 His second oldest brother was the late Vasil Tsonev, a dry witted satirist who wrote many books which have been published in several languages.His oldest brother was the late Iwan Tsonev (Iwan Zoneff) who moved to Australia in 1950s where he became one of the biggest property developers in South Australia during the mid 60's showing the diverse talents of the 3 brothers in each of their chosen fields.The father of the three brothers was a simple house painter.