Estate Planning Failures of the Rich and Famous

InsuranceNewsNet Magazine- May 2013

To avoid estate taxes. That was an area of planning inspired by the introduction of the estate tax and in particular the experience of the John D. Rockefeller Sr. case.

Name: John D. Rockefeller
Age: 97
Died: May 23, 1937; Ormond Beach, FL; hardening of arteries

Estate Mistake: America’s first billionaire was one of the reasons for the creation of an estate tax, which took 70% upon his death. His heirs still had a few bucks left, considering his estate was worth about $1.4 billion, even in the depths of the Great Depression.