Legacy planning is something to consider when you are thinking about the future. It is important to take care of the practical side of things and properly arrange for the transfer of your assets to your loved ones of course. However, many successful people are serious about how they will be remembered and how their influence may be felt once they are gone.
We recently lost the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers Jerry Buss. The story of Jerry Buss is a story about the realization of the American dream. He started out with nothing as a child living in Evanston, Wyoming standing in a bread line to get some food.
Over the ensuing years he made the most of every opportunity that was afforded to him, and he passed away a very wealthy man who had accomplished much in the world of sports.
In 1979 he was part of an ownership group that purchased the Los Angeles Forum, the Lakers, and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team from Jack Kent Cooke. At that time the basketball franchise was valued at $20 million. According to Forbes, the current value of the Lakers is $1 billion.
Jerry Buss will be remembered as one of the most extraordinary impresarios the sporting world has ever seen. He also set a standard for excellence, as the Lakers won no less than 10 NBA titles while Buss was the principal owner.
In spite of an enormous amount of potential estate tax liability it appears as though Buss was able to arrange his finances in such a way as to allow his son Jim and his daughter Jeanie to maintain control of the Lakers.
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