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Home / Entertainment

Surprising way Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis plan to spend their fortunes

By Alexis Carey
news.com.au·
11 Nov, 2019 04:00 PM4 mins to read

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In a recent podcast epidote of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert Kutcher said he would not set up trust funds for his kids. Audio / Armchair Expert. Photo / AP

Hollywood megastar Ashton Kutcher and wife Mila Kunis are among a growing list of celebrities who plan on giving away their fortune instead of passing it onto their kids.

The famous couple married in July 2015 and share two children, daughter Wyatt Isabelle Kutcher, 5, and son Dimitri Portwood Kutcher, 3.

But in an episode of fellow actor Dax Shepard's hit podcast Armchair Expert, Kutcher said he would not set up trust funds for his kids, according to MarketWatch's Mitch Tuchman, reports news.com.au.

"My kids are living a really privileged life, and they don't even know it," the Dude, Where's My Car? star said on the program.

"And they'll never know it because this is the only one that they'll know.

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"I'm not setting up a trust for them. We'll end up giving our money away to charity and to various things."

The 41-year-old went on to explain that while he would consider investing in his children's potential business plans in the years to come, he refused to hand them piles of cash for no reason.

But he said he wouldn't treat them differently to any other business pitch he happened to hear.

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"If my kids want to start a business, and they have a good business plan, I'll invest in it. But they're not getting trusts," he said.

View this post on Instagram

My love and I gave @datenightvip a trial run. I think you are in for something special! We have a few openings tonight and tomorrow night in LA. Link in bio.

A post shared by Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) on Apr 12, 2019 at 2:50pm PDT

"So, hopefully, they'll be motivated to have what they had or some version of what they had."

Kutcher, who first met Kunis on the set of That 70s Show, has an estimated net worth of $US200 million ($314m) thanks to his successful acting career as well as his investment in a number of tech start-ups via his venture capital firm A-Grade Investments.

Meanwhile, Kunis has a reported net worth of $US65 million ($102m).

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The couple plan to leave the bulk of their wealth to several charitable organisations, including anti-sex trafficking causes Kutcher is a vocal supporter of.

They join a number of fellow elites who refuse to hand their entire wealth to their children, including Bill and Melinda Gates and Gordon and Tana Ramsay.

FRUGAL COUPLE

However, it's not the first time Kutcher and Kunis have made headlines over the unconventional way they handle their wealth and privilege.

In a 2017 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kunis said she and her husband had introduced a "no presents for the kids" Christmas rule, claiming over-gifting was "too much" and led to ingratitude.

"The kid (Wyatt) no longer appreciates the one gift. They don't even know what they're expecting; they're just expecting stuff," she said.

View this post on Instagram

Night out with the wife

A post shared by Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) on Mar 4, 2018 at 8:20pm PST

She explained the children's grandparents were allowed to offer one gift per child, but charity was an important family focus.

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"We'd like to take a charitable donation like to a children's hospital, whatever you want," she said.

And in 2015, Kunis told Conan the pair had skipped the pricey jewellery designers to purchase their wedding rings from online design marketplace Etsy for US$90 ($142).

DAMIAN HURLEY

Earlier this year, it was revealed actress Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian would also miss out on an inheritance from his wealthy father – for a very different reason.

While Kunis and Kutcher have made their choice in a bid to prevent their children from becoming spoiled, Damian Hurley has been embroiled in a nasty legal battle.

He was born in 2002 after his Austin Powers actress mother had a brief fling with US businessman Steve Bing.

Mr Bing has an estimated net worth of $US600 million ($A853 million), with the bulk of his fortune coming from his grandfather, New York real estate baron Leo S. Bing.

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But despite that staggering wealth, the 17-year-old's grandfather, Dr Peter Bing, is now trying to prevent Damian from getting his hands on the multimillion-dollar family trust.

Dr Bing has argued that Damian and his dad have never met, and the teen isn't eligible to become a Bing heir as he was "born out of wedlock".

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