Daniel Craig is a megastar in Hollywood, married to another acting heavyweight Rachel Weisz. Despite taking home a small fortune for his work in the James Bond franchise, not to mention movies like Knives Out, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, he recently made a surprising statement.
In an interview with Candis magazine, Craig revealed he would not be leaving an inheritance, calling the idea "distasteful."
The actor even suggested he would want to give his money away, suggesting he would have "failed" if he still had millions around him when he died.
He said: "Isn't there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you've failed?
"I think Andrew Carnegie [an American industrialist] gave away what in today's money would be about 11 billion dollars, which shows how rich he was because I'll bet he kept some of it, too!
"But 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."
Craig has two children, the first of whom was with his first wife, Fiona Loudon.
His second child, also a daughter, was born to him and his wife Weisz in 2018, and he also has a stepson from Weisz's previous relationship.
This is not the first time Craig has opened up about inheritances, as he told Saga magazine he felt the same about leaving "vast sums" to his children back in 2020.
He said: "I don't want to leave great sums to the next generation.
"I think inheritance is quite distasteful. My philosophy is to get rid of it or give it away before you go."
In The Sunday Times Rich List 2018, Craig appeared as a joint entry with his wife with a reported wealth of £125 million ($172 million.)
The same rich list placed him and Weisz at £135 million ($185 million) in 2020.
Craig has not been shy about controversial comments in the past, once suggesting he would prefer to "slash my wrists" than do another Bond movie.
Speaking to Time Out after making Spectre, he said of the prospect of returning to the franchise: "Now? I'd rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all.
"That's fine. I'm over it at the moment. We're done. All I want to do is move on."
When asked why he would return, he said: "It would only be for the money." He added that he was not interested in the franchise any further.
Since then, however, another movie was made, though it is still yet to be released in cinemas.
No Time To Die, previously called Bond 25, was supposed to be released back in April 2020, however it was delayed to November due to COVID-19.
After that, the movie was moved once again to April 2021, and then to November 2021.
It will now be released on October 8, 2021 in the U.S.A. after a great many shifts and changes.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
