Comedian and filmmaker Jerry Lewis found a way to appall approximately half of North America one last time, when it came out that all but one of his children were actively removed from inheriting anything from his not-insignificant estate. But unfortunately for the offspring of celebrities, he was far from alone in excluding his kids from his will – here are ten other celebrities who did or are planning to do the same, as reported by People.
Rooney had a difficult relationship with his children long before he died in 2014, and as is often the case in these kinds of situations it only got more tense when it came time to divvy up the dough (or, perhaps more lucratively, licensing rights and various pieces of memorabilia from Rooney's long career). By the end of the following year, Rooney's family had given up the ghost and his original Will ended up standing just as it had been written.
It's possible that Jerry Lewis got the idea to specifically disinherit his kids by name from Tony Curtis, who did the same thing in his Will just a few months before his death in 2010. One of those kids was Jamie Lee Curtis, and no reason was ever publicly stated for Curtis' late-in-life decision (get used to that, folks).
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Martial arts cinema icon Jackie Chan did give a reason for why he reportedly decided to disinherit his only son Jaycee, hopefully many, many years before Jackie's death: "If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money." However, the two were reported to have reconciled following Jaycee's stint in jail on drug charges, so he might be inheriting some of that Rush Hour money after all.
The singer-songwriter/Police front-man Sting, not the professional wrestler, has expressed a similar desire to let his kids struggle on their own without any help from Dad. Thankfully for Sting's kids, it appears that they won't be inheriting any ill will in the bargain: "Obviously, if they were in trouble I would help them. But I've never really had to do that. They have the work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit."
If any of George Lucas' kids – and I don't mean Yoda or Luke Skywalker – want to get any money from Dad, they'll need to do it before he becomes one with The Force. Not only did he donate virtually all of the $4.5 billion he got from Disney for selling Lucasfilm to educational causes, but he's announced his intention to give up most of the rest of his wealth to charity as part of the Warren Buffett Giving Pledge.
Simon Cowell
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Simon Cowell has said he doesn't believe in passing wealth to one's children – an admirable belief given his $500 million fortune. Where will it go instead? Something involving "kids and dogs," says Cowell.
Billionaire Ted Turner is another wealthy individual who says he intends to give away almost everything he's got to charity by the time he dies, unfortunately for all the little Turneteers running around out there.
Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank says that he was motivated by "fear of not being able to feed yourself and your family" when he started out in business, and he doesn't want to deprive his kids of that motivation for success. His grandkids and and great-grandkids are out of luck, though: He's reportedly setting up trusts for them.
Warren Buffett
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Uber-billionaire Warren Buffett feels similarly about dynastic wealth, telling guests at a 2006 event announcing his plans to donate most of his wealth to charity that "I'm not an enthusiast for dynastic wealth, particularly when 6 billion others have much poorer hands than we do in life." "Most" isn't weasel language in this case – Buffett has said he wants to give away a 99 percent chunk of his wealth to charity by the time of his death.
One of those billionaires that Buffett inspired with his Giving Pledge is Bill Gates, who has said that the vast majority of his wealth will end up with charities like his own Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
