Relativistic DFT calculations suggest that two organo-cesium complexes studied herein afford large HOMO-LUMO gaps of around 2.4 eV with the PBE xc-functional, which accounts for their stability. Energy decomposition studies suggest these two complexes are largely ionic with about 20% covalency. However, when the Cs+ ions are substituted by the isoelectronic La3+ and Th4+, their predicted ionicity decreases significantly. The significant increase in covalence indicates that employing Ugi reaction cascades that afford tetramic acid-based organo-cesium complexes may be extended to La3+ and Th4+ organometallics. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.