Shaquille O’Neal’s “Horrible Mentality” That Built $500 Million Empire Triggers Comedian Despite Noble Intentions

Behind the giant Shaquille O’Neal, there’s a gentle heart that works. The basketball legend is often seen surprising strangers with gifts or buying food for homeless people. But when it comes to his business, he isn’t lenient with those capable, not even himself. However, Shaq’s thought process didn’t impress the famed comedian, who came up with his own hilarious justification.

During a recent segment of The Big Podcast, the 4x NBA champion was asked about the last time he paid for something. In response, the $500 million-rich basketball legend revealed that he always pays for his food, even at his own restaurants. The reason he never eats for free is to ensure that people around him don’t get the wrong idea. 

“I pay all the time because everybody else has to pay. So like all the restaurants I own, I pay. So one of the servers asked me to tell ‘why do you pay for your stuff’. I said ‘because if I come in here and eat free with all my boys, you think it’s okay for you to come in with your boys in you for free,’” O’Neal said.

Shaq owns nearly 200 restaurants (172 as of 2022), across franchises like Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme, and Five Guys (155 reportedly). More recently, he has kept up with the expansion of his chicken fast-food chain, Big Chicken, with approximately 18 locations. Hence, this rule of his helps him remain fair to all staff and people involved in the business and vice versa. 

However, his guest on the show, popular comedian Chico, thought otherwise.

He hilariously explained that no waiter would do such a thing. He joked about how he wouldn’t either; he had an alternative idea instead. “No, they don’t Shaq. That’s a horrible mentality to have. If I’m a waiter at the restaurant, I ain’t bringing nobody in here to try to eat for free, I’mma steal this,” Chico Bean said. While he didn’t mean to actually steal, Shaq couldn’t hold back his laughter. 

Now, this is all too hilarious and odd for the legend who introduced a seemingly unfair rule for his kids.

Shaquille O’Neal’s tax bite in the family 

It’s unsure how often Shaquille O’Neal receives the tax bite or whether he just joked about it. As the main man in the family, the Big Aristotle might have exploited his power a little bit to prank his kids. He uses a tax bite, as per which he gets to take a bite from every family member’s food, leveraging his role. 

While the tax bite may sound a bit hilarious and unfair, practicing it once or twice might have helped Shaq’s kids learn about sharing and modesty. In the Shaq Life show, O’Neal was seen taking a tax bite from his son Shaqir’s food, and when Shaqir said that his father could keep the food, the Los Angeles Lakers legend simply shared that he only wanted a bite. “As the King of the family, you gotta make sure you get a cut,” he said.

However, the millionaire has always explained that he raised his kids by teaching them kindness and the importance of hard work. He even went on to say that his children will only get part of his empire if they work hard for it. His stepson Myles is already a millionaire and has built his own name in the music industry. While Shareef works diligently with Reebok, Amirah also has a job. The youngest are showing their best at college games. So O’Neal is now a proud father and businessman.