Millionaires Who Won't Leave Their Kids Very Much Money

We all dream of that day we find out that a rich relative we never even knew we had, has left us their fortune. For the children of the rich, that’s never been only a pipe dream. However, more and more super wealthy people are realizing that simply handing their kids a fortune on a silver platter will just spoil them. Here are 20 millionaires and billionaires who won’t leave their kids very much.

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Bill Gates

Consistently one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates has a vast fortune to leave his three children. However, they won’t be seeing much of this money beyond having their education paid for. As SFGate reported in 2016, the Microsoft co-founder believes that having huge sums of wealth distorts anything kids might do. The money will go to charity instead.

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Elton John

In 2016, Elton John told the Mirror that his two sons won’t inherit the vast fortune that has made him one of the world’s richest rock stars. They will inherit enough to take care of their basic needs but anything beyond that, they need to work for. As his partner David Furnish explained, "If they want a Picasso, they have to go out and earn it."

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Kevin O’Leary

Canadian entrepreneur and TV personality Kevin O’Leary told Chatelaine in 2013 already that his kids won’t get any of his money once they’ve finished their education. He believes that the stresses of the real world will help make them successful adults. At least their education will be paid for and they won’t have to use any of our tricks for paying off student debt.

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson won’t leave her kids a penny and she has made that clear. In a 2008 interview, the celebrity foodie and domestic goddess said that it ruins people if they don’t have to earn their money, according to the Daily Mail.

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Gloria Vanderbilt

In a 2016 People interview, Anderson Cooper said that he was told from a young age that he wouldn’t inherit any of the fortune his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, built up from her own inheritance. Not that it matters much: even though he has one of those jobs that pay shockingly less than you think, he still earns a multimillion-dollar salary from CNN.

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Michael Bloomberg

Business tycoon and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed the Giving Pledge, where billionaires pledge to give away most of their money to charitable causes. In his letter, he said that the best thing you can do to show your children that you love them is to give to organizations that will create a better world for them and their children.

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Gordon Ramsay

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay told The Telegraph in 2017 that his money is definitely not going to his children one day. In fact, they don’t even sit with their parents in first class when they fly somewhere. According to Ramsay, you appreciate first class more when you’ve worked for it. The kids will just have to pack the things that will make economy class feel like first class.

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Sting

In 2014, Sting told the Mail on Sunday that his children already know that they shouldn’t expect an inheritance. He said that they shouldn’t have trust funds that would be albatrosses around their necks. Besides, according to Sting, he’s already spending the money to pay for his commitments.

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Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is famous for being not only one of the wealthiest but also one of the thriftiest billionaires. Almost all of his money will go to charity when he dies but his children will each still inherit a reasonable sum. Buffett explained his philosophy in a Fortune interview in 1986: that his kids should inherit enough to feel they could be anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber

His hit musicals have made composer Andrew Lloyd Webber a very wealthy man indeed. As he told the Daily Mail in 2008, however, he doesn’t believe in inherited money at all. His children need to learn good work ethics and won’t eventually own his company.

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Mark Zuckerberg

When Mark Zuckerberg’s first child was born in 2015, he announced on his Facebook page that he and his wife were starting a charitable trust. They pledged to give away 99 per cent of their Facebook shares during their lives instead of leaving their wealth to their children. It’s a good thing then that the offspring of Facebook’s founder will be growing up in one of the best places for tech start-ups.

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Simon Cowell

While expecting his first child in 2013, Simon Cowell told Esquire that he didn’t believe in passing wealth on from one generation to another. Instead, he would probably leave his money to a charity working with children or dogs.

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Chuck Feeney

Chuck Feeney was once worth about $8 billion. Then he started giving his money away to charity and he’s now a mere millionaire. His children aren’t upset, however. In 2007, his daughter told the New York Times that their father’s financial eccentricity sheltered them from being treated differently because they had money.

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Pierre Omidyar

Pierre Omidyar founded eBay, where you might find some of the most expensive random items in the world, and became a billionaire. He then signed the Giving Pledge, saying that his family has more money than they’ll ever need. He’d rather use his wealth to help solve some of the world’s problems instead of leaving it all to his children.

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Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart is one of the world’s richest women but it’s unlikely that her children will inherit much of that wealth. Sadly, this is because mother and children have been engaged in a long, dirty legal battle over the kids’ trust fund, according to the Australian Financial Review.

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Bernie Marcus

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus plans to leave nearly all of his fortune to his own charitable organization, the Marcus Foundation. According to Forbes, he has said that if his children want to be rich, they need to work for it. In fact, his stepson co-founded an investment banking firm, knowing that he can’t expect to inherit much.

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George Lucas

The seventh Star Wars installment was one of the most expensive movies ever made. The franchise also made George Lucas one of the richest people in Hollywood but his children won’t inherit everything. According to The Hollywood Reporter, most of the proceeds from selling Lucasfilm will go to charitable causes.

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Ted Turner

Media mogul Ted Turner famously donated $1 billion to the United Nations. He has also signed the Giving Pledge, saying that when he dies, almost all of his money will have gone to charity. His children won’t inherit his wealth but are involved in the charitable Turner Foundation so they can understand the importance of giving back.

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Jackie Chan

In 2011, Metro reported that Jackie Chan’s son wasn’t going to inherit any of his dad’s wealth. The action star may not have earned one of the biggest movie star paydays of all time but has amassed quite a fortune nonetheless. He will leave much of it to charity. He’s said about his son: "If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money."

HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud

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HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud

As a member of the Saudi royal family and a half-nephew to one of the world’s richest royals, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud was born into wealth. His business ventures and investments made him even richer. He was the first Arab Muslim to sign the Giving Pledge to give away most of his wealth to charity.