Billionaire divorce uncovers secretive world of trusts in South Dakota

[bucolic_frolic]

Billionaire divorce uncovers secretive world of trusts in South Dakota

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/how-marie-and-ed-bosarges-divorce-spotlights-south-dakotas-asset-trusts.html

~snip~

They owned 12 homes, including five properties in Maine and a private island in the Bahamas. They had a 180-foot sailing yacht with its own grand piano. They bought a $5 million Egyptian mummy. Marie bought some of Marilyn Monroe’s personal effects, including her furniture, dresses and bras.

~snip~

South Dakota is fast becoming a mini-Switzerland for the world’s rich. Analysts and local politicians estimate that $250 billion to $900 billion is now stashed in South Dakota trusts by the likes of Chinese billionaires looking to keep their fortunes out of reach of the government, Europeans looking to avoid taxes and Americans looking to shield wealth from spouses.

~snip~

As Quantlab grew, so did the Bosarges’ wealth. They built a 37,000-square-foot home in Houston called Chateau Carnarvon, which had its own hair salon, massage room, music room and theater. Some rooms were filled with gold leaf, tapestries and paintings.

~snip~

They had five properties in Maine, one in Aspen and a luxury flat in London. They bought a succession of sailing yachts, including a 180-foot superyacht named Marie. Since she liked to play piano, they had a grand piano permanently fixed to the floor of the yacht “so it wouldn’t slide around,” she said.

______________________________
Much more at link. I was going to post this in the Working Poor group because this poor woman will be so destitute, but figured the inside joke would be misunderstood by most DUers.

[MiniMe]

1. Damn South Dakota, this stinks

"Initially, Marie was a beneficiary of the trusts, meaning she would receive income or benefits from the assets. But before their divorce, according to the lawsuit, Ed transferred the assets into new trusts that limited or shut out her interests. In keeping with South Dakota law, he was not required to notify her of the changes, according to the lawsuit."

[shanti]

2. Obscene

That's all I got.

[Marrah_Goodman]

3. That was the word that came to mind for me also

This type of extreme wealth is disgusting.

[PufPuf23]

4. South Dakota a Favorite State for Credit Card Companies

South Dakota is a haven for some financial shenanigans.

South Dakota a Favorite State for Credit Card Companies

Do you ever wonder why your Citibank credit card bill comes from South Dakota, and your payment goes there as well, when you know that Citibank is headquartered in New York? It is because of a combination of federal law and 50 different state laws that allow a bank in New York to use a South Dakota address to bill a customer in California.

Usury Laws

Many states have a usury law which limits the interest rate that a company may charge. Most of these laws capped interest rates at 18%. However, some states, such as South Dakota, do not have a usury law, allowing in-state businesses to charge as much interest as they want.

Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, which includes regulating nationally chartered banks which do business in more than one state. In the Supreme Court case Marquette v. First Omaha Service Corp. in 1978 the Court ruled that nationally chartered banks do not have to follow state law in which they do business, but only the law of the state in which the company is incorporated. Because state usury laws were not uniform this rendered all of them irrelevant as credit card companies picked up and moved to the states that allowed them to charge the highest interest rates.

After the 1978 ruling only national banks were exempt. If you banked with a bank which only did business in your state you were protected by your state's law. But a federal law now exempts state banks as well.

More at : https://resources.lawinfo.com/consumer-protection/credit-cards/south-dakota/

[BusyBeingBest]

5. Beret-wearing douchebag. Hope his company suffers from

bad publicity. Oops, edit to add: if you see the video you'll see he's an ancient man in a wheelchair. I'm sure his new Russian bride loves him for his many wonderful qualitie$.