Shaq moved his dad from a $60K Army salary to $500K a year — and gave his mom $750K. Here's how it's legal

Shaq moved his dad from a $60K Army salary to $500K a year — and gave his mom $750K. Here's how it's legal

Danni Santana

Thu, September 17, 2026 at 1:35 PM GMT+3 4 min read

Shaquille O'Neal has built a significant business empire, estimated at upwards of $500 million, since his days dominating opposing centers in the NBA.

Better known as "Shaq," O'Neal achieved this through early strategic investments in tech companies such as Ring, Apple, Lyft and Google, as well as an expansive franchise portfolio — predominantly in restaurants.

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His restaurant portfolio includes roughly 50 locations, including his flagship Big Chicken chain that he launched in 2018. O'Neal even owns a number of Papa John's locations and a Krispy Creme in Atlanta, which in 2019 he called his favorite investment.

At one time, he also owned 155 Five Guys franchises and 17 Auntie Anne's Pretzels stores before exiting to fund other ventures.

Beyond restaurants, O'Neal owns about 150 car washes and roughly three dozen 24 Hour Fitness gyms. He additionally serves as a brand ambassador for companies like Papa John's, The General Auto Insurance, Carvana and IcyHot. Not to mention, the basketball hall of famer is a prominent part of ESPN's "Inside the NBA" coverage as an analyst during the season.

Combined, both his business acumen and aforementioned ventures has helped him surpass his career $292 million earnings as a player.

Why Shaq put his parents on the payroll

Shaq's investment strategy is largely predicated on funding companies whose products he regularly interacts with or have a chance to change people's lives. But he first learned about business by educating himself.

He said on a 2023 episode of the Drink Champs podcast that anyone wanting to learn about business or a field they're interested in should start by doing just that.

"Now when I say educate yourself, it ain't about going to school and getting your degree," he said. "I learned about business, not from college. I learned about business from a book called the 'Dummies Guide to Start Your Own Business.'"

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After reading the book, O'Neal said the first thing he did was incorporate Shaq, Inc. He also put his mom and dad on salary to run his fan club after he was drafted into the NBA and gave them a workspace to operate from. He recalled his father at first being adamant that he wanted to continue working at an Army base.

"How much you make in the army?" O'Neal said. "'I only make $60,000.' Now you make half a million a year. 'What?' He started crying. Mom, how much you wanna make? You make $750,000 a year."

What Shaq did is perfectly legal

When O'Neal incorporated his Shaq brand, he gave his parents real jobs with responsibilities and an office to work from, which made their positions valid in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. His parents' entire salaries could then be claimed as a tax deductible because they are deemed necessary business expenses.

The IRS also offers a key tax benefit for parents employed by their child, though the reverse (a parent employing their child), is typically more fortuitous in terms of tax savings.

Nevertheless, if a child's business is a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship, wages paid to a parent are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes, but not federal unemployment tax (FUTA) — which helps states and federal government fund unemployment benefits.

If the business is a corporation, partnership or an estate, the parent is not exempt from any taxes, according to the IRS, although the owner can still deduct their salaries as necessary expenses on their corporate tax return.

No matter the tax situation, children hiring their parents as employees must keep payroll records, pay market rate for the roles created and have job descriptions ready to present to the IRS, in addition to signed employment agreements and proof of work performed. Otherwise, it could lead to speculation of tax evasion, which could then lead to an audit.

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Shaq moved his dad from a $60K Army salary to $500K a year — and gave his mom $750K. Here's how it's legal

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