Elvis’ Father ‘Literally Begged’ Him to Stop Spending Money

As Elvis Presley rose to fame, his father, Vernon, was by his side, helping him manage his affairs. Vernon and Elvis got along well, but they had different approaches to life. Elvis liked to spend extravagantly, gifting expensive presents to the people around him on a whim. Vernon was far more frugal. By the mid-1960s, he had to beg his son to stop spending so much money.

Elvis began spending money extravagantly, much to his father’s dismay

In the mid-1960s, Elvis began buying horses. Priscilla Presley had mentioned wanting one, and soon, everyone in Elvis’ entourage had one. While driving in Mississippi, Elvis and Priscilla fell in love with a 160-acre ranch. He decided that he had to have the home.

“We were determined to buy it, never foreseeing the burden it would become,” Priscilla wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “He wanted the ranch as much as I did, even though Vernon said that at $500,000 it was overpriced. He felt the owner could offer a much more desirable deal and tried to persuade us that financially it was not a good move. Elvis’ movies were continuing to decline in popularity and record sales were down. He was averaging a million dollars a film and the money was going out as quickly as it was coming in.”

Still, Elvis bought the home. He put in mobile homes for each member of his entourage and bought them all trucks. He hired a staff to care for the horses and purchased any kind of equipment he could possibly need for life on a ranch. 

“He continued spending money as if it were going out of style,” Priscilla wrote. “Alarmed, Vernon literally begged him to stop, but Elvis said, ‘I’m having fun, Daddy, for the first time in ages. I’ve got a hobby, something I look forward to gettin’ up in the mornin’ for.'”

Elvis Presley had to make movies he hated for the money

Elvis insisted on pouring money into the ranch, leaving Vernon in a panic. He asked Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to find Elvis an acting job so they could have a stream of income.

“Still, [Elvis] enjoyed giving and sharing even as his own bank account was radically diminishing,” Priscilla wrote. “An expensive hobby, the ranch had already cost him close to a million dollars and created a serious cash-flow problem. In daily phone calls to the Colonel, Vernon pleaded with him to come up with some work to divert Elvis from his spending spree.”

Elvis didn’t want to make the movie, but Vernon told him that was too bad. They needed the money.

“The Colonel promptly made arrangements for another movie, Clambake,” Priscilla wrote. “Elvis read the script, yet another beach-and-bikini movie, and hated it. Vernon convinced him he didn’t have much choice. ‘We need the money, Son.’ And Elvis was committed.”

Elvis’ father, Vernon, was more careful with his money than his son

Elvis spent money as soon as it hit his wallet, but Vernon was far more frugal. When Priscilla first moved to Graceland, Elvis told her to ask Vernon for money whenever she needed it. After only her second time asking, though, he snapped at her for having spent the money he previously gave her in just two weeks. 

“That’s my daddy,” Elvis told her, laughing. “He’s always been tight. Getting money from him is worse than going to the local bank, even if you’ve got good credit.”

He explained that this was why he put Vernon in charge of his finances. 

“That’s why I have him taking care of my bills,” he said. “Every penny’s accounted for. I wouldn’t trust anybody else. Too many thieves.”