17 Celebs Who Won't Leave Their Kids An Inheritance

Time to give it back.

1. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis

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Actor Mila Kunis and her actor and venture capitalist husband Ashton Kutcher have made it clear to their kids that they aren't getting a slice of the million dollar pie. In a podcast hosted by Dax Shepard, Kutcher revealed, "My kids are living a really privileged life, and they don’t even know it. And they’ll never know it because this is the only one that they’ll know. I’m not setting up a trust for them. We’ll end up giving our money away to charity and to various things."

2. Jackie Chan

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This action superstar who made most of his fortune by swinging, shooting, kicking, and punching in movies of the Hong Kong film industry chose to not give away his hard-earned moolah to his son as inheritance more than 20 years ago. He had famously declared in 2011, "If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money." That's some really hardcore parenting and hardcore charity. 

3. Bill Gates

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The former richest person on Earth and still a billionaire with mind-numbing wealth, Bill Gates has been quite passionate about giving away most of his wealth for causes supporting the eradication of diseases, poverty, and hunger. He is a prolific philanthropist, and with his former wife, Melinda Gates, he founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate their money. Gates once said in an interview, "It’s not a favor to kids to have them have huge sums of wealth. It distorts anything they might do, creating their own path."

4. Gordon Ramsay

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The talented and foul-mouthed chef hasn't minced words, like on his shows when he is roasting cooks, when expressing the fate of his fortune. He and his wife Tana are parents to five kids. 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. The only thing I’ve agreed with Tana is they get a 25% deposit on a flat, but not the whole flat."

5. Simon Cowell

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The TV producer and wisecracking judge who brought us wildly popular hit shows like The X Factor, American Idol, and America's Got Talent declared in 2013, "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." He is a firm believer that one's legacy should be about helping others succeed rather than dumping money in their kids' bank accounts. He said, "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.”

6. Marie Osmond

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Singer and talk show host Marie Osmond isn't too keen on leaving behind her fortune for her kids as easy money. She made her decision public in 2020 on her show. She said, "Congratulations, kids. 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."  

7. Daniel Craig

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The man who has been the face of Bond movies since 2005 is staunchly against the concept of inheritance. The actor, who reportedly received $25 million for his final role as the British spy and will receive $100 million from Netflix for the sequels to Knives Out, made his intentions clear when he told a magazine, "My philosophy is to get rid of it or give it away before you go. I don't want to leave great sums to the next generation."

8. Sir Elton John

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This man just can't stop doing things that make us love him more. The musician and LGBTQ icon, who is father to two boys, once revealed that after getting inspired by Warren Buffett, he and his husband, David Furnish, do not intend on letting their kids inherit all of their wealth. He said, "Of course I want to leave my boys in a very sound financial state. But it’s terrible to give kids a silver spoon. It ruins their life." He also added, "Anything beyond the basic, they have to go out and earn it themselves. If they want a Picasso, they have to go out and earn it. I think there’s real sensibility in that."

9. Sting

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Before he became a rock sensation, Sting led a life full of economic hardships and wants his children to understand what it means to have your hard-earned money. That's why he has told his kids, "There won’t be much money left because we are spending it! We have a lot of commitments. What comes in we spend, and there isn’t much left." He further adds, "I certainly don’t want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks. They have to work. All my kids know that, and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate."

10. George Lucas

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According to Forbes, Lucas's net worth stands at $7.1 billion, of which he made $4.05 billion alone from the sale of his Star Wars franchise to Disney. Lucas is quite strong on supporting education, and he also founded George Lucas Educational Foundation. He donated almost all of the money from the Disney deal to support educational initiatives. As a signatory of the Giving Pledge, he has declared, "I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race."

11. Kevin O'Leary

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Businessman and Shark Tank shark Kevin O'Leary is very clear about respecting hard-earned money, and the best way to do that is by giving it away for charitable purposes instead of letting his kids inherit. “I am not planning on giving my kids any of my wealth. They know that when their education is over, I’m pushing them out of the nest. You want to prepare your children for launching their own lives. I tell wealthy parents that if they don’t kick their kids out of the house and put them under the stresses of the real world, they will fail to launch. They will become unsuccessful adults," he told a magazine in 2013.

12. Mark Zuckerberg

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Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, had announced via a Facebook post way back in 2015, immediately after the birth of their first child, that they will be donating 99% of their fortune to charity. The post was addressed to their first child, and it read, "We want you to grow up in a world better than ours today. We will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation."

13. Laurene Powell Jobs

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As the widow of former Apple CEO and tech magnate Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs inherited stocks in Apple and Disney worth billions of dollars after her husband's demise in 2011. In an interview, she explained her decision of leaving behind most of her money to charity instead of to her offspring. She said, "I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth. I’m not interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.”

14. Michael Bloomberg

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The billionaire and former mayor of New York City, too, felt that his money deserves to end up in charity rather than inflating his kids' bank accounts. He revealed the rationale behind his decision in his Giving Pledge letter. "If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing — by far — is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children," he wrote.

15. MacKenzie Scott

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When MacKenzie Scott divorced her husband of 25 years, Jeff Bezos, she received 25% of his Amazon stake as a part of the divorce settlement, leading her net worth to soar to $55.8 billion. She soon set out on a donation spree and also signed the Giving Pledge. Recently she revealed in a blog post that she gave $2.74 billion to 286 organizations and highlighted her desire to give back in her Giving Pledge letter: "My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”

16. Andrew Lloyd Webber

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The famous British musician once said in an interview, "I am not in favor of children suddenly finding a lot of money coming their way because then they have no incentive to work." He plans on donating his fortune for the cause of theaters and music. He adds, "We could use the royalties to encourage everything from bursaries to young artists and composers. I feel I owe a debt, and that is very largely due to the success not only in Britain but also the rest of the world. "

17. Bernard Marcus

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The man who co-founded Home Depot is worth $8.8 billion today, and he is desirous of leaving an enormous chunk of his enormous fortune to his foundation after his death. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I’ve got all the houses I need. I live very well. My kids are taken care of. Everything I live for now is finding the right things to put my money into, and that can give me a rate of return in emotion and doing good things for this world.”

He elaborated in his Giving Pledge letter, "It has always been my belief that leaving enormous wealth for our children does nothing to stimulate their ability to make it on their own. I too believe that all our efforts in creating the wealth that we have would give us a great deal more joy if we were to disperse as much of it during our lifetimes."