Ashton Kutcher has announced that he and his wife Mila Kunis won’t be raising their kids to depend on a trust fund.
Kutcher recently made an appearance on his friend Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast, where he spoke about how his two children, daughter Wyatt, 3, and son Dimitri, 15 months, and explained he won’t be establishing trust funds for them.
“My kids are not getting like big…I’m not setting up a trust for them, we’ll end up giving our money away to charity and to various things,” Kutcher said. “And so if my kids want to start a business and they have a good business plan, I’ll invest in it but they’re not getting trusts. So hopefully they’ll be motivated to have what they had or some version of what they had.”
Kutcher made his fortune not only by acting in television and movies, but also from several highly successful venture capital investments in companies such as Skype and Airbnb. But despite his success, Kutcher remains firmly grounded, and a strong advocate for social justice issues, such as child sex trafficking.
Kutcher did not grow up wealthy, with his father being a factory worker, and his mother working for Proctor and Gamble. When his parents divorced, he was arrested for breaking into his high school to steal money. But such experiences taught the actor the value of hard work and money – and the link between the two. He mentioned his obsession with ice cream came about because it was such a “privilege” when he was a kid.
It’s definitely a team approach. Kunis herself is from a Ukranian immigrant background, and started working on That 70s Show when she was still at school; a work ethic it seems she and her husband and keen for their kids to adopt.
So maybe this is why kids are so clueless about money. One in seven Aussie kids think cash from the ATM is free money. On This Glorious Mess, we discuss why they just don’t seem to understand. Post continues after audio.
Kutcher and Kunis aren’t alone, with many other celebrity parents having spoken out about not giving their fortune to their children.
In 2017, Gordon Ramsay made headlines when he revealed that his kids won’t inherit the money he’s made in his carer.
“I’ve never been really turned on about the money,” he told The Telegraph. “That’s not my number one objective, and that’s reflected in the way the kids are brought up.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by billionaire Bill Gates, who told the Daily Mail in 2011, “I don’t think that amount of money would be good for them.” Rumoured that he plans to leave them approximately ten percent each only, he explained, “It will be a minuscule portion of my wealth. It will mean they have to find their own way.”
“They will be given an unbelievable education and that will all be paid for. They will have to pick a job they like and go to work. I never took a day off in my twenties.”
Elton John is another notable celebrity with firm family principles. He has said of his two kids with husband David Furnish, “Of course I want to leave my boys in a very sound financial state. But it’s terrible to give kids a silver spoon. It ruins their life. You have to have some semblance of normality, some respect for money, some respect for work.”
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Top Comments
Have had a few thoughts reading this.
One is - I think it's better not to discuss these things publicly. They are private matters and no need to have anything 'on record', in case it comes to bite you later.
The other is - I don't think it's so black and white that a child brought up in a wealthy family is either a spoilt trust fund kid or they have to be cut off from everything to learn the value of hard work and money. Richard Branson is one good example of someone who has managed this well.
As a parent, I can't understand this logic of giving away all your wealth to charity and not leaving any for your children and their children. I 100% support hard work, knowing the value of money and teaching the right values, just not in the way some of these celebs think it needs to be taught.
Good on them!!! My family have a little bit of money (very comfortable but not rich if you get my drift)..... my parents think the same way. Us kids aren't getting an inheritance, which is fine by me as we are well educated and have good jobs. Instead my parents help us pay the school fees, they see a good education as the greatest gift they can leave their family, and the rest they'll blow on travelling the world.