As a rock icon, Sting has amassed a fortune that most could only dream of. But he's not going to leave that to his children when he passes.
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Speaking with CBS News Sunday Morning, the rock icon says he doesn't want to leave them his money because telling his kids they "don't have to work" is "a form of abuse that I hope I'm never guilty of." He prefers that they find their own paths in life.
"All of my kids have been blessed with this extraordinary work ethic, whether it's the DNA of it or whether I've said to them, 'Guys, you've got to work. I'm spending our money,' " Sting said. "'I'm paying for your education. You've got shoes on your feet. Go to work.' "
The rock icon insists that he's not trying to be cruel. He's trying to trust them and their own decisions.
"That's not cruel," he said. "I think that's there's there's a kindness there and a trust in them that they will make their own way. They're tough, my kids." It is something that Sting says his children have understood and don't question.
Rock Icon Talks Children
It's not the first time that the rock icon has talked about this. In 2014, he said that he didn't plan to leave them his fortune.
"I certainly don't want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks," he previously said. "They have to work. All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate.... They have the work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit."
Sting has six children in total, all adults in their own right now. He's very proud of what they've accomplished.
"My kids are fiercely independent," Sting said. "They're not sitting there waiting for a handout at all, and I wouldn't want to rob them of that adventure in life: to make your own living."
"It's a wonderful and difficult thing to do," Sting also said. "So I haven't promised them anything. I'll obviously help them if they're in trouble, but they're not waiting for a handout. They're too independent."
