Sting has six kids. He has two children with his ex-wife, Frances Tomelty, and four with his current wife, Trudie Styler. They are all between the ages of 30 and 49. In 2014, Sting mentioned that he wanted all of his kids to have a good work ethic and didn’t want to leave them big trust funds that would become “albatrosses around their necks.” He told People in 2020 that they were all financially independent.
Last week, Sting had more to say about his children’s financial situations. While promoting the international tour for his musical, The Last Ship, Sting elaborated on his decision to not leave his money to his kids. He wants them to work for a living and make their own way without his money or influence.
Sting is still supporting his kids, but without giving them unlimited funds. The singer, 74, laughed when CBS News Sunday Morning asked if he still plans on not leaving his fortune to his children. He then said he always intended for them to find their own way in the world.
Sting, whose real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, explained to journalist Mark Phillips that he felt that telling children they “don’t have to work” is “a form of abuse that I hope I’m never guilty of.”
“All of my kids have been blessed with this extraordinary work ethic, whether it’s the DNA of it or whether I’ve said to them, ‘Guys, you’ve got to work. I’m spending our money,’ ” Sting continued. “‘I’m paying for your education. You’ve got shoes on your feet. Go to work.’ ”
“That’s not cruel,” the “Every Breath You Take” singer said. “I think that there’s a kindness there and a trust in them that they will make their own way. They’re tough, my kids.”
When Phillips asked if his kids ever grow frustrated with this philosophy and ask him for more money, he replied, “No, not to my face, they don’t.”
I really like Sting’s reasoning behind not wanting to turn his children into trust fund babies. He worked hard to get where he is and wants more for his kids than to just live off their mega-successful dad’s money. I also don’t think that’s cruel at all. He’s not even saying that he doesn’t want his kids to be nepo babies. He’s just saying that he wants them to do more than sit around and spend his money.
That said, an industry insider sent us a tip last week that Sting’s kids have been spending all of his money anyway, as has Trudie. I wonder if they’ve been doing this all along or if his 2014 public declaration put them in enough of a panic that they decided to live by the old “If you don’t use [your daddy’s hard-earned wealth], you lose it” mantra. I hope that Sting’s wised up over the last however-many years and has started to protect his money.
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