Elton John is adding his name to a growing list of very rich folk who’ve decided the best thing for their children is if they don’t furnish them with a financial handout.
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The veteran rock star, with an estimated fortune of £200million, has revealed he plans to leave only a portion of this sum to his twin sons Zachary and Elijah, saying he and husband David Furnish both prefer them to have to work for their money, and not take luxury for granted.
Elton John and husband David Furnish have twin sons, Zachary and Elijah
Sir Elton tells the Daily Mirror: "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."
"They have to do chores in the house – take their plates to be cleaned, help in the kitchen, tidy their rooms and help in the garden, and each time they do they get a little star to put on these charts they’ve made."
This wisdom comes as marked contrast to previous details of Elton’s own exuberant lifestyle, revealed during a 2000 court case with his former manager John Reid. One figure that stood out was his estimated monthly expense on flowers, namely £293,000 in 20 months. But then, Sir Elton has earned every petal and, as he said at the time, "I like flowers."
Sting is also of the mind that dishing out the money to his children isn't doing them any favours
Sir Elton isn’t the first person of immense wealth to think this is the way to go when it comes to bringing up children. Fellow musician Sting previously said he wouldn’t be leaving a penny of his estimated £180million fortune to his children, describing it as a potential ”albatross around their necks”.
During his own time in the courtroom in 1995, it was revealed that Sting’s accountant had managed to siphon off £6million into his own pocket, and the former Police frontman turned solo star hadn’t actually noticed.