Celebrity Estates: Wills of the Rich and Famous

Jay Leno spent 22 years hosting the “The Tonight Show” before being inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. His prized collection consists of approximately 286 vehicles: 169 cars and 117 motorcycles, all of which create a bit of a challenge when it comes to asset planning. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Peter Neumann, CEO and Steve Linden, CIO of Chrome Strategies, to discuss the pla...

From the mid 1920’s to his death in 1975, Aristotle Onassis embodied the phrase “many fingers in many pies” with businesses ranging from international shipping to less savory military hunters. Greek law limited how much could be granted to his American wife, Jackie O., after his death, regardless of his enormous legacy. With those limitations in mind, his distribution of his assets after death dea...

David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis, chief investment officer and general counsel at Twin Focus, to discuss the struggles of determining inheritance with children from multiple partners and the legal and tax issues when children are taken into account. With over 74 million records sold worldwide and a lucrative career that took him in many directions, Earl Simmons, better known as rapper DMX,...

Encore Presentation David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Dr. Denise Federer, speaker, consultant, coach, psychologist, author, and founder of the Federer Performance Management Group (FPMG) as they discuss the impact of families not having those difficult conversations about their money and wealth. This episode focuses on an icon from Hollywood’s Golden Age, the legenda...

In this episode’s encore presentation, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined once again by Megan Gorman, founding partner of Chequers Financial Management. Today’s celebrity example is Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director and producer, and father of three children with longtime girlfriend, Mimi. At the time of his death, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s only...

With a 4% stake in Amazon, MacKenzie Scott, formerly MacKenzie Bezos, is the third wealthiest woman in the United States. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Richard Peck, vice president of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and Jonathan Gassman, CEO of Gassman Financial Group. Richard and Jonathan discuss how she goes about charitable giving through a personal, philosophical and operation...

From his home and liquid possessions to his image and royalty rights, settling Prince’s estate would have been a complex process, even with a will. But Prince did not have a will, and this led to one of the largest and most complex estate battles in Minnesota and even American history.  However, the most mysterious part of Prince’s estate is the bank vault with a code that even Prince himself forg...

Between his six children and his illiquid assets in Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk’s claim to give half of his fortune to charity falls short. Yet only a few small steps would be required to increase his charitable giving and arrange support for his family.   In this episode, David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis of Twin Focus Capital. John shares his insight into the financial situation of Elon M...

In 2008, following a very public breakdown, Britney Spears and her estate were placed under a conservatorship  managed by her father, Jamie Spears.  Now 13 years later, Britney is contesting the conservatorship. In this episode, David Lenok is joined once again by Megan Gorman from Chequers Financial Management. They dive into the legal wrangling of Birtney Spears’ estate and the conservator...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Robert Strauss,  shareholder and director of Weinstock Manion, specializing in guiding high net worth families, business owners, and real estate developers through the complex process of estate and wealth transfer planning. Today’s celebrity example is the estate of legendary musician and American icon James Brown, i...

Many of us remember Chrisptopher Reeves for his unforgettable performance as the first Superman to appear on the big screen in 1978. But a lot of us forget his later years were spent as a parapelegic after a tragic horse accident.  In this episode, David Lenok speaks with Gina Nelson about some of the different planning you can do to prepare if you or a loved one should become disabled, and what y...

A trust might make complete sense. But when you add family dynamics to the equation, chaos can ensue.  This is exactly what happened when a millionaire decided to remove two of his biological grandchildren from his multi-million dollar trust plan.  In this episode, David Lenok is joined by returning guest Megan Gorman, a founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, to talk about the recent e...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Barbara Archer, managing director and partner at Hightower. David and Barbara speak about Barbra’s story of researching, purchasing and preserving art that can be shared with the world. Today’s celebrity example begins with Lilly Pulitzer. Lilly quickly grew to fame through her fashion and bright coloured designs. But...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, sits down with Rick Kahler, president of Kahler Financial Group, as they dive into the subconscious mind around money. Today’s celebrity example is Warren Buffett and his interesting relationship with money. Buffett, once the most wealthy man in the world, now sits in 7th place. It was Buffett’s relationship with money that got h...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Dan Griffith, senior vice president and director of wealth strategy at Huntington Private Bank. Today’s celebrity example is brought to you by Clare Bronfman. We discuss Clare’s journey into using generational wealth to fund a company with negative ties. We use this infamous case to dissect how financial advisors can...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Rob Wermuth, senior partner and Kevin Donohue, partner at the Pennsylvania-based firm Legacy Planning about the intricacies of estate planning.  Today’s celebrity estate example is brought to us by Playboy Magazine founder and figurehead Hugh Hefner. Through the use of trusts, prenups and taking care of business deals...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Alex Weingarten, partner at Venable LLP, where he is a commercial trial lawyer who represents clients in all facets of entertainment, probate and business litigation. Today’s celebrity example is Aretha Franklin; we discussed her estate in episode 8 and at that time it was believed that she had left no will, th...

David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Jeff Fishman, founder and managing member of JSF Financial, a financial firm that specializes in working with high profile clients and those in the entertainment industry. Unlike our other episodes focusing on the estates of celebrities who have passed, this episode is all about advising those who are still living, and working to man...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with returning guest Megan Gorman of Chequers Financial Management about the issues surrounding the celebrity estate of none other than legendary talk show host Larry King.  There was an estate plan, multiple children from multiple marriages, a holographic will written after filing for divorce, and then Larry’s untimely de...

Today, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Damien Martin, tax partner at BKD CPAs and Advisors. This episode focuses on the father of rock ‘n roll, Chuck Berry, the legendary musician who worked up into his 80’s, amassing a sizable estate upon his death in 2017 at the age of 90, despite his conviction of tax evasion in 1979. Berry was convicted of $110,000 in back taxe...

David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Dr. Denise Federer, speaker, consultant, coach, psychologist, author, and founder of the Federer Performance Management Group (FPMG) as they discuss the impact of families not having those difficult conversations about their money and wealth. This episode focuses on an icon from Hollywood’s Golden Age, the legendary Audrey Hepburn. ...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Christopher Melcher, partner at Walzer Melcher LLP where they focus on complex family law litigation and premarital agreements of high net worth individuals. Today’s celebrity example is Jack Cassidy; an American actor and singer known for his works in theatre, tv and film.    Having married and divorced twice...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined once again by Megan Gorman, founding partner of Chequers Financial Management. Today’s celebrity example is Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director and producer, and father of three children with longtime girlfriend, Mimi. At the time of his death, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s only estate documentation was a...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Brian Weiner, Founder and Managing Partner of Audent Family Wealth Advisors. As managing partner, Brian leads the family offices service program, CIO Platform and next generation education program. This episode focuses on world famous singer/songwriter, dancer, and the king of pop himself Michael Jackson. At his untim...

Today, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Amanda Koplin, LPC, a mental health entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Koplin Consulting. This episode focuses on legendary comedic actor Robin Williams’ tragic suicide and the shocking, unspoken truth about male suicide statistics. Notably, the victims –– namely middle-aged white men –– are a common client profile for...