Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: ‘Your character will take you further than your resume’

The 54-year-old former NBA star has amassed an estimated net worth of roughly $500 million, but he just earned his fourth school diploma; This time, a grasp of arts in liberal arts from Louisiana State University (LSU).

And his recommendation to Gen Z is easy: studying does not finish with a diploma.

“Never stop learning,” O’Neal instructed graduates during the LSU commencement ceremony earlier this week. “I’m proud of you all today, but this is not the end of your journey. Make sure you continue to strive, continue to learn, continue to have fun.”

In Shaq vogue, he ended the message with a plug for his sweet model, encouraging college students to “continue to eat Shackalicious gummies at your local 7-Eleven and all the other stores.”

But the joke underscored a bigger level: O’Neal has constructed a enterprise empire that stretches far past basketball, turning his private model into a sprawling portfolio of investments, shopper merchandise, and even a fried chicken chain. Despite his success, he mentioned skilled achievement in the end comes right down to one thing much less tangible than credentials.

“Your character will take you further than your resume,” O’Neal mentioned. “Continue to be kind. Continue to be humble. Continue to help those in need.”

Along the best way, I’ve leveled that failure is inevitable—and it will make you a stronger particular person.

“Youngsters, before you succeed, you must first learn to fail,” he added. “But in the words of the great Shaquille O’Neal, use failure as motivation. It’s a small percentage of people that accomplish things on the first try. Most of us regular people have to go again, again, again, and again.”

As his net value climbed, O’Neal wanted to know learn how to handle his cash

O’Neal’s newest diploma marks the end result of a decades-long training journey that started lengthy earlier than he grew to become considered one of basketball’s greatest stars.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, and partially raised in San Antonio, Texas, the 7-foot-1 phenom emerged as one of many nation’s high highschool basketball prospects earlier than enrolling at LSU. But like many elite athletes, he left earlier than ending his diploma, declaring for the 1992 NBA draft. The Orlando Magic chosen him with the No. 1 total decide.

Even after turning professional, O’Neal remained decided to complete what he began. While enjoying for the Los Angeles Lakers, he returned to LSU and accomplished a bachelor’s diploma generally research in 2000, with a minor in political science.

“I’m the first graduate from LSU to graduate in crayon biology,” O’Neal joked at the time. “I’m excited about it, it gives me something to fall back on. You need your stamp to prove you’re an educated man; I’m an educated man. The money’s always nice, you need an education to manage your money.”

But he did not cease there. O’Neal continued pursuing training as a strategy to sharpen his enterprise instincts and develop his alternatives past the court docket. In 2005, I accomplished an online MBA from the University of Phoenix. Seven years later, he graduated with a doctorate in training specializing in organizational studying and management from Barry University in Miami.

With his latest diploma, he sought to be taught extra about sports activities psychology management. Housed inside LSU’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences, the program requires college students to take two obligatory basis programs: “Methods of Inquiry” and “Themes and Commonalities” together with round 30 credit score hours of interdisciplinary coursework. For his capstone, O’Neal explored athlete mentorship in a thesis titled, “Interdisciplinary Approach to Mentorship through the lens of the epic poem ‘The Odyssey.’”

O’Neal has additionally put cash behind his perception in training. In 2024, he backed Campus, a web-based neighborhood school startup supported by traders together with Sam Altman.

“I heard Jeff Bezos say, if you invest in things that’s going to change people’s lives, you’ll always get a great return on your investment,” O’Neal told Fortune on the time. “But this particular investment is not about great return because I feel that everyone should have access to world-class education.”

Just like O’Neal, Steven Spielberg and Megan Thee Stallion opted to return to highschool

While it might appear uncommon for somebody with O’Neal’s wealth and success to return to the classroom, a rising listing of celebrities and enterprise leaders have gone again to acquire levels lengthy after launching high-profile careers.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion had began her increased training journey at Prairie View A&M. But as her fame posting freestyle movies took off, she dropped out. Years later, she reenrolled—this time at Texas Southern University—and graduated in December 2021 with a diploma in well being administration.

“Don’t get discouraged!” she wrote in 2021. “You can chase your dreams and your education at the same time.”

Even Hollywood royalty has taken the lengthy path to commencement.

Billionaire movie director Steven Spielberg He initially dropped out of faculty at California State University, Long Beach within the Sixties—opting as an alternative to start his profession as a producer. However, years later—in 2002—he returned to the college to complete what he had began.

“Most people go to college for an education, and some go for their parents, but I went for my kids,” he mentioned in 2016 at Harvard’s commencement addressreflecting on his academic profession. “I’m the father of seven, and I kept insisting on the importance of going to college — but I hadn’t walked the walk. So, in my fifties, I re-enrolled at Cal State — Long Beach, and I earned my degree.”