Anthony Anderson’s mother didn’t raise no fool. The Black-ish actor spoke at “Correcting My Financial Course” at the ESSENCE Fest 2017 to delve into personal finance, generational wealth and investing.
Having been in the industry for two decades, the comedic actor knows the harsh realities of a business that never guarantees continuous work. “You can’t continue to give away your money,” he said about family members asking for money. “You can’t be a Robin Hood to the hood.”
Anderson even had to draw the line with his own mother, breaking down the math of what it cost to give her large amounts of money.
“You know, it’s great to want to and take care of your friends and take care of your family, but that gets you nowhere,” he said. “I love my mother, I would do anything for my mother, and my mother always told me when I was growing up she didn’t raise a fool. So my mother at times would ask me for 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars at a time. And there came a point where I had to shut that off. And I had to say ‘no’. And she didn’t understand that and I was like, ‘Well mom, you didn’t raise a fool.'”
Adding, “I taught her about finance. I was like, ‘Look, you’re asking me for 50 thousand dollars. It takes me to make a 100 thousand to give you 50.’ That’s the reality of it. ‘I have to make 100 to get taxed on that, just to give you 50. So essentially, I’m giving you a 100 thousand dollars. That’s what you don’t understand.’ And I had to break it down to her like that.”
With love, Anderson educated his mother on how his stream of money comes in and why he has to be cautious about splitting the pie too thin.
“It’s not just me making this money. You know, I have an agent, I have a manager, I have a lawyer, I have a business manager. Everyone takes a piece of the pie.”
In the end, it’s about being smart about money to eventually provide for himself and those same family members asking for quick cash, in the long run.