Daniel Craig has opened up about inheritance and explained why he doesn’t plan on leaving much to his children, despite his fortune of over £150m with his wife, Rachel Weisz
Actors Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz are reportedly not planning to leave their children anything when they pass, despite being worth over £150million.
Daniel, 56, has secured himself some impressive paychecks during his over 30-year acting career, including for his huge roles in five of the James Bond films – Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).
His wife of 14 years, Rachel, has also paved a decorated career with movie roles in Black Widow, About A Boy, The Lovely Bones, The Whistleblower and The Mummy.
With a shared worth of over £150million, you’d think the star-studded couple would be eager to leave their earnings to their three children. The actors are doting parents to daughter Grace, whom they welcomed in 2018, while Daniel is also a father to Ella, 32, from during his relationship with ex-wife Fiona Loudon, while Rachel is also a mum to her son Henry, 18, with her ex-partner Darren Aronofsky. However, Craig has revealed he’d rather give his fortune away, rather than leave it to the kids.
In a conversation with Candis Magazine, the James Bond star said, “Isn’t there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you’ve failed?”
He continued, confessing that he found the thought of an inheritance “distasteful” and revealed what he plans to do with his whopping worth. He told the publication, “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.”
In the same interview, Daniel spoke about being in the spotlight and how, despite his success as heartthrob James Bond, fame makes him “nervous”. He said that while he doesn’t want to “complain” due to the “huge benefits,” privacy is a big factor in his life. He admitted, “Being a… celebrity… makes me nervous, actually.”
Daniel isn’t the only A-lister considering their inheritance options, as Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies previously revealed the reason why she might leave her £35million fortune to her sons, Oliver and Charlie, whom she shares with her husband, Simon. Sara told The Sun that she sat down with both sets of parents and said she wanted them to “spend that money” rather than save it for inheritance for her and Simon. Adding that the “values” they have given her were “far more valuable than money”.
She told the publication, “That is me telling the generation up, and I would like to think I will bring my kids up to want to say the same thing to me. It would be a real measure of success if the kids grew up with that attitude. If my kids had a different attitude where they were banking on that inheritance, then I would be inclined to not want to give it.”
She added: “It is really hard trying to strike that balance between wanting to give your kids everything that you didn’t have when you were younger but also wanting them to have the same values you had growing up.”
