Guy Fieri says he won't leave a dime of his Flavortown fortune to his kids if they fails to meet his educational demands.
The Food Network star told Fox News that he plans to “die broke” unless his sons each earn two college degrees. When it comes to handing down wealth, Fieri explained he's following in the footsteps of his tough-minded father.
“I’ve told them the same thing my dad told me. My dad says, ‘When I die, you can expect that I’m going to die broke, and you’re going to be paying for the funeral,” said Fieri. “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.’”
The “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” host shares two sons, Hunter and Ryder, with his wife, Lori. The couple have also raised Fieri’s nephew Jules after the death of Fieri’s sister Morgan in 2011, according to People.
Fieri said he agrees with retired NBA pro Shaquille O’Neal, who also demanded his kids study hard.
“Shaq said it best. Shaq said, ‘If you want this cheese, you got to get two degrees,’” said Fieri. “Well, my two degrees mean, you know, postgraduate.”
At lease one of Fieri’s son's, high school senior Ryder, has protested the idea.
According to Fieri, Ryder told him, “‘Dad, this is so unfair. I haven’t even gone to college yet, and you’re already pushing that I’ve got to get an MBA?' He says, 'Can I just get through college?’”
Meanwhile, older son Hunter graduated from his dad's alma mater, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, according to People, and nephew Jules is hard at work on a law degree.
“Jules is in the music industry down in LA. He’s in the law program at Loyola Marymount right now,” boasted Fieri. “If you’re going to be a big-time entertainment agent, you need to have that law background. So he’s doing that.”
"They're on their way," said the proud dad.
Fieri's inheritance talk comes less than a month after he announced Hunter's engagement to girlfriend Tara Bernstein.
The former "Guy's Big Bite" star shared a photo of the couple Nov. 24 on Instagram, captioning it, "Congrats to @hunterfieri and @taralynn.nyc. You two are made for each other. Welcome to the family, Tara."
“Love you so much dad!” Hunter Fieri wrote in the comments.