Billionaire Tyler Perry reveals why he fired his aunt and financially cut off family members: I'm not ‘welfare'

New York Post

4 days ago

Tyler Perry is keeping his (credit) cards close to his chest.
The media mogul, who amassed a net worth upwards of $1.4 billion, revealed that he doesn't believe in providing family members with handouts.
What's more, the Hollywood filmmaker said that he once went so far as to fire his aunt from a job because she didn't take it seriously enough.
4 Tyler Perry revealed that he doesn't believe in providing family members with handouts.
YouTube / Kirk Franklin
Perry detailed his firm stance on finances during an appearance on YouTube series 'Den of Kings,' saying that the unidentified relative would always ask for money.
'She said she wanted a job. She would always call asking for money, I would send her the money,' he told host Kirk Franklin and fellow guests Derrick Hayes and Jay 'Jeezy' Jenkins.
'I said, 'Listen, I want to help you. I want to help you build this thing, not be welfare to you. So, let me give you a job.''
But the 'Madea Goes to Jail' star said his aunt was constantly calling off sick, which forced him to put his foot down.
''Well, you gotta go,'' he recalled telling her. 'Because you want me to hand you the money, but you don't want to work for it. See, that doesn't work for me.'
Perry, who was recently slapped with a $250M sexual assault suit, admitted that he has adopted a similar approach when raising his 10-year-old son, Aman.
'I don't believe in giving us things that are just going to handicap us,' he shared. 'That is the worst thing you can do.'
4 The Hollywood filmmaker has amassed a net worth upwards of $1.4 billion.
Tyler Perry / Facebook
The director said that he sent letters to family members that his mother had asked him to help out with financially after she died in 2009.
In the letter, he told his family members they had 60 days to get a job.
'I'm not going to keep supporting you like that,' he told them, adding that all family members ended up finding employment.
'And it wasn't even, like, jobs where they made a lot of money, but it was a job,' he said. 'It was something else for them to do, feel some pride in. That's the same thing I would want someone to do for me.'
4 Tyler Perry pictured with his late mom, Maxine (right) and aunt, Mayola.
FilmMagic
Perry currently boasts a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. He owns 100% of the projects he creates, with his most successful franchise to date, 'Madea,' grossing over $660 million.
It's not the first time Perry had opened up about his parenting choices.
During an appearance on 'The Sherri Shepherd Show' in December 2024, the filmmaker revealed that his son only gets 'books and Legos' for Christmas, and that the pair fly coach.
'He was complaining once, this was about five years ago, he was complaining about flying commercial because the lines were so long,' he shared.
Perry said that he and Aman's mother, Gelila Bekele, came to a mutual agreement that their child would be flying commercial from then on out.
4 Perry owns 100% of the projects he creates, with his most successful franchise to date, 'Madea,' grossing over $660 million.
Chip Bergman
'So he understands, I worked, he did not. So when he works, he can learn that lesson,' he said.
'He's not gonna be one of those ridiculously spoiled rich kids, I can't stand that. He ain't got no money.'