‘He’s Looking At No Shoes In His Closet.’ Ben Affleck Explains Why He Drew A Hard Line When It Came To Buying His Kid $6,000 Shoes (2025)

For better or worse, Ben Affleck is a movie star who, between his personal and professional life, is going to find his name in the headlines more often than not. These days, it's the story of Ben Affleck's divorce that usually has everybody talking. And yet, it's a different member of Affleck's family that people are focused on right now.

Last month, a clip went viral that showed Ben Affleck’s 13-year-old son looking to his dad to help him buy a $6,000 pair of Dior Air Force 1s. Affleck was not having it and recommended his kid get to work, earning the money. Speaking with Today, Affleck was asked about his response, and explained his desire to teach his kids that rewards come from work. He said:

Ben Affleck is somebody who could absolutely afford to buy himself or his kids (from his marriage to Jennifer Garner) $6,000 shoes without a second thought, a position most of us are not in financially. He could feasibly give his kids whatever they wanted, but he understands that doing that teaches the wrong lessons. Affleck has spoken before about the problems that his own fame causes with his kids.

Affleck says his two older children, one of whom is currently in college, do have jobs, and thus are learning the importance of doing work and earning their own money. His son, with very expensive taste, however, is in the process of coming to terms with that concept, as he realizes he doesn’t have the things he wants, and will need to come up with his own way to get them. Affleck continued:

Ben Affleck suggests that even if his son worked to afford his $6,000 shoes, he might decide that he’d rather spend that money elsewhere. Certainly, dropping thousands of dollars of somebody else’s money on a cool pair of shoes doesn’t sound so bad, assuming they can afford it. But if a lot of us had an extra $6,000 kicking around, we could probably find a much better use for it.

We’ve probably heard the last of the tale of Ben Affleck’s kid’s shoes. The particular pair he wanted was a fairly limited creation, and there are enough people who can afford $6,000 shoes in the world that they’re probably already gone. Still, we’ll have to wait and see what sort of shoes he does end up with. Considering Affleck made the movie Air about the Nike Air Jordan, he can probably get a decent deal on some nice shoes.

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