond has a hefty chunk of change in her name.
After a decades-long career singing and acting with her brother Donny, the star has racked
up an estimated $20 million net worth.
So, where will all that cash go?
To the Children's Miracle Network — a nonprofit she co-founded in the early '80s.
"Give today.
And put your money where the miracles are."
No one can touch the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
And when he died, no one could touch his money, either.
With his brilliant talent came an immense fortune — one that he left to charity.
According to the Associated Press, at the time of his death in 2006, his assets were…
"Estimated to be worth anything from $5 million to more than $100 million."
…And his former partner, kids, and grandkids saw very little of that.
As The New York Times reported,
"[He] left the bulk of his assets to a trust to provide scholarships to poor children in
South Carolina and Georgia."
"I said, 'Are we done?
I think we got more funk in the trunk."
But those financial decisions were called into question by his family, and the dispute
dragged out for years.
In 2021, an undisclosed settlement was finally reached.
Andrew Lloyd Webber made bank composing hit Broadway shows like "Cats," "Phantom of the
Opera," "Evita," and "Jesus Christ Superstar."
And thanks to his crafty way with an earworm, he's worth an estimated $1.2 billion.
But his kids won't be taking that anywhere near the bank.
As Webber told the Daily Mail,
"I am not in favor of children suddenly finding a lot of money coming their way because they
have no incentive to work.
[…] 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."
But he does believe in his namesake foundation, and his passion for cultivating the next generation
of musical geniuses.
"I think everybody who's been lucky, as I have, you know, to have a career in musical
theater, I think we owe it, to give something back."
Famous for his larger-than-life personality, chef Gordon Ramsay has cooked up quite a fortune
— estimated at roughly $220 million.
But it sounds like that bread isn't going to his kids.
As he told the Telegraph,
"It's definitely not going to them, and that's not in a mean way; it's to not spoil them."
And, so far, his kids seem to be doing just fine.
Oldest daughter Megan has her hands in PR, and as Gordon told "The Tonight Show" in 2021,
"Holly, our middle daughter, is doing fashion.
Tilly's taking a gap year.
Jack has become a Royal Marine."
Gordon joked that their youngest, Oscar, might be the only hope he has of getting a kid into
cooking.
But only time will tell if it's whisk-ful thinking.
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