How Daniel Craig Makes Sure His Kids Aren't Spoiled With 'Great Sums' Of His Money
It hardly seems like a stretch to assume that Daniel Craig lives a rather lavish life. He's one of the most successful actors in Hollywood, having played legendary secret agent James Bond across five films. In fact, that high-profile gig even led to Craig and wife Rachel Weisz rubbing elbows with literal royalty on several occasions. Of course, when you have access to that kind of wealth and luxury and find yourself raising children, it can be difficult. Bill Gates' ex-wife Melinda used one simple rule to stop her daughters from being spoiled. Similarly, the "Knives Out" star has his own clever method to ensure his children don't get big heads as a result of his considerable wealth. Simply put, Daniel Craig won't leave any money to his children when he passes away.
The beloved British actor opened up about his beliefs regarding wealth during a 2021 interview with Candis magazine. "Isn't there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you've failed?" Craig wondered aloud rhetorically (via Business Insider). "I think Andrew Carnegie gave away what in today's money would be about $11 billion, which shows how rich he was because I'll bet he kept some of it too." As such, as far as his three kids are concerned, the "Layer Cake" star remarked, "I don't want to leave great sums to the next generation. I think inheritance is quite distasteful. My philosophy is get rid of it or give it away before you go."
The former James Bond's comments regarding his financial plans actually drew a hugely positive response at the time, with The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson enthusiastically praising Craig for "being a Dolly Parton, who gives millions of books to children and funds scientific research, rather than a Jeff Bezos, who builds himself a big old rocket and whizzes around in space."
Daniel Craig has had some very high-paying acting jobs over the years
We made it a point to mention the Gates family earlier because Daniel Craig seems to have a similar philosophy to Melinda French Gates, who also doesn't believe in simply handing her kids ridiculous amounts of money, and has publicly called on her fellow billionaires to plan to donate at least half (and ideally more) of their wealth in their lifetimes. Of course, there's absolutely no indication that the "Casino Royale" star is anywhere near billionaire status. However, based on the reported paydays Craig received for some of his most high-profile acting gigs, it's safe to say he'll have a sizeable chunk of change to give away by the time all is said and done. The Guardian mentioned how the actor received an estimated payout of $100 million when Netflix first inked a deal to produce two sequels to his hit 2019 whodunit, "Knives Out."
Moreover, Business Insider noted that Craig was reportedly paid an estimated total of $42 million for starring in the James Bond films "Skyfall" and "No Time To Die." That's not even taking into account the other three — or any of his other movies in general, for that matter. Granted, not all of the "Queer" star's projects are massive, big-budget blockbusters, but the fact remains that he's not exactly hurting for work (to say nothing of lucrative box office bonuses or residual checks). And, while we don't doubt that Craig's children are very well taken care of, he seems to have much bigger ideas regarding what his money can, and should, do in the long run.