“Just Left $100 Under the Plate”: Shaquille O’Neal’s Generosity While Tipping Floored Sebastian Maniscalco

It’s no secret that Shaquille O’Neal likes to give back to the community as much as possible. Still, it’s always endearing whenever a new story of Shaq’s generosity surfaces. Recently, actor and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco appeared on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast, where he recalled his encounter with Shaq when he used to work as a server at Four Seasons.

Maniscalco revealed that in his experience, the big fella was the best tipper out of all his celebrity customers. During his shift at Four Seasons, spotting Shaq sitting there alone at a table on Sundays was a common occurrence. The 50-year-old said, “Shaq’s the best. Shaq coming in on a Sunday, by himself, walk through the bar. He used to sit by himself.”

He also revealed that the NBA legend would order a fruit plate and coffee. Because Shaq was a literal giant, Maniscalco used to serve him coffee in a big cappuccino cup. The veteran comedian said that the big man never asked for the check when he was done with his meal, “[Shaq] Just left $100 under the plate every time.”

Shaq’s generosity knows no limits and we have heard several stories of him living up to his moniker, Shaq-A-Claus. Be it helping families out by buying appliances for them or simply donating thousands of dollars to the ones in need, the big man surely knows how to make good use of his immense wealth. While often its other people who tell his stories most often, the man himself also likes to sometimes acknowledge that he is the best in the business.

Shaquille O’Neal once tipped $4000 after a meal

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live a few years ago, Shaq talked about how he decides how much to tip someone. He said that he sets the ground rule by telling the servers that the quicker he’ll get his orders, the higher the tip will be. One can imagine the treatment that the big fella receives once he adds an incentive for the people working at his favorite restaurants. When asked about the highest amount he has ever tipped, Shaq said, “The most someone said was $4000, and I said, okay, no problem.”

For someone with a net worth of $400 million, $4000 may not be that much money. However, it is to the server who received the amount. Shaq’s generosity often freaks people out because for most people in the world, that’s a pretty big amount to give out just to show appreciation for someone’s work.