CNBC: ‘Jurassic Park’ star Jeff Goldblum says his kids will need to support themselves when they’re older
Jeff Goldblum is the latest celebrity warning his kids not to expect a life bankrolled by their parents.
The “Jurassic Park” star said in an appearance on the “Table for Two” podcast this week that his two young sons, who are eight and six years old, will need to find their own path to financial independence.
“It’s an important thing to teach kids,” the 71-year-old said in the interview. “I’m not going to do it for you. And you’re not going to want me to do it for you.”
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.He recalled being “a little shocked” the day his parents sat him down and told him that it was time to start looking for a job and making his own money.
Goldblum said that he doesn’t want to “scare” his kids by telling them that they’ll need to find their own way in life, but instead encourage them to find something they enjoy doing.
“You’ve gotta figure out how to find out what’s wanted and needed and where that intersects with your love and passion and what you can do,” he said. “And even if it doesn’t, you might have to do it anyway.”
“You’ve got to row your own boat,” he added.
Goldblum isn’t alone in feeling that it’s important to encourage your children to make their own way. Other celebrities, including CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and former “James Bond” actor Daniel Craig, have spoken publicly about the possibility of leaving inheritances for their kids.
“I think it’s an initiative sucker,” Cooper, the son of the late Gloria Vanderbilt, said in 2014. “I think it’s a curse.”
Craig, for his part, called it “distasteful” to leave a fortune to your heirs.
“Isn’t there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you’ve failed?” he said in 2021. “My philosophy is to get rid of it or give it away before you go.”
Even Warren Buffett, whose fortune sits at more than $130 billion, says there are limits to what even the wealthiest people should leave behind for their kids.
“After much observation of super-wealthy families, here’s my recommendation,” he wrote in his 2021 note to shareholders. “Leave the children enough so that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.”
