Ben Affleck, Marie Osmond, and Gordon Ramsay Serve Up Tough Love—No Silver Spoons for Their Kids

Ben Affleck is drawing a hard line when it comes to doling out his Hollywood fortune, making it clear his kids shouldn’t count on handouts. The Oscar-winning actor recently went viral after shutting down his 13-year-old son Samuel’s request for a pair of $6,000 Dior Air Force 1s, reminding the teen, "I have the money! You're broke." Ah, the eternal dad flex—proving that even A-listers can put their foot down (preferably in more affordable shoes).

Appearing on TV, Affleck explained that he wants his kids to understand the importance of working for what they want. He said, "You love your kids. You want to give them everything and do everything for them, but I think you definitely do them a disservice by not connecting [if] you want something that you want, you have to work for that." Affleck shares his three children—Violet, Fin, and Samuel—with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, and says the older two already have jobs, one even working a classic shop gig while navigating college life at Yale. Meanwhile, Samuel is apparently facing a very real crisis: a closet full of shoes, just not the $6,000 kind.

Affleck joked with his son about mowing lawns to earn the hefty sneaker price tag, further driving home his point by saying, “Once you work 1,000 hours at minimum wage, you may not want to spend that on a pair of shoes.”

This tough-love approach isn’t exclusive to Affleck. Marie Osmond made waves by declaring she won’t leave her eight children an inheritance, insisting that handing over a fortune would be a "great disservice." She believes kids need to work for their own success and says she’s planning to have fun spending her hard-earned money herself. However, she does offer some support when truly necessary, like pitching in on a first car—as long as the kids cover half the cost themselves. Osmond’s philosophy is simple: "You don’t love something if you don’t earn it."

Gordon Ramsay is also on board with this no-freebies policy. The world-famous chef gives his kids a modest allowance and matches their savings at Christmas, but says they have to work part-time jobs and save like everyone else. Ramsay has no plans to hand over his fortune, only helping out with a deposit on a flat—not the full property. In classic Ramsay style, he even reveals that while he and his wife fly first class, the kids are relegated to coach. As he puts it, "I worked my f--king a-- off to sit that close to the pilot, and you appreciate it more when you’ve grafted for it."

Guy Fieri is another celebrity dad who’s told his sons not to expect any gifts unless they work for them. Fieri says he’ll only leave his children an inheritance if they graduate from college and get a postgraduate degree—a rule his youngest finds "unfair." When it came time for a first car, Fieri handed over the keys to a 1994 champagne Chrysler minivan, proving that even the sons of TV stars have to earn their stripes (and their rides).

From Affleck’s sneaker showdown to Osmond’s inheritance embargo and Ramsay’s economy-class reality check, these stars are united in teaching their kids that hard work is the real family legacy. There’s something oddly comforting in knowing that even in the land of Hollywood, parents can still say "no"—and mean it.