Every time we hear the name Jackie Chan, martial arts fights and a good dose of comedy come to mind. His career has paid off with a current fortune of around $400 million.
However, Jackie is also a father and, like everyone, he has had to make decisions in raising his son Jaycee, although the most exemplary has been the announcement that after his death, all his money will go to charities.
Jackie Chan's son Jaycee was born in 1982 in California, United States when Jackie was already famous, the result of his marriage to actress Joan Lin, and he grew up surrounded by comforts and without any lack. Even so, Jackie always sought to provide him with a strict education to foster in him the same values with which he had been raised. Jaycee briefly attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, for two semesters, but did not graduate and instead traveled to Hong Kong to release a record.
History reaffirms to us that being the son of a famous person does not make you famous without your own merit, so Jaycee has tried to make his way in the two areas in which his father has stood out: actor and singer, although in neither has he had commercial success.
Jaycee composed 10 of the 13 songs he released on his first musical album, Jaycee, and even co-starred with his father in the film 1911, which—although it was Jackie Chan's 100th—is classified as his worst to date.
For Jackie Chan, the generational difference and the education that his son received in the United States have taken a toll on his discipline.
In her autobiography titled Never Grow Up, Jackie dedicates a chapter to her fatherhood and describes different situations in which she did not agree with Jaycee's behavior and habits, and how she had to apply discipline so that she understood the real value of things.
An example of this was when he decided to cut off the electricity service in Jaycee's apartment because he claims that on several occasions he asked him to be more conscious about energy consumption, and the boy always left the lights on even if he was away.
It was in 2011 when Jackie Chan announced that his fortune would not be inherited by his son after his death. The reasons, he indicated, are that Jaycee must be able to make his money for himself and if he does not succeed, giving him his fortune would be a waste and wasted money.
Jackie recalled how also on a trip he took with Jaycee, he traveled first class and his son traveled in the economy, and explained to him: “You have me as a father, but other people don't. You have to fight your own battles. When you get to sit in first class because of your own hard work, then that is a success.”
