You're not getting my money, kid!

File photo: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) meets British actor Luke Treadaway (R) as British actor and comedian Lenny Henry (2nd R) and British actress Jane Horrocks (3rd R) look on during a Reception for the Dramatic Arts.

File photo: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) meets British actor Luke Treadaway (R) as British actor and comedian Lenny Henry (2nd R) and British actress Jane Horrocks (3rd R) look on during a Reception for the Dramatic Arts.

Published May 22, 2015

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London - Lenny Henry has said it is “right” for rich parents to cut their children out of an inheritance so they can learn to “stick up for themselves”.

The actor, 56, praised wealthy stars such as Nigella Lawson, Sting and Simon Cowell who have said they would not be leaving their millions to their offspring.

It is the first hint that Henry will not bequeath his reported £5-million (R91m) fortune to his daughter, Billie, 23.

“Quite a lot of people now do this thing of not giving their children any money,” he said. “There is a thing of not over-privileging your children if you are very, very rich because how are they going to learn? How are they going to learn to stick up for themselves? So it’s probably right.”

Henry made his comments after a screening on Monday of BBC1’s The Syndicate, in which he starred in the story of colleagues who won the lottery.

He was backed by co-star, Anthony Andrews, 67, who said an inheritance “changes their personalities and the way they view the world. It changes their work ethic, it changes everything”.

Henry adopted Billie with former wife, Dawn French, 57, whom he divorced in 2010 after 26 years of marriage.

Other celebrities who have warned their children not to expect a handout include ex-Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Daily Mail

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