'I'm not just gonna give you money for a party'- Shaquille O'Neal gives candid take on 'respectable nepotism' for his kids
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal doesn't want his six children to be spoon-fed so much that they don't understand how to manage their money.
When asked by Insider's Meredith Cash about how he provides for his kids, O'Neal said that he will not give them cash easily now that they're grown up:
"I'm not just gonna give you money for a party."
He then introduced what he called "respectable nepotism," in which he would ask his kids to present a business plan and assurance that they would not just squander any financial help he would give:
"Since you want me to be the bank, I'm gonna do exactly what the bank is going to do to you."
Shaquille O'Neal's 'respectable nepotism' works
Shaquille O'Neal drew inspiration from billionaire Jeff Bezos for his respectable nepotism, and it works.
For one, O'Neal recalled how he helped his oldest son Myles to pursue a career as a club DJ.
O'Neal recalled his conversation with Myles:
"I said, 'Alright, I'll help you get the equipment,' and he's killing it. He is one of the top DJs in the world and he's done it by himself. I'm proud of him."
Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal's two older children, Taahirah and Shareef, are successful in their own rights as well.
Taahirah, the oldest daughter, is now embarking on a career in corporate communications. On the other hand, Shareef, the second oldest son, has followed in his dad's footsteps and is now a professional basketball player in the NBA G-League.
Now, the focus is on Shaquille O'Neal's three younger kids, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me'arah, who are still in school.
At the moment, according to the patriarch:
"They haven't really pitched anything."
However, he hopes his younger daughters could pursue graduate studies after they attain their college degrees:
"I'm like, 'If you go to law school and graduate, you get a big bag.'"
Turning serious, though, he believes his younger kids have a very bright future ahead probably in the corporate world:
"Out of my six, they're the smartest; they're the ones that are probably gonna run the company. So I'm trying to bribe all of them like, 'Hey, just go to law school for me and I'll give you whatever you want.'"
No matter what happens, though, O'Neal's legacy post-basketball has successfully been spilled to his children.