Guy Fieri’s Son Tried to Negotiate His Way Out of Inheritance Rule

Guy Fieri may have a $100 million contract with Food Network, but that hasn’t changed the celebrity chef’s rule regarding his children’s future inheritance.

“If you want this cheese, you got to get two degrees,” he told them, borrowing a quote from the NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

But Fieri, who recently sat down with Business Insider to discuss his new flavors with Waterloo Sparkling Water, said that “everybody’s taking me to the bank on this one.”

Fieri’s eldest son, Hunter, 28, is set to graduate with an MBA from the University of Miami in May. And his 26-year-old nephew Jules, whom Fieri has helped raise since his sister died in 2011, recently graduated from the law program at Loyola Marymount University.

“Poor Ryder is just finishing his freshman year at San Diego State University,” Fieri said of his youngest son, who’s 19. “The boys rib him all the time. They’re like: ‘You know, we’re done. You still have to go finish college and go get your postgraduate.'”

Fieri said his son Ryder had tried to negotiate his way out of their arrangement.

“He’s like: ‘Dad, come on, give me a break. How about if I get great grades the whole time?'” Fieri recalled with a laugh.

The celebrity chef said he was passing down lessons his father taught him.

“It’s a thing that my dad said to me when I was a kid. He said, ‘When I die, I’m leaving you nothing except a funeral bill,'” Fieri said. “It’s a joke because my dad already gave me everything. My dad gave me an education. My dad gave me awareness. My dad gave me the tools of life. It was very clear at a very young age that I was going to have to go make it on my own.”

“And these boys all know that I’m going to back them up and be there for them and help them out,” Fieri added. “But I told them: ‘You’ve got to go do this. You’ve got to go stake your claim and go figure out what you’re going to do.'”

It’s something Fieri instilled in his children from a young age, even making them drive his dad’s old truck when they were in high school.

“Hunter went to a private school, and all the kids at his school drove Range Rovers, Corvettes, Mercedes, and here’s Hunter in a 1990 green Chevy pickup,” Fieri recalled.

Hunter saved money for a new truck by washing dishes while working his way up at one of Fieri’s restaurants. Then, the 1990 green Chevy pickup was passed down to Jules.

“By the time Ryder got his license and needed something to drive, the green truck’s dead,” Fieri said. “So Ryder is positioning and said, ‘Maybe I could drive one of your trucks.'”

But Fieri wasn’t letting his youngest son off the hook.

“We bring everybody together for Ryder’s 16th birthday, and we give him the key,” Fieri said. “He hits the button, and it’s my parents’ old champagne-colored minivan.”

“Ryder said: ‘No way. There’s no way I’m driving that,'” he continued. “And I said, ‘Then ride your bike.'”

Ryder works for San Diego State’s basketball team when he’s not in classes, while Hunter is helping his dad on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and “Guy’s Grocery Games.” While on set, Fieri said, he had everybody taste his new Waterloo flavors — Lemon Italian Ice, Huckleberry Cobbler, and Spiced Mango — as he developed the recipes.

Though Ryder still has many years of education ahead of him, Fieri said everyone was looking forward to a “big graduation” reward this summer in honor of Hunter and Jules’ recent accomplishments.

“The whole family, we’re all going to Italy!” Fieri said.