Jackie Chan Built His Career From the Ground Up, and Now He Wants His Son to Do the Same

Whenever we hear the name Jackie Chan, martial arts and a good dose of comedy come to mind. Chan has had a thriving career and has accumulated a fortune estimated at around $400 million. But he is also a father and has had to make tough decisions in the upbringing of his son Jaycee—the most exemplary being the announcement that after his death, all his money will go to charity.

A different upbringing

Born in Hong Kong in 1954, Jackie Chan didn’t have an easy childhood. His parents, both workers, made many efforts to give him a proper upbringing. As a child, Chan excelled in acrobatics and martial arts, skills that would later allow him to work in films and which he perfected through years of discipline and dedication. As a teenager, in addition to his demanding martial arts routine, he was a bricklayer and dishwasher to help support his family.

Jackie Chan and his wife, actress Joan Lin, had a son they named Jaycee in 1982 in California, United States. Jackie was already famous by then, so the boy grew up surrounded by comforts and luxury. Even so, Jackie always sought to give him 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 an album.

On his way to the top

Being the son of a famous person does not necessarily make you famous, yet Jaycee has tried to make his way in the two areas in which his father has excelled — acting and singing— although he hasn’t achieved fame in either of the two.

Jaycee composed 10 of the 13 songs from his first music album, Jaycee, and even co-starred with his father in the movie 1911, which is considered Chan’s worst film.

A different perspective on life

For Jackie Chan, the generation gap and the upbringing his son received in the United States have taken their toll on his discipline.

In his autobiography entitled Never Grow Up, Jackie dedicates a chapter to his role as a father and describes different situations in which he disagreed with Jaycee’s behavior and habits and how he had to apply discipline to make him understand the real value of things.

For example, he decided to cut off the electricity service in Jaycee’s apartment because he claimed that he had repeatedly asked his son to be more conscious about energy consumption, and the boy always left the lights on even when he was not there.

A valuable lesson

In 2011, Jackie Chan announced that his son wouldn’t inherit his fortune after his death. He explained that Jaycee should be able to earn his own money and if he fails to do so, having given him his fortune would be a complete waste.

Jackie recalled how on a trip he took with Jaycee, he traveled first class, while his son was in economy class: “You have me as a dad, but other people don’t. They have to fight their own battles. When you get to sit in first class, because of your own hard work, then that’s success.”

If you’re interested in stories about celebrities’ parenting skills and lessons, you might want to check out these articles:

• 12 Celebrities Who Don’t Plan on Leaving Their Millions to Their Kids
• 12 Celebrities Who Don’t Plan on Leaving Their Millions to Their Kids
• Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem Shared Tips on Raising Children That Might Be Eye-Opening for Some Parents
• The Parenting Mistakes That Made Will Smith an Infinitely Better Father
• 8 Rules That Mayim Bialik Has for Her Children That Could Reshape Parenting
• 7 Parenting Tips From Kylie Jenner That Any Mom Can Learn From