... And Family Money
Sun Herald
Sunday September 7, 2008
Finances can make sibling rivalry even trickier to negotiate. So, is blood thicker than bank notes?
Sydney businesswoman Christy Andronicus is rich: she co-owns a personal development company with an annual turnover that has soared over six years to $4 million. Christy, 30, lives with her sister, Sarah, 33, who works as an account manager on a $65,000 salary. They both live in Christy's rented $3.5 million beachside house in Curl Curl, on Sydney's northern beaches, but while Christy's wardrobes are filled with labels such as Versace and Louis Vuitton, Sarah's contain bargain buys from eBay. Clashes do occur when Christy advises her older sister about finances. "If she thinks I am being careless, she pulls me into line," says Sarah. "And in some ways she has the right to because I don't have her experience of building up a business."A self-confessed "shoe-aholic" who says she is prone to impulsive purchases, Sarah admits she bucks against the lectures. Both sisters say the gulf between incomes has caused tension since they moved in together a year ago, along with Christy's daughters, Chloe, 7, and Emma, 4, after Christy's separation from her husband. "There have been times when I haven't been able to contribute to bills and Christy will get shitty," says Sarah. "She's said, 'It's like looking after another child.'"For her part, Christy says Sarah's more cavalier attitude to money, combined with the gap between their incomes, can make her feel taken advantage of. "For years, I have had to help Sarah financially and it can be frustrating, as I see someone with so much potential struggling with money - especially as it's someone I love." But Christy also recognises that over the years, Sarah has contributed emotional and practical support in place of money during the toughest times, such as Christy's struggle with a drug addiction as a teenager, and combining new motherhood with a business start-up. "You can't put a price on what she's done for me when times have been hard," she says. "When I was starting the business and also had a newborn baby, she would look after her for me. In everything, Sarah has always been my biggest ally." When Sydney bar owner Toby Osmond first experienced financial success 10 years ago, his older brother, Nick, had reservations about how far Toby had come from their country roots in Moree, in rural NSW, and how his younger brother's flamboyant new lifestyle would affect their close friendship. He soon had a chance to find out. The boys' parents, also concerned about Toby's racy crowd, persuaded them to move into a shared apartment in Sydney so Nick could keep an eye on his younger brother. Nick, now 41, found himself struggling to fit in with a very different set than he was accustomed to. "The crowd Toby hung around with were so at odds with me. They were fashion, show business, party people and I felt like an outsider at times."Nick, who was then running a mail-order nursery business, found his brother's circle of friends a challenge. "It was hard to have a long conversation with anyone. The values we grew up with were very different. Where we come from, people were willing to engage with anyone who walked past."He began to see so little of Toby that he even recorded a joke message on their answering machine, saying his brother was living in his bar. "He was ticked off," says Toby, 35. "He felt as if I was saying I didn't need him or the family any more."Nick believes the values their parents had instilled in both brothers saved their friendship. "Our mum and dad taught us to work hard and count every penny. Toby has always stuck to that; all four boys in the family have. One of the main things about him is that his personality has remained unchanged."Recently, the financial chasm between the brothers has widened; Nick's nursery business has been knocked by the drought and he's taken a job as a corrective services manager back in Moree. The Oxford Street bar Toby co-owns with another brother, Will, is thriving after a $7 million launch last year. But Nick and Toby's bond remains strong.Says Nick, "It's often hard to find presents for Will because he can afford so many nice things, but for Christmas I gave him a country-style plaited leather belt - the type most men wear here. He put it on straightaway and he still wears it."Toby says he "lives in" the belt. "I think it symbolises the country, the bond with my family and the values in us that don't change."
© 2008 Sun Herald