10 Celebrities Who Decided to Not Leave Their Kids Any of Their Fortune

Some of the most famous people in the world have managed to make a lot of millions and even billions in their lives. Someone would assume that their kids should feel very lucky that they will be the ones receiving all that money one day. However, that is not the case with all of them. Some celebrities have decided to either spend their money on themselves or simply donate it all to charities after their death.

1. Daniel Craig

The actor who brought agent 007 to life is a wealthy person, with an estimated net worth of approximately $160 million, mostly earned from his portrayal of James Bond. Nevertheless, his two daughters are unlikely to receive any part of this wealth.

With a background of poverty, having grown up with a sailor father and an art teacher mother, Craig holds the belief that a person should work hard to earn a living. He finds the idea of inheritance unappealing and advocates for people to spend their hard-earned money during their lifetime.

2. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis

This pair of actors has decided to raise their children without luxuries or eccentricities so that they learn to value things and, moreover, they have stated that they are not going to inherit any money. “We’re not going to leave them any money. When the time is right, we will donate everything we have to charity,” Kutcher said in a podcast on the Armchair Expert program, hosted by Dax Shepard.

He also said that when they grow up and want to start a business, both he and Kunis will support them, but they don’t want to encourage them to stop working and just wait for their inheritance. “We hope that this will motivate them to fight to have what they have or at least to get a share,” said the actor.

3. Heath Ledger

The daughter of the late actor Heath Ledger, Matilda, was not initially included in her father’s inheritance as he had written his will prior to her birth. After Ledger’s passing in 2008, his property was distributed among his three sisters and parents. Nevertheless, the Ledger family acted ethically and transferred all of Heath’s funds to his young daughter, who was only two years old at the time.

4. Sting

The British rock star went on from a very poor and deprived childhood to amass a large fortune. The artist has made it clear that, like him, his children will have to work hard to earn a living. “’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,” said the famous musician.

However, he made it clear that if they were in trouble, he would help them, but that his children have a work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit.

5. Anderson Cooper

The famous American TV journalist, Anderson Cooper, is not going to leave his son an inheritance. He recently spoke about this on the radio. He adheres to the position of his parents, who only paid for his college. And then, according to the journalist, a person should achieve everything themselves.

6. Elton John

Talented musician, Elton John, also joined the list of famous Britons who have decided to not leave their fortune to their children, or at least to not leave it all to them, but instead donate a large part of it to charity. John said: “Of course I want to leave my children in a very solid financial state, but it is terrible to give your children a silver spoon. It ruins their life.”

He added that his children have incredible lives, but that you have to have a certain appearance of normalcy, and some respect for money and work.

7. Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay is one of the most important names in the UK’s gastronomy industry. The famous chef has a strong presence on television and has raised millions through programs like MasterChef USA, MasterChef Junior, and Hell’s Kitchen. His net worth is estimated to be at around $217 million.

However, Ramsay has no intention of leaving his fortune to his 5 children. “It’s definitely not gonna go to them,” said the celebrity chef. “And that’s not bad, it’s to not spoil them,” he added. Similarly, he acknowledges that, in recent years, he’s been very lucky in his career, has made a great fortune, and that he respects everything he has.

8. Sean Connery

Since 2020, when Sean Connery passed away, the world has been waiting for the actor’s will to be announced to know whether his son got anything. Even during his lifetime, Connery repeatedly stated that he would deprive his son of his inheritance in order to teach him a lesson: “He doesn’t know what it’s like to have a hard time, but it’s not too late for him to learn life.”

In 2007, the actor made it public that he wanted his 45-year-old son “to make a living on his own and not off his father’s hook.”

9. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, the entrepreneur and founder of the social network Facebook, became a billionaire before he turned 32 and today has a fortune amounting to around $72 billion. However, he will not share most of his money with his children.

In a letter to his newborn daughter Maxima in 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, pledged to give away 99% of their company’s shares, which at the time were worth over $45 billion. Earlier, in December 2012, Zuckerberg and his wife announced that over the course of their lives they will donate most of their wealth to “advance human potential and promote equality” in the spirit of The Giving Pledge.

10. Jackie Chan

The Hong Kong born martial artist, actor, and producer has said that, after his death, he will donate half his fortune to charity, meaning that he does not plan to leave the millions of dollars he earned during his career to either of his 2 children. "If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money,’’ Chan said of his first-born son Jaycee.

By 2020, Jackie Chan has built up an estimated net worth of about $370 million, putting him at number 12 on the list of the world’s richest actors.