‘I’m going with you’: Shaq reveals why he picked 1 advisor over the rest, now he's worth $500M. Use the same tactic now

Vishesh Raisinghani

Sun, August 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM GMT+3 6 min read

Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

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At the dawn of his career, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal knew he wanted to be unlike any other player. Not just at shooting hoops, but also at managing money. That's why he made the early decision to hire a financial advisor.

In an interview with Graham Bensinger (1), the legendary athlete said many advisor pitches made the same mistake: overpromising.

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"I remember my old timers saying if it's too good to be true, don't do it," he recalled, on a 2023 episode of In Depth. "So I met with a whole bunch of financial advisors. Guys were telling me, 'You're gonna get $40 million on your first contract. Give me the $40 million and I'll turn it into $200 million by the time you're 23.' And I was like 'I don't like this guy.'"

Then one candidate walked in with a very different pitch.

"I met this one little, small, beautiful Jewish man who said, 'I'm into savings bonds. We're gonna put your money away and start a sub-chapter S corporation for your family so you can write things off,' I was like… 'You know what? I'm going with you, sir.'"

That decision seems to have paid off handsomely, with Shaq's current net worth estimated at roughly $500 million by Fortune (2). Here's why the bland can often be best when it comes to personal finance.

Slow and steady

Savings bonds and corporate write-offs are far from glamorous, but when it comes to saving or making money the time-tested and mundane strategy often wins.

The late Nobel laureate economist Paul Samuelson (3) put it bluntly: "Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas."

And there's some data to back that up. Analysis of various studies by CNBC (4) found that the vast majority of day traders lost money. Riding the wave might seem appealing at first, but it's risky. For example, investors in the SpaceX IPO were all underwater as the stock dropped 40% in its first month and dipped below its listing price, according to Futurism (5). At the time of writing, SpaceX stock has slid even lower to about $127 per share following the company's first quarterly earnings report (6).

Simply put, the flashiest and most talked-about investments or financial moves are rarely the ones that make sense. And if an investment advisor or financial planner seems to be pushing something that seems flashy, it's probably worth your skepticism.

Here's how you can use a Shaq-like filter to find the right advisor.

Filters for good advice

Finding the right expert to help you manage your money and taxes is important, but in a world filled with social media influencers, get-rich-quick scam artists and commission-hungry salespeople, finding the right fit isn't easy.

To find good advisors, it's helpful to use two important filters: track-record and fiduciary laws.

Platforms like Moby help you find experts with a long enough track record of good investment advice. Their team consists of former hedge fund analysts who have spent years, if not decades, in the trenches.

In four years, and across almost 400 stock picks, their recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Moby's team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts, and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

If picking stocks yourself feels too much like day trading, you could also automate your investments while building better habits.

With Acorns, you can automatically invest spare change from your everyday purchases into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

For instance, if you buy a donut for $3.25, Acorns will round up the purchase to $4 and invest the change in a smart investment portfolio. So a $3.25 purchase automatically becomes a 75-cent investment in your future.

Another way to find a good advisor is to simply lean on government regulations that are designed to protect investors and savers. Some financial advisors are held to a fiduciary duty, which means they are legally obligated to act in good faith and put their clients' needs ahead of their own, according to Cornell Law School (7).

Advisor.com can help you find such fiduciary financial advisors easily.

Just enter a few details about your finances and goals, and Advisor.com's AI-powered matching tool will connect you with a qualified expert best suited for your needs based on your unique financial goals and preferences. Finally, you can meet with your match on a free call with no obligation to hire to make sure they're right for you — and your game plan — before committing.

With the right co-pilot by your side, you can make money moves with the same confidence as Shaq.

‘I’m going with you’: Shaq reveals why he picked 1 advisor over the rest, now he's worth $500M. Use the same tactic now

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Slow and steady

Filters for good advice

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