Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Sting says his children “make their own way” rather than living off his money
Sting told CBS Sunday Morning he won’t let his children live off his money, insisting they "make their own way" while promoting The Last Ship.
Sting opened a recent chat by drawing a hard line: he won’t let his children coast on his fortune. The Police frontman made the remarks on CBS Sunday Morning while talking about his new involvement with the musical The Last Ship, which riffs on his Wallsend childhood.
He spoke plainly about the ethos he’s tried to pass on.
“All of my kids have been blessed with this extraordinary work ethic,” he said, “whether it’s the DNA of it or whether I’ve said to them, ‘Guys, you’ve got to work. I’m spending our money, I’m paying for your education. You’ve got shoes on your feet. Go to work.'”
Sting framed the stance less as punishment and more as confidence. “I don’t think this is cruel,” he continued, calling it a way of showing “trust in them that they will make their own way. They’re tough, my kids.”
He doubled down on the point:
“I think the worst thing you can do to a kid is to say, ‘You don’t have to work’. I think that’s a form of abuse that I hope I’m never guilty of.”
Watch the moment down below:
That family-first interview came amid another, more public drama. Recently, Sting reportedly paid his former Police bandmates more than $800,000 (£598,000) in royalties after a lawsuit that was filed last September.
Guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland had taken Sting and his publishing company to court in London seeking “substantial damages” last year, the latest chapter in long-running disputes between the group. The pair claimed Sting owed them between $2 million (£1.5 million) and $10.75 million (£8 million) in unpaid royalties, a figure their lawyers said could rise further because it excluded interest.
Sting’s legal team pushed back, calling the claims misguided and saying the pair were “substantially overpaid.” The payment figure reported this spring suggests at least a partial resolution to a fractious fight over the band’s financial history.
Elsewhere, the singer paid tribute to fellow songwriter Brian Wilson with a tender cover of “God Only Knows” during a stop in Germany, a quieter moment that underlines how Sting still moves between the personal, the performative, and the public squabbles that come with a long career.
