Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish doesn’t mince her words regarding what she admires most about her successful career. While others may value fame and awards, Haddish has often expressed that her end goal is to create generational wealth.
After winning an Emmy for guest-hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the “Night School” star admitted that the trophy didn’t mean much to her because it wasn’t accompanied by a check. “I care about being able to take care of my grandma, my mama, my niece, my sister, and brother, and if I ever have children, take care of them, create some generational wealth,” the actress was quoted saying. She added, “The only way to do that is to have some money so you can buy some land. I need checks!”
Since then, the 41-year-old has been stressing the importance of participating in projects that will not only benefit her but create opportunities for those around her. Haddish expounded on that concept recently while talking to Shadow and Act’s Trey Mangum for the series titled “Opening Act.” As she starts taking on roles behind the camera, the actress expressed how important it is for her to take those around her on that journey as well, something she said is “extremely important for our [Black] culture.”
“Somebody said to me the other day on Instagram, ‘You always talking about generational wealth, but you ain’t got no kids — for what.’ I’m like I got nieces. I got nephews. I can adopt children and have kids, like shut up! When I work — what people fail to realize — when I say yes to a project, when one of my ideas get created, that’s 100 to 200 people minimal that get to work,” she explained. “And out of those 100 to 200 people, they have children. They need to put a roof over their heads. They have to feed their kids. Those kids need to go to school. They got to go to college. And if I’m working, they’re working… their kids are able to get educated. It’s generational wealth, not just for myself, but all the people that work with me.”
Haddish believes an issue those who struggle to grasp the concept of generational wealth may have to do with people being “so small minded.” She continued, “And our people a lot of times are small-minded and we have to stop that and think about the big picture.”
The “Girls Trip” star revealed that she’s already in the process of trying to create that domino effect of opportunity, stating that there are five projects she is currently trying to complete by the end of 2022. “When I accomplish those five projects before the end of 2022 then I might just sit back and relax because I’ll be able to and that would be 1600 people at minimal that will have worked, be working, and being able to feed their kids, and my goal is to make sure they make enough money; it could cover at least one year tuition.”
Last year, Haddish announced the launch of her “She Ready Internship” program. The initiative is a collaborative effort being led by her She Ready Foundation and the nonprofit Ready to Succeed, which provides youth between the ages of 18 and 25 interested in pursuing a career in media, arts and entertainment with the resources and support needed to thrive academically and build successful careers.
