A Little Girl Asks Shaquille O’Neal If Money Buys Happiness – His Response Brings Everyone to Tears
Ten-year-old Penny Wilson hunched over her desk in a cramped Houston apartment, carefully clipping out a newspaper article about the latest rocket prototype. At the center of the image stood her hero, Shaquille O’Neal—a visionary billionaire famous for electric cars, reusable rockets, and daring innovations that captured the world’s imagination. Penny had been collecting every O’Neal-related article she could find for nearly a year, lovingly storing them in a blue folder labeled “Space Stuff.”
“Penny, breakfast!” her mom, Tara, called from their tiny kitchen. Penny hurried over, excitement lighting her eyes. “Mom! Shaquille O’Neal is coming here to Houston next month for the Tech Forward Conference! Isn’t that incredible?”
Tara managed a tired but genuine smile. Between her day shift as a nurse’s aide and her night job cleaning offices, she was always exhausted. “That’s great, sweetie,” she said, pushing a chipped bowl of cereal toward Penny.
Penny’s tenth birthday was exactly one month away, and she had only one wish: to attend Shaquille O’Neal’s talk at the conference. Tickets, however, were almost impossible to afford—far beyond their monthly rent. Penny’s dad, Xavier, had left three years earlier, chasing what he called “real money,” and now lived across town with a new wife and baby. He sometimes sent birthday cards with a few dollars inside, but it had been a long time since he truly showed up for Penny.
“I wrote a letter to the organizers,” Penny said hopefully. “And I’ve been entering radio contests to win tickets.” Tara rested a gentle hand on Penny’s. “You keep trying,” she whispered. “But don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t work out.”
Despite the odds, Penny refused to give up. At school, she pored over articles about the reusable rockets Shaquille O’Neal’s company was testing, determined to learn every detail. Her teacher, Ms. Ferrell, noticed Penny’s boundless curiosity and quietly admired her determination.
One afternoon, Penny checked the mail and found a letter bearing the Tech Forward logo. Her heart pounded as she read it: they were “impressed by her passion” but couldn’t offer her a ticket. She stuffed the letter in her pocket before heading inside. She didn’t want to let her mom see her disappointment.
A few days later, Ms. Ferrell surprised Penny with a backstage pass—an unofficial favor from a relative working at the convention center. It wouldn’t let Penny watch Shaquille O’Neal’s full talk, but it might grant her a few moments with him afterward. Thrilled, Penny threw her arms around Ms. Ferrell. “Thank you so much! This is the best present ever!”
On Penny’s birthday, Tara woke her before dawn with a small cupcake and a single candle. “Make a wish,” Tara said, voice tender. Penny closed her eyes and silently repeated the same wish she’d had for weeks: Please let me meet Shaquille O’Neal. Then Tara handed her the backstage pass and said, “Let’s see if we can make some birthday magic happen.”
At the massive Houston Convention Center, Penny clutched Tara’s hand. Most attendees wore suits and carried expensive devices, while Penny wore her cleanest jeans and a T-shirt printed with a rocket ship. They joined a small group waiting behind the main stage, where O’Neal would exit after his presentation.
The talk wrapped up, and soon a surge of security and staff entered the backstage area. Through the tangle of adults, Penny glimpsed Shaquille O’Neal, smiling politely but looking rushed. Everyone clamored for his attention—photos, autographs, business cards thrust in front of him. Penny, only ten and much shorter, was swallowed by the crowd.
Suddenly, a woman with a clipboard spotted Penny clutching her backstage pass. “Oh! Are you Penny Wilson? Come with me.” She escorted Penny and Tara to a quieter exit. “Stand here. If he passes this way, maybe you’ll get a moment.”
Penny’s heart hammered. Minutes later, Shaquille O’Neal emerged, flanked by security guards. A swirl of excitement swept through the waiting fans. People pressed closer, calling his name. Penny took a step forward—then got jostled from behind, sending her notebook flying. Its pages scattered across the floor, one sheet skidding right to O’Neal’s feet.
He paused, bending to pick up the paper. On it, Penny had sketched one of his reusable rockets and, at the bottom, written a question: Does money buy happiness?
O’Neal read the question, then his gaze shifted to Penny. He gently motioned for security not to intervene. “Is this yours?” he asked, holding the page out. Penny, breathless, only nodded.
“Shaquille, sir, we have your next appointment,” a staffer murmured, glancing at her watch. O’Neal hesitated—he was clearly busy—then made a decision. “I’ll be fifteen minutes late,” he said. “I want to talk to this young lady.”
He guided Penny and Tara into a waiting SUV where the air conditioning provided relief from the sweltering Houston heat. Penny’s hands trembled as she slid into the seat across from him. He placed her rocket sketch gently between them.
“You’re Penny, right?”
“Yes, sir,” she whispered.
“That’s a big question you wrote. Why do you want to know if money buys happiness?”
Penny explained that her dad had left to find more money, yet he still didn’t seem happy. Should she chase wealth when she grew up, or was there something more important? O’Neal listened carefully. His expression softened.
“I’ve known people with all the money in the world who are miserable,” he began. “And I’ve known folks with very little who find joy every day. Money can help with comfort and safety. But once you have enough for basic needs, more money doesn’t magically create happiness. Purpose, relationships, solving problems—those matter more.”
He leaned forward. “When I was starting out, I barely had resources for big ideas, but I kept going because I believed in solving the right problems. Money followed eventually, but if I’d chased money alone, I wouldn’t have found true fulfillment.”
Penny’s eyes brimmed with tears. “So my dad…maybe he’s searching in the wrong place?”
“Possibly. But each person’s journey is unique,” O’Neal said gently. “My advice? Don’t chase money—chase what makes you curious, what helps others, what feels meaningful. Happiness grows from that, not just from a paycheck.”
He handed Penny her sketch back. “Email me about your inventions,” he added, writing a personal address on the back of the paper. “I mean it. I’d love to see what you build.”
Outside, a crowd filmed the scene from a distance. O’Neal said his goodbyes and hopped into another vehicle, zooming away to his next engagement. Penny and Tara stood there in disbelief, hearts pounding.
“It really happened,” Penny murmured. Her mother squeezed her hand. “Happy birthday, honey.”
Word spread fast online. Someone had recorded the moment Penny’s question fell at O’Neal’s feet. Titled A Little Girl Asks Shaquille O’Neal If Money Buys Happiness—His Response Brings Everyone to Tears, the clip went viral. People around the world wondered what he had told her.
Back at home, Penny found a renewed focus. She tinkered with a small robot that would help her mom locate lost keys, working with fierce determination. When her dad finally called, she shared what she’d learned. “He said money is like oxygen—important, but it’s not life’s purpose,” she told Xavier, who fell silent on the line.
In the coming weeks, Penny’s little key-finding robot won first place at her school’s science fair, shining a spotlight on her creativity and heart. Even local newspapers covered her project. Her father came to see it, awkward and apologetic, admitting that more money hadn’t really solved his problems. “Maybe it’s time I do something that matters, too,” he said, newly reflective.
And so, in under a month, Penny’s world changed. She had begun with a single question—one that had weighed on her for years—and, thanks to a thoughtful answer from Shaquille O’Neal, she understood more clearly what truly matters: finding purpose, building meaningful connections, and using our gifts to help those around us.
As Penny tucked her rocket sketch and O’Neal’s handwritten email address into a journal, she realized she’d gained something far more valuable than a meeting with a famous billionaire. She’d found a guiding principle for life. When she drifted off to sleep that night, she smiled, knowing the best part of her story was just beginning—and that real happiness was within reach, shaped not by wealth, but by purpose, kindness, and the courage to ask the questions that truly matter.
Shaquille O’Neal Hears Baby Crying and Asks Mom to Bring Her on Stage
He may be a former basketball star, a hero, and a motivational speaker, but Shaquille O’Neal is also a father.
He must have some pretty great stories from raising his six kids over the years, but he probably also misses it. At least that’s the sense fans were left with one day when a baby started crying while Shaq was giving an interview on stage.
Shaquille O’Neal Loves Babies
In a clip posted to Instagram, Shaq was in the middle of an interview when he heard a baby crying from the crowd. “I’m sorry, little baby, where are you? Don’t you cry, you little baby,” he said into the mic.
“I love you, I love babies. Can I see that baby? Can you bring that baby up?” he continued.
After confirming he was being serious, a mother brought her little girl to the stage, and Shaq held the girl on his lap. The baby immediately stopped crying and peered at the crowd.
“Babies love Uncle Shaq. I’m sorry,” he joked. “You wanna go to the club too? Hey, babysitting gonna cost you $200. All right, love you. Love you, baby.” He then asked the child’s name as he was handing her back. “Love you, Mia,” he added.
Then, the superstar continued his interview as though nothing had happened.
A Family Man Through and Through
It’s no secret Shaq is fond of kids; you kind of have to be if you’re a father to six. That’s one of the reasons he remains on good terms with both of his exes, Shaunie O’Neal and Arnetta Yardbourgh: they’re his kids’ moms, after all.
“I have two wonderful women that have given me beautiful, gorgeous children, I have to protect, and I have to provide, and I have to love them forever,” the athlete once said in an episode of The Pivot Podcast.
In an interview with the 2 Lies and 1 Truth podcast, Shaq added that his kids have always been the best part of his day. “The best moment is just coming home every day and hearing five, six different voices,” he revealed. “Worst moment is when the separation happened, and they weren’t there every day. That was probably my worst moment.”
Making a Situation Better
While it’s unknown who Mia’s mother is, you can imagine how grateful she was that day when Shaq asked to see her baby. How often do we hear children crying at the grocery store, during a flight, or elsewhere when we’re going about our daily business? And how often do we stop and see whether we can help?
Parents know that kids always cause a scene at the worst of times — that’s just a part of being a mom or dad. But when your kid cries during an interview or event like the one this mom was at with Shaq, well, that’s just next-level tough.
It’s a little nudge to all of us that sometimes a parent could just use a helping hand, no matter who you are. Whether it’s offering to hold a baby so a parent can eat, taking someone’s kids for a walk to the park so they can catch up on work, household chores, or a nap, or letting those with young kids go ahead of us in line at the store, it takes a village.
Even when that village includes Shaq.
