Shaq explains the key difference between being rich and wealthy — with a $500 million fortune to prove it

Financial advice can be beneficial but there's a bit too much of it in this age of information and that can be pretty confusing instead of being helpful. But you know that a piece of advice can be trusted when it comes from somebody who has earned quite a lot of money themselves. Back in 2019, Shaquille O’Neal made an appearance on Yahoo Finance's show "On The Move," where revealed the money advice that really stuck with him his entire life. He specifically highlighted the difference between being rich and being wealthy. 

He revealed that the piece of advice that changed his outlook toward money came from a celebrity business manager Lester Knispel. "He had a piece of paper and said: 'This is $100' — [then] ripped it in half," Shaq said. "He said: 'You save $50, you can play [with] the other $50. But the difference between rich and wealthy is you rip the $50 in half and with the $25, you can do whatever you want. But with that other $25, you save it.'"

He then says how he didn't touch his first check until he got married and had children. "So Lester Knispel, thank you for that advice," he added. He also talked about how people shouldn't run after quick money-making schemes. "Every time I made an investment based on thinking I was going to double or triple or quadruple my money, I lost every time. Every time I just took my time, did my due diligence, did my research, thought about it… My first major investment was Google," Shaq said. 

He also talked about learning by looking at people who have made it big. "I’d just look at what everyone else was doing, Jeff Bezos and a lot of other entrepreneurs and I would just try to follow their style," he said. This doesn't mean that Shaq doesn't spend on things that he likes. Back in 2017, he narrated a story about the time when he was only 20 and spent $1 million in a day after signing an endorsement deal with a trading card company. He reportedly bought Three Mercedes-Benz cars, one for himself, and one each for his parents. Shaq added, "I’ve gotta go do what all the homeboys do — gotta buy rings and diamonds and earrings and this and that."

Talking about his reckless spending habits, the former NBA star said, "So, I was just writing checks. I was buying TVs. I was just buying stuff I didn’t even need. So after that, I said, ‘You know what? I need to get a business manager,'" but admitted how he has since managed all of these. Having said that, he still cannot resist a good car deal. The retired American basketball player, host, and entrepreneur has a net worth of $500 million, according to Marca. Drafted as one of the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic in 1992, Shaq quickly catapulted to success and made a name for himself. However, it was only in 1996 that he started building his legacy as a player while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.