‘I’m not gonna give them handouts’ Shaquille O’Neal opens up what it takes for the kids to touch his ‘cheese’

The Legendary Shaquille O’Neal appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and announced that, even though he has amassed a substantial fortune from his four NBA career, he may not necessarily be passing it down to his offspring. O’Neal is preparing his six kids for life outside of the home by teaching them the value of education and hard work.

He gave an explanation of his most well-known rule: You need to show me two degrees before you may touch any of my cheese. O’Neal claims that in order for his children to get the money he has made, they must have at least a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. He continued by saying he wouldn’t be giving his kids any cash.

“My kids are older now. They’re kinda upset with me. Not really upset, but they don’t understand. I tell them all the time. We ain’t rich. I’m rich,” Shaquille O’Neal explicated while breaking down his parenting philosophy on the show. 

The former Lakers center, who earned over $10 million a season between 1999 and 2009 while playing for six different NBA teams, stated that he expected his kids to graduate from college and get jobs in the workforce. Only then he would provide them “Cheese.”

“You gotta have bachelor’s or master’s [degrees], and then if you want me to invest in one of your companies, you’re going to have to present it, boom boom boom, bring it to me. I’ll let you know, I’m not giving you nothing,” he said The former Lakers Legend later added that the number one rule he has for his kids is “education.”

“I don’t care if you play basketball. I don’t care about none of that,” he said. “Listen, I got six kids. I would like a doctor, somebody to own a hedge fund, a pharmacist, a lawyer, someone that owns multiple businesses, someone to take over my business. But I tell them I’m not going to hand it to you. You gotta earn it.”