Despite $400 Million, Shaquille O’Neal Avoided A $5000 Donation While On ‘Hot Ones’

Shaquille O’Neal has been quite the generous man with his reported $400 million net worth over the years. He accumulated his wealth through a series of savvy investments and endorsements, mastering the art of passive income while still playing in the NBA. 

So, despite having earned hundreds of millions of dollars through mere contracts in the NBA, he knew that that well would eventually dry up if he kept living the lifestyle that he lived after he retired. Him delving into everything from the fast-food industry to owning 24-Hour fitness centers was all a part of him trying to achieve a certain level of wealth where he wouldn’t ever have to work again. 

His job as an analyst on ‘Inside the NBA’ isn’t one that fuels his lifestyle, rather, it is one that brings him joy. The fact that he makes millions a year from it helps but he gets on set because he’s surrounded by friends like Chuck, Kenny, and Ernie.

Also read: “I had orders from the great Bill Russell”: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Squashed Their Beef Thanks to Unlikely Intervention Celtics Legend

Shaquille O’Neal avoids paying up $5000 to Sean Evans 

Shaquille O’Neal going on the YouTube show ‘Hot Ones’ is one of the most viewed episodes of the show and rightfully so. Shaq’s jovial nature mixed in with him having difficulty eating extremely spicy chicken wings makes for peak entertainment. 

Towards the end of the show, Shaq challenges Evans to a free throw contest on a baby basketball hoop. The goal is to hit as many as you can from behind a chair in 5 tires. If Sean were to beat ‘the Big Aristotle’, the latter would have to donate $5000 to any charity of Sean’s choosing. 

Shaq being 7’1 and having an enormous wingspan, found a loophole where he could nearly drop the ball into the hoop while leaning over the chair. This led to him making 4 out of 5 shots. Sean would make 3 out of 5, missing out on a $5000 donation from Shaq.

Shaq’s charitable actions 

Shaquille O’Neal has never shied away from giving back. He has openly admitted that he would go to supermarkets or electronics stores and look for mothers with children and buy them anything that they needed for themselves just to help out in anyway he could. 

He’s also an incredible tipper, having tipped hundreds and thousands of dollars at restaurants on a multitude of occasions. He’s donated millions to charities and gives away amounts like $15,000 and $35,000 to any organizations that he believes in.

Also read: WATCH: 252 lbs Charles Barkley Leaves 170 lbs Kenny Smith in the Dust to the Board, Shaquille O’Neal Goes Insane