©This story is property of The
CyBurr, the online version of The Burr,
The other side of wealth
Thanks to the shrewd
investing of his family, 21-year-old Curtis von Tacky never had to worry about getting
by. But with his youth came a lesson. Money doesn’t make you happy.
Story by Rachael Carlomagno
Curtis von Tacky’s family has millions of dollars. Forty-nine percent
of dependent
“I always seemed to get more for Christmas,” von Tacky says. “I would tell my friends about my presents and they seemed shocked, but to me it was normal.”
Back home in
His great-grandfather
Clarence von Tacky owned an oil refinery and invested in Exxon fuel and
AT&T—Clarence von Tacky is Curtis’ father’s grandfather. His great-great-grandfather
Clinton Rogers kept Kodak from going under—
Edith von Tacky died when Curtis was younger and split her retirement fund between him and his brother, Wesley, and their two cousins, Gary and Daniel Ross. He receives one-fourth of the interest every quarter — about $3,000. When his brother, Wesley, turns 21 years old, the entire policy, which is worth upwards of $1 million, will be split evenly among members of the group.
Von Tacky expects to make about $12,000 in interest every quarter by the time he graduates from college. His investments currently are worth about $25,000, but it was higher before he sold some stock to buy his new Mitsubishi Eclipse.
He grew up in a large Victorian
style home on a brick street in
“Money does not have much pull in my life,” von Tacky says. “Because my parents don’t work for the income they receive, I don’t have respect for it the way I would if they had hard-working jobs.”
His father remembers von Tacky trying to fit in when he was younger. He never wanted to stand out in any way and desperately tried to conform to his peers by being “average."
“I would tell him, ‘If you want to blame someone for having money, blame us. It’s not your fault,’” his father says.
Richard von Tacky says he tries to instill in his son the ability to watch and appreciate money. Although his son is given money on a regular basis, he wants him to respect the value of a dollar and try to make it last.
“He’s not a selfish, insensitive brat,” Richard von Tacky adds. “He is a nice, ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir’ type of young man. It just happens that he was lucky enough to be born into money.”
Jay Shaffer, a sophomore business
management major at the
“It’s never a struggle for him to get what he wants,” Shaffer adds. “If he wants it; he gets it. He doesn’t appreciate money but neither would anyone else in his place.”
Von Tacky says people are too quick to judge others just because they have money. When he first meets people, he explains, they automatically assume he thinks he is better than them, or that he feels he is too self-indulgent to socialize with them.
He had his tires slashed by some of the kids in his hometown because he made an unfriendly comment about trucks, von Tacky says. People will sometimes act negatively toward him simply because they are jealous of his money and popularity, he says.
“If you’re nice to me I am going to be nice to you back,” he adds. “People have a thought in their minds about you. They judge you before they even meet you.”
Shaffer's family has money, too, and he remembers kids judging them, especially von Tacky.
“Sometimes kids would push him too far, but for the most part, he was quiet about everything,” Shaffer says. “He was a couple years older than me, so I looked at him and thought, ‘This could be me.’”
Von Tacky says kids at school would think he was spoiled and treated him like an outsider. College made him realize other people’s opinions did not matter if he felt good about himself.
“I can wear whatever I want or say what I want because I know what I think of myself,” von Tacky says.
Von Tacky's father says his son strived to mesh with his friends and peers so he would not draw negative attention. As von Tacky got older, he realized he was lucky to come from money and that this was his life, his father adds.
Passing the buck
When he was young, von Tacky felt fortunate for everything he had but never considered himself or his family rich.
Everyone in his hometown knew his family background. But when he came to college, von Tacky saw it as an opportunity to meet people without being judged first, he says — at college, people see him for who he is and not how much his family is worth.
“I sometimes try to hide the fact that I have money because people get jealous,” von Tacky adds. “It’s sometimes just easier to hide it. I never cared or thought about what people thought of me. I just wanted to be me. I never cared about fitting in.”
He says having money has made him more insecure when meeting new people because he is worried they will judge him.
“I’m actually scared by a lot of things in my life,” von Tacky adds. “I’m afraid of not being in the right friendships or relationships with people.”
Shaffer says von Tacky tends to go through phases when he wants to party more, but now he has his head toward the future.
“His life does not have to move as quickly as others,” Shaffer says. “Most people plan on moving away and doing something, and he has only just started to really think about the future. He has the ability to stay in school as long as he wants.”
Von Tacky says he enjoys being by himself because it allows him to stay focused. Some of his close friends go out a lot, and that lifestyle does not coincide with the person he wants to be. He likes to go out with his friends to bars on occasion, von Tacky says, but he tries to act responsibly.
“I know having money makes me think differently on partying,” he adds. “I’m just not into the college drinking scene. I feel like college is preparation for life.”
Next semester, von Tacky wants to live off-campus in a single apartment because he feels he is not getting the full taste of college life. He says he looks forward to cooking and taking care of himself.
“I’d like to expand my repertoire of cooking beyond scrambled eggs,” von Tacky says. “I watch movies where guys are cooking for their girlfriends, and it looks romantic. I want to someday be able to that, also.”
He says money affects his interpersonal relationships because he is less trusting of others and often finds himself wanting to be alone.
“I can see myself being lonely (after college),” von Tacky adds. “I’m not the person who walks up to people to be friends.”
Value of an education
Before attending
It was hard being so far from home, and he flew home all the time. It was nice to be able to fly home when he wanted, he says, but it was ridiculous for his parents to pay that expense.
Von Tacky says he never cared about
his grades in high school because he always knew he had the family money to
cushion him, and when he applied for the architecture program at
After spending time at college, he saw the importance of money and success. He looks at education as a fundamental part of his life now and works hard to stay focused.
“I was originally looking at majors that would make a lot of money,” von Tacky says, smiling. “But I’m artistic and musical, and I decided to do what I’m good at rather than what would make me the most money.”
Richard von Tacky says he tried to make his son humble when it came to money and wanted to give him the same desire and drive as any other student.
“I always tell him he needs to get a job, and the rest will help him live comfortably,” Richard von Tacky adds. “I always say that the money he has is for retirement, and he needs to get a decent job to support himself.”
In the future
Von Tacky says he finds it frightening to consider supporting himself. He does not feel guilty spending his parents’ money because he knows they did not work for it.
“I’ve never put an emphasis on money because it has always been there,” von Tacky adds. “Until I start paying my own bills money will not matter to me. I don’t have as much respect for money, and so it makes me less responsible.”
Richard von Tacky says he tried to raise his children to understand the importance of money and to make them aware of their spending.
“They hem and haw, and finally I say ‘Just ask me,’” he says of his sons. “The only disadvantage he has with having money is not seeing how far a dollar stretches out.”
Although it is hard for him to imagine leaving college, von Tacky says he sees himself working for a busy advertising firm in a large city where everything is moving quickly.
“I’m an overachiever with useless things that I think are fun, like playing golf and guitar and an underachiever with things that are important," von Tacky says. "I’ve never had financial concerns so I never had to live up to my potential.”
©This story is property of The
CyBurr, the online version of The Burr,