You might assume that being the child of a famous person guarantees you’ll never have to worry about money later in life.
But that isn’t always the reality.
Actor Ashton Kutcher recently grabbed headlines after revealing he doesn’t plan to establish trust funds for his two children with wife Mila Kunis.
“I’m not setting up a trust for them,” Kutcher said on the February 14 episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. “We’ll end up giving our money away to charity and to various things.”
Kutcher and Kunis — parents to 3-year-old Wyatt and 1-year-old Dimitri — have a combined estimated net worth of $255 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Although Kutcher resists the idea of leaving millions to his children, he still wants them to thrive as adults.
“Hopefully, they’ll be motivated to have what they had [while growing up] or some version of what they had,” he added during the podcast.
Kutcher also mentioned that if his children want to launch a business and present a solid plan, he’d consider investing. But he doesn’t want them to expect a large inheritance that will guarantee a comfortable life without effort.
Rather, Kutcher aims for them to learn how to manage without relying on material privileges.
“I’m going to take them camping a lot just because I want them to be really resourceful and I want to teach them how to be resourceful,” he explained.
Their approach isn’t unique among celebrities who want to instill the value of self-reliance in their children. Last year, we covered celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s decision not to bequeath his fortune to his four kids.
While some people view it as harsh for wealthy parents to withhold their fortunes from children, the core intent is to teach youngsters the significance of earning an income and appreciating what they work for.
“What our kids can learn from paid employment is a work ethic, that loose phrase that captures the ability to listen, exert ourselves, cooperate with others, do our best, and stick to a task until we’ve done it, and done it right,” personal-finance columnist Ron Lieber notes in his book, “The Opposite of Spoiled.”
Even average parents can fall into the trap of overindulging their children. A bit of spoiling isn’t catastrophic, but failing to prepare kids to be financially self-sufficient adults does them a disservice.
So don’t shy away from discussing money with your children. Help them understand that not everything will be given to them without effort.
Begin early by introducing the difference between needs and wants. Keep up those conversations so teenagers grasp earning and budgeting before they leave home.
It may not be the same as an inheritance, but passing along financial know-how can be just as valuable.
Emily Hart is a staff writer at Savinly. She covers parenting and personal finance topics.
