Food Network Star Guy Fieri's $100 Million Fortune Comes With Shaq-Inspired Rule For His Sons: 'If You Want This Cheese, You Got to Get Two Degrees'

Guy Fieri isn't handing out slices of his Flavortown fortune without a side of hard work and higher education.

In a 2023 interview with Fox News Digital, the Food Network star made it clear that his sons won't be cruising into generational wealth just because dad built a nine-figure empire. "I told them the same thing my dad told me," Fieri said. "‘When I die, you can expect that I am going to die broke and you're going to be paying for the funeral.' And I told my boys, none of this that I've been building are you going to get, unless you come and take it from me."

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At 57, Fieri has built one of the most successful brands in food television history — from "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" to multi-million-dollar endorsement deals and restaurant chains. His estimated net worth in 2025 sits at $100 million. But his kids? They're on their own unless they bring more than just good taste to the table.

And in true Guy fashion, he's borrowing a quote from another larger-than-life personality: Shaquille O'Neal.

"My son is a senior in high school getting ready to graduate," Fieri told Fox. "And he's like, ‘Dad, this is so unfair. I haven't even gone to college yet and you're already pushing that I gotta get an MBA.' He says, ‘Can I just get through college?' And I'm like — hey, Shaq said it best. Shaq said it about his kids one time, ‘If you want any of this cheese, you got to get two degrees.' Well, my two degrees mean postgraduate. So they're on their way."

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Shaq, now 53, has said in multiple interviews that his children won't see a dime unless they bring him at least two college degrees, and sometimes he raises the bar to three. "We ain't rich — I'm rich," he famously told them. And in 2025, it's clear more celebrity parents are taking the same stance.

Fieri's nephew is studying entertainment law, aiming to become a big-time agent. His older son, Hunter, is working toward his MBA. Meanwhile, his younger son, Ryder, has already been warned: this won't be a free ride.

The approach reflects a generational shift — or maybe a generational speed bump. While millennials and Gen Z are poised to inherit as much as $84 trillion over the coming decades in what's being called the "Great Wealth Transfer," not all parents are writing blank checks. Instead, some are setting conditions, demanding proof of ambition, education, or real-world hustle before they pass the torch (or the trust).

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For Fieri, the goal isn't to be cold — it's to prepare. "You've got to go stake your claim and go figure out what you're going to do," he said. His message to his kids is simple: the money's real, but so is the expectation.

In an age where "nepo baby" talk dominates headlines, Fieri and Shaq are flipping the script. The cheese may be in the fridge — but the door only opens if you bring degrees.

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