{"id":652370,"date":"2026-05-06T21:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/652370\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:44:14","slug":"sting-says-his-children-will-not-inherit-his-fortune-urges-them-to-work-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/652370\/","title":{"rendered":"Sting says his children will not inherit his fortune, urges them to work – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Police frontman Sting<\/a> says he won\u2019t be leaving his six children an inheritance.<\/p>\n

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During an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning<\/a>, the 74-year-old singer laughed when he was asked if he planned to leave his children his estimated US$550-million fortune.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of my kids have been blessed with this extraordinary work ethic, whether it\u2019s the DNA of it or whether I\u2019ve said to them, \u2018Guys, you got to work. I\u2019m spending our money. I\u2019m paying for your education. You\u2019ve got shoes on your feet. Go to work,’\u201d Sting told journalist Mark Phillips.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not cruel. I think there\u2019s a kindness there and a trust that they will make their own way. They\u2019re tough, my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI think the worst thing you can do to a kid is to say, \u2018You don\u2019t have to work.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a form of abuse that I hope I\u2019m never guilty of.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Phillips asked the\u00a0Roxanne singer if his children ever show frustration with his philosophy and ask him for money.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not to my face, they don\u2019t,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe working class works and wants to work. I\u2019m one of those people; I love to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sting shares two children with ex-wife actress Frances Tomelty: Joe Sumner, 49, and Fuschia Sumner, 44. He also shares four children with his wife, Trudie Styler: Mickey Sumner, 42, Jake Sumner, 40, Eliot Sumner, 35, and Giacomo Sumner, 30.<\/p>\n

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During his interview<\/a>, Sting was asked if it bugs him when fans shout out\u00a0Roxanne\u00a0or\u00a0Message In A Bottle, two of the Police\u2019s top hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m delighted to sing\u00a0Roxanne\u00a0every night. My job is to sing a song I may have written 45 years ago with the same curiosity about it that I had the morning I wrote it,\u201d Sting said.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t @cbssundaymorning<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cI always find something different\u201d: Music superstar @Sting, now starring in \u201cThe Last Ship,\u201d a musical production he wrote, tells Mark Phillips that he never gets tired of singing his classic hits, like \u201cRoxanne\u201d and \u201cMessage in a Bottle.\u201d More from their conversation airs Sunday. #sting<\/a> #roxanne<\/a> #messageinabottle<\/a> #thepolice<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound \u2013 CBS Sunday Morning<\/a> <\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Sting has spoken out about the possibility of not leaving his children his fortune.<\/p>\n

In a 2014 interview with the Mail on Sunday<\/a>, the Every Breathe You Take\u00a0singer said, \u201cI certainly don\u2019t want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to work. All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Sting said he\u2019d be willing to intervene if any of his children were in trouble, but the situation has not arisen where he\u2019s had to.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, if they were in trouble I would help them, but I\u2019ve never really had to do that,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey have this work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit. People make assumptions, that they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but they have not been given a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also spoke about his six children in a 2020 interview with People<\/a>, saying, \u201cMy kids are fiercely independent. They\u2019re not sitting there waiting for a handout at all, and I wouldn\u2019t want to rob them of that adventure in life: to make your own living.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful and difficult thing to do,\u201d Sting told the outlet at the time. \u201cSo I haven\u2019t promised them anything. I\u2019ll obviously help them if they\u2019re in trouble, but they\u2019re not waiting for a handout. They\u2019re too independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sting joins a long list of celebrities who have shared their thoughts on leaving their children an inheritance.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Anderson Cooper<\/a> said he doesn\u2019t \u201cbelieve in passing on huge amounts of money\u201d during an interview on Air Mail\u2019s podcast, Morning Meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll have. I\u2019m not that interested in money, but I don\u2019t intend to have some sort of pot of gold for my son,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll go with what my parents said, which is, \u2018College will be paid for, and then you gotta get on it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI grew up watching money being lost and knowing it was being lost,\u201d he added. \u201cFrom a very young age, I was very aware of, \u2018This is not me. This is something my mom has\u2019 or \u2018This is money my mom has, but it\u2019s not money I\u2019m going to have and I need to forge my own way.’\u201d<\/p>\n

He also told Howard Stern in 2014<\/a> that he doesn\u2019t \u201cbelieve in inheriting money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom\u2019s made it clear to me that there\u2019s no trust fund. There\u2019s none of that\u2026. I think it\u2019s an initiative sucker,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n

NBA legend Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a> has also been candid on the inheritance topic.<\/p>\n

In 2021, he told finance podcast Earn Your Leisure<\/a>\u00a0that he doesn\u2019t plan on any sort of financial handouts for his children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids are older now. They\u2019re kind of upset with me. Not really upset, but they don\u2019t understand. I tell them all the time, \u2018We ain\u2019t rich. I\u2019m rich,’\u201d O\u2019Neal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta have bachelor\u2019s or master\u2019s [degrees], and then if you want me to invest in one of your companies, you\u2019re going to have to present it, boom boom boom, bring it to me. I\u2019ll let you know, I\u2019m not giving you nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n