Anderson Cooper is following in his late mother's footsteps when it comes to a major parenting decision.
Anderson has shared that he plans not to leave an inheritance to his young son, Wyatt. It's the way that his parents — author and actor Wyatt Cooper and artist and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt — raised their children.
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He talked about it on the Morning Meeting podcast, doubling down on previous conversations of how the parenting decision shaped his professional life and pursuits.
Anderson Cooper has always been open about how not having a financial safety net courtesy of his wealthy family drove him professionally. He hopes the same will be true when it comes to his son, Wyatt.
"I don't know what I'll have," he explained on the podcast. "I'm not that interested in money, but I don't intend to have some sort of pot of gold for my son, I'll go with what my parents said … 'College will be paid for, and then you gotta get on it.'"
Anderson spent his life seeing financial issues plague his family and has learned from it. "No, because I grew up watching money being lost and knowing it was being lost," he shared.
"And I from a very young age, I was very aware of, 'This is not me. This is something my mom has, or this is money that my mom has but it's not money I’m going to have and I need to forge my own way.'"
Making unconventional choices when it comes to Wyatt is what's become Anderson's normal. Many have also thought it strange that he consciously decided to co-parent with his ex-partner, Benjamin Maisani.
"It's probably an unusual setup, but I knew he would be a great dad, and he is," Anderson told People magazine.
"We're exes, but we're family to each other, and we love each other as family and as co-parents."
"There's the usual bickering that any two people have when there's a kid involved, like what time should he go to swimming class, or should he wear the overalls, or whatever," Anderson joked.
"But all silly, minor things. We get along great."
"I've always believed that if you've been with somebody and that ends, in terms of an intimate relationship, if you love somebody, there's no reason why that love shouldn't continue," Anderson said.
Benjamin agrees that the co-parenting relationship is great and that fatherhood has changed them both for the better.
"Anderson has changed a lot since Wyatt arrived," Benjamin shared.
"He's happy and relaxed in a way he's never been before. Wyatt has grounded him."
