Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq’s on his 5th college degree—and tells Gen Z that AI can’t replace sitting across people smarter than you

It’s rare these days for a star college basketball player to stay in school for more than a year, let alone return to finish a degree after turning pro.

But Shaquille O’Neal has made a habit of doing just that.

The 7-foot-1 basketball legend spent three seasons at Louisiana State University before becoming the No.

1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.

He left without finishing his degree, but made a promise to his mother that he would eventually walk across the commencement stage.

Since then, O’Neal has followed through—and then some.

He now has four degrees to his name, including a bachelor’s, an MBA, an Ed.D., and, most recently, a master’s in liberal arts from LSU.

“I’ve always been curious,” he told Fortune .

“Basketball was my job, but I never wanted basketball to be the only thing I knew.” Now, O’Neal is back in the classroom once again, pursuing his fifth degree: a master’s in criminology at Sacramento State University.

It might be a surprising use of time for the 54-year-old with an estimated net worth of $500 million, but O’Neal has never lost his appetite for learning.

“Every time I go back to school, I’m challenging myself to learn something new,” he said.

“My mother always stressed education, and I’ve always believed that once you earn that degree, nobody can take it away from you.” Shaq says it’s never too late to keep learning—but he tells Gen Z you have to ‘show up’ to be successful O’Neal began his latest academic program this summer and plans to complete it in a hybrid format by fall 2027 or summer 2028.

He’s currently taking a course called “Critical Analysis of Law & Justice.” His interest in criminology dates back decades.

Beginning in the late 1990s, O’Neal has worked part-time with several police departments and even became a reserve officer in both Los Angeles and Miami.