Shaquille O'Neal is holding his offspring to high standards if they're to enjoy a slice of a $500 million pie.
The basketball icon has been a master of building his fortune and his reported wealth is enough to keep his children and their children in an extremely comfortable manner without any of them needing to lift a finger for their entire lives.
O'Neal isn't having any of it. As he once told US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres: "My most famous rule is: in order to touch any of my cheese, you have to present me two degrees."
Advert
And when Shaq says two degrees, he means two degrees.
The four-time NBA champion played for Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics and is among the most recognisable names and faces in global sport.
If his kids, all now adults, are to share in the wealth he's amassed in a life of stardom, they'll need to earn it.
He told the Earn Your Leisure podcast: “My kids are older now. They kinda upset with me - not really upset - but they don't understand. Because I tell them all the time. We ain't rich. I'm rich.
Advert
“You've got to 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... bring it to me, I'll let you know. I'm not giving you nothing.
“There's one rule: education. I don't care if you play basketball. I don't care about none of that."
As enjoyable as it is to imagine a couple of young adults in suits that are slightly too big presenting a business idea to seven feet of father, it's clear that O'Neal has no truck with the idea of celebrity in general, never mind inherited notoriety.
Advert
Whatever his motivational methods, Shaq wants the best for his kids and knows that nothing good comes easy.
"Listen, I got six kids," he added.
"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 earned it. He was a stalwart center in the NBA for two decades, a 15-time NBA All-Star with his number retired by no fewer than three teams.
Advert
With chops like that, his remarkable success in business after his basketball career shouldn't have surprised anyone.
Topics: NBA, Shaquille ONeal
Chris Nee