“Thought Only About Acquiring Possessions”: Jackie Chan Once Revealed the Change Found After Amassing $400 Million Fortune

Published 04/17/2023, 5:45 AM EDT

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Actor Jackie Chan is a known name in the film industry, and the martial artist, like any other, had to face ups and downs in his journey to achieve success. Today the $400 million star can buy almost anything, but that was not the case in his early days. For Chan, it’s like a dream come true, as he hailed from a humble background. Notably, the Police Story actor had an undistinguished childhood, and even though he grew up poor, he was surrounded by wealth. This made him desperate to earn money, which eventually led Chan to utter disappointment.

In his autobiography, Never Grow Up, the martial artist shared how from his childhood, he wanted to get hold of money to gain security in life. Little did he understand then that the urge to get those material possessions would hinder him from being an enriched man. With time, when he actually made money and could buy anything he wanted, the actor comprehended his shortcomings.

Jackie Chan has only one regret

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In his book, the Chinese actor shared how from an early age, he used to have the idea that with money comes power. Thus, he always wanted to make money and was never interested in studying hard. As he penned, “Growing up poor but surrounded by wealth, I thought only about acquiring possessions. Studying meant nothing.”

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Talking about his regret, the Rush Hour actor revealed, “As I’ve gotten older, I couldn’t care less about material things, and learning is everything. If I have one thing I wish I’d done differently in life, one regret, it’s that I wish I had applied myself at school and studied more.” This attributed to his building Dragon’s Heart Schools in China for giving every kid the chance to get proper education and come up as a cultured, poised, and smart child.

Read More – “They’ll Have No Idea What Poverty Is”: Jackie Chan, Who Once Refused to Leave $400 Million Fortune for His Son, Regretted Arranging Basic Life Necessities for Him

Nonetheless, even though Chan’s peers felt that if he had studied hard, he would end up becoming someone else other than the legend he is today, the martial arts icon begged to differ. For him, if he had more knowledge, it would have helped him to use appropriate words, which will help avoid misunderstanding in certain situations. In fact, the Hollywood star idolized Bruce Lee for this.

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Chan looked up to Bruce Lee

Jackie Chan regarded Bruce Lee as a learned man. He wrote in his book that Lee was a knowledgeable person who in fact, studied philosophy to enrich his being. Working in the same domain as Lee, Chan felt if he had concentrated more on his study, it would have helped him look at the world in a new way.

However, mentioning Lee’s ‘Be Water’ philosophy, the Vanguard actor felt, “Only someone with a good education could have made that excellent speech. I could never come up with something that meaningful.”

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Even though Chan didn’t have a chance to be as educated as Lee, later the actor learned as much as he could to correct his mistakes and to better himself. What do you think about his story? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by:

Soumili Chatterjee

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Soumili Chatterjee is a pro-writer for EssentiallySports. With a Master's degree in English, Soumili's passion for sports writing has taken her on an extraordinary journey in the American sports arena. Inspired by the famous quote by ice-hockey legend Gretzky, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," Soumili has taken these words to heart and has made it her mission to meet her idol someday.
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Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa