Ben Affleck refused to buy his 13-year-old son $6,000 sneakers: 'You have to work for that'

CNBC

25-04-2025

After more than 40 years as a successful Hollywood actor, director and producer, Ben Affleck can afford pretty much whatever he wants. But the Oscar winner is quick to remind his kids that his millions aren't theirs to spend.
In an appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Friends, the 52-year-old father talked about the viral clip of him and his son at a sneaker convention. In the video, Affleck's 13-year-old son picked up a pair of Dior Air Jordan 1 sneakers — with a whopping $6,000 price tag — Affleck was quick to let him know that he wouldn't be the one paying.
"That's a lot of lawns you've gotta mow there," Affleck told his son at the time. "You just like those because they're expensive."
Affleck told Jenna Bush Hager that by telling his son he'd need to do chores to earn the money to buy those shoes, he was trying to teach him a lesson.
"Listen, you love your kids and you want to give them everything and do everything for them," he said. "But I think you do them a disservice by not [communicating that] if you want something, you have to work for that."
"My son who's 13 is reckoning with that reality as he looks at no shoes in his closet," he continued. "He's got shoes, but no crazy expensive fancy shoes. I'm like, 'Well, if you want that, you can work 1,000 hours. And once you've worked that, you might not want to spend it on a pair of sneakers.'"
The "Air" star added that his two oldest children are currently working, with one having just landed "that kind of classic teenager working at a shop job."
Despite earning as much as $55 million a year as recently as 2020, Affleck still remembers grinding to make ends meet as a struggling actor early in his career. As a teenager, he shared a joint bank account with pal Matt Damon which the two would use to pay for auditions.
"We would work a little bit — do extra work, do a line here or there, the occasional Burger King commercial — and then take that money and put it in the account," he said in 2023.
Affleck isn't the only rich and famous dad telling his kids they have to work for their money. NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal has also told his children that his millions aren't theirs for the taking.
"My most famous rule is, in order to touch any of my cheese, you have to present me two degrees," he said in 2018. "As a father, I'm not going to give them handouts. They have to get a bachelor's and a master's."