Shaquille O’Neal has enough money to hire a private chef, dine at Michelin-starred restaurants every night, and snack on gold-dusted truffles if he really wanted to. But he’s not chasing foie gras and fig reductions.
He may be worth half a billion, but his palate is still planted firmly in the drive-thru. During a 2022 appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Shaq waved off the fine-dining lifestyle with a shrug and a line that couldn’t have been more on-brand:
“I don’t like rich people food,” he said. “Like hors d’oeuvres.”
“Us regular people, we like chicken wings.”
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He followed it up with the kind of menu only Shaq could deliver:
“I don’t like going to these parties and the caviar. I don’t like all that stuff. I want chicken wings, pizza, and chips.”
This wasn’t just a punchline. It’s personal. Shaq was there to promote his cookbook “Shaq’s Family Style: Championship Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends”—a collection inspired by the food he actually eats, not the stuff that comes with edible flowers and a side of foam.
“I have three chefs—two Matts and a guy named Alex,” he told host Stephen Colbert. But during the pandemic, with nothing to do, he asked them to teach him how to cook. “Before you knew it, I was cooking 10 to 15 dishes,” he said.
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His food philosophy? Straightforward:
“My favorite diet is called ‘no diet.'”
And if he eats something he’s not supposed to? “I guess I’ll start my diet tomorrow.”
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That same honesty spills into his business strategy. Shaq doesn’t just eat like a regular guy—he invests like one. If he’s putting money behind a brand, it’s probably because it serves something you’d find in his kitchen.
He owns nine Papa John’s franchises and sits on the company’s board. He once owned 155 Five Guys restaurants—about 10% of the chain—and added Auntie Anne’s Pretzels to the lineup before eventually selling his stakes. He also owns a Krispy Kreme location in Atlanta, which he’s said he plans to expand.
And then there’s Big Chicken, the fast-casual spot he co-founded that serves—you guessed it—Shaq-sized portions of fried chicken, mac and cheese, and massive cookies. If you want to eat like Shaq, you actually can. Just don’t expect foie gras.
So while some celebrities attach their names to tequila bottles or skincare lines, Shaq keeps it simple: wings, pizza, and chips. And if the business happens to be delicious too? Even better.
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Image: Shutterstock
