Jimmy Osmond: ‘Bad money management cost The Osmonds $80 million’

Veteran entertainer Jimmy Osmond was shocked into taking better care of his finances after he and his singer siblings lost $80 million (£50 million) to con men during the height of their fame. The Crazy Horses hitmaker, 50, reveals his 1970s family group The Osmonds fell victim to dodgy money managers who swindled millions from the pop stars, but Osmond is adamant the bad appointments and the family’s subsequent loss of funds ended up being a good thing, because it helped the youngsters stay grounded.
He tells Britain’s The Sunday Telegraph, “We never got allowances or anything as children. My dad always pooled our money and he was really smart and he invested all the money in various real estate portfolios. Thank goodness he did, as he was able to sell off a lot and clear our obligations when things changed.
“We amassed a lot of money but were good at entertaining and not business. We ended up hiring people to look after the money and then we wondered what happened.
“We lost about $80 million, maybe $100 million in today’s money. But it’s actually the best thing that ever happened to my brothers and me because it made us really appreciate how to manage money and it forced us to refocus.
“We’d got to the point where we could have our own airplanes, and your attitude changes when you have that kind of money. It didn’t leave us destitute but we had to start over. It was a wonderful thing, because my brothers are the most humble guys you will ever meet.”