Shaq Was Asked Best Way To Preserve A Sudden Lump Sum Of Money. He Said, ‘Learn The Word Annuity’ — But Most People Think They’re Scammy
September 16, 2025 by Jeannine Mancini
Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about crediting others for his playbook. “I was a thief,” he said in a December interview on the “School of Hard Knocks” YouTube channel with host and co-founder James Dumoulin. “You see somebody that’s doing better than you and you would like to aspire to be them — steal what they’re doing.” For Shaq, that meant studying Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Muhammad Ali.
Wink’s Moore on the Market: I don’t know why these lead gen companies love to use the Shaq/annuity connection over and over. I don’t get tired of it, but it makes me wonder if people think that Shaq is the only celebrity that owns annuities. (He isn’t.)
Why an ‘educational” article about annuities, would suggest one visit the Reddit, Inc. thread r/CFP is lost on me. There is a widely-communicated bias against annuities with a large number CFPs.
The example of the 34-year old that purchased an annuity is outrageous. No one mentioned that this was a 403(b) annuity, which is marketed vastly different from the typical presentation for the average 66-year old that purchases annuities.
“Sure, annuities can be clunky, expensive, and sometimes mis-sold.”
Isn’t that a possibility with houses? Cars? SHOES?!?
And anyone have any experience with the Range tools that were referenced at the end of this article? Given that it is a “wealth management” platform, I am skeptical of it mentioning annuities when appropriate.
Come on guys…we must do better. -sjm
