Guy Fieri's kids are going to have to hit the books if they ever want the keys to Flavortown.
The restauranteur and TV star has told his sons that they'll need to go to grad school if they want to inherit his fortune.
"I told them the same thing my dad told me: 'When I die, you can expect I'm gonna die broke and you're going to be paying for the funeral,'" Fieri told Fox News last week. "And I told my boys 'None of this that I've been building are you gonna get unless you come and take it from me.'"
Fieri, who has more than a dozen establishments in his restaurant empire in addition to his thriving media career, says that his approach to leaving wealth for his kids was inspired by NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.
"Shaq said it best: 'If you want any of this cheese, you've gotta give me two degrees,'" he said. "My two degrees mean postgraduate."
He has already gotten pushback from his youngest son about the policy.
"'Dad, this is so unfair," Fieri said the high school senior said to him. "'I haven't even gone to college yet and you're already pushing that I've gotta get an MBA? Can I just get through college?"
But Fieri, who laughed throughout the interview, didn't seem too concerned.
"They're on their way," he said.
DON'T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!
Get CNBC's free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire's No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do's and don'ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.
