I owned my first house aged 14 – and still think property is the best investment
WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS TEACH YOU ABOUT MONEY?
MY father taught me the value of a dollar. When I was eight, I thought I was big stuff and I remember telling him: ‘Hey Dad, my record is number one, isn’t that cool?’ He responded by giving me a stick with a poker on it to pick up litter and said: ‘Go clean the yard.’
HOW MUCH POCKET MONEY DID YOU GET AS A CHILD?
IT’S strange, I never got any. But I was well taken care of. Money was always there – I never worried about it. By the time I was 13, I always had a couple of hundred bucks in my pocket and a few thousand in the bank. When I was 14, I owned my first house. I’d live there and then I’d go home to my parents when I got scared. It was a bizarre way of growing up.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST PAID WORK YOU EVER DID?
APPEARING on the Andy Williams show when I was three. I was paid maybe $50 [the equivalent of £250 today].
HAVE YOU EVER STRUGGLED TO MAKE ENDS MEET?
YES. My family made a lot of money – but we lost a lot too. When I was 16, our partnerships severed and I remember being asked not to keep touring with the band because there would be more money for everyone else if I didn’t go. My parents were on a mission for our church at the time. I didn’t have anywhere to go, really.
WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT?
ALTHOUGH I was well known, there I was without money. So I went down to Los Angeles and read for any part, begged for anything I could do. I ended up scoring a job on TV series Famed and The Love Boat.
WHAT IS THE BEST MONEY DECISION YOU EVER MADE?
WHEN I was 17, I sold my car to finance making a record in Japan, Kimi Wa Pretty [You’re So Pretty]. It went platinum and saved my life. I ended up with a TV series doing a variety show in Japan.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN PAID SILLY MONEY FOR A JOB?
WHEN I did I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2005, I was shocked by how much they paid me. Because I turned it down three times, the money just kept growing. I was one of the highest paid on the show. I signed a contract so I can’t disclose how much, but it was a good six-figure sum.
WHAT WAS YOUR BEST YEAR FINANCIALLY?
IT WAS 2008 – the year I produced the final big tour for my family, our 50th anniversary tour. We sold out concerts in minutes and toured all over the world. I made more than a million dollars.
WAS THAT THE MOST YOU’VE EVER MADE IN A YEAR?
NO. It was the most fulfilling. When I was 24, I produced Michael Jackson’s tour and packaged the sponsorship. That was an amazing year financially.
SO HOW MUCH DID YOU MAKE THAT YEAR?
I WOULD have to kill you if I told you. You could say it was close to $5million (£3.2million).
WHAT IS THE MOST COSTLY ITEM YOU BOUGHT FOR FUN?
WHEN I was 24, a Ferrari Testarossa. I paid more than $100,000 for it.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MONEY MISTAKE YOU EVER MADE?
BUYING property in Branson, Missouri in 2006, just before the real estate crash. The market just died. I lost $2million.
DO YOU INVEST IN STOCKS AND SHARES?
I HAVE recently pulled out of the stock market and I am now investing more in property. I still have some stocks, but the bulk of what I have is in my own hands because I don’t trust these big conglomerate advisers to be responsible for my money.
QAQ
ADO YOU OWN ANY PROPERTY?
I OWN four properties – two in Utah, one in Idaho, and one is a secret family ‘getaway condo’.
HOW MUCH CASH DO YOU CARRY AROUND?
NOT much – a few hundred bucks. My accountant hates me if I don’t put everything on a card.
WHAT’S YOUR ONE LITTLE LUXURY THAT YOU LIKE TO TREAT YOURSELF TO?
GOLF. I’m a lousy golfer but my boys are both in teams. I’ve played at a lot of the big courses around the world. It can cost up to $500 plus cart fees to play, but I have reciprocal relationships with a lot of courses because of my memberships. It’s embarrassing but it probably costs up to $60,000 a year. Golf is my big crazy treat.
IF YOU WERE CHANCELLOR, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU WOULD DO?
I’M a Republican. I believe you have to give tax breaks for industries that create jobs and reward people who provide jobs for others.
DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO GIVE TO CHARITY?
YES. My mother started a charity, the Children’s Miracle Network, that I sit on the board of. It’s raised $5billion for children’s hospitals. Also in my church [the Mormon Church] we tithe. That means we give 10 per cent of our income to the church.
DO YOU PERSONALLY GIVE UP 10 PER CENT OF YOUR INCOME?
YES, I do, without any issue. It always comes back tenfold.
WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER ONE FINANCIAL PRIORITY?
THE well-being of my wife and kids and making sure they have what they need. But not too much. You don’t want to spoil your kids, you want them to earn it themselves like I had to. Everything I have is due to my own industry. I want my kids to have that same self-respect.
Jimmy Osmond was talking to Donna Ferguson.