Celebrity Estate Losses

Study the examples below to see how much each one lost due to poor planning. In many cases, with proper estate planning the losses to the estate could have been reduced or eliminated. Elvis Presley was living for the day. He didn’t plan for the future or the 73% loss of his estate could have been reduced or eliminated. Some may not qualify for certain planning options.

Is it possible that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others?

Celebrity	Estate	Taxes & Costs	Net Estate
Elvis Presley	$10,165,434	- $7,374,635	$2,790,799
J.P. Morgan	$17,121,482	- $11,893,691	$5,227,791
John D. Rockefeller	$26,905,182	- $17,124,988	$9,780,194
Alwin Ernst (CPA)	$12,642,431	- $7,124,112	$5,518,319
Frederick Vanderbilt	$76,838,530	- $42,846,112	$33,992,418
Marilyn Monroe	$819,176	- $448,750	$370,426
William Frawley	$92,446	- $45,814	$46,632
William Boeing	$22,386,158	- $10,589,748	$11,796,410
Henry J. Kaiser Sr.	$5,597,772	- $2,488,364	$3,109,408
W.C. Fields	$884,680	- $329,793	$554,887
Hedda Hopper	$472,661	- $165,982	$306,679
Cecil B. DeMille	$4,043,607	- $1,396,064	$2,647,543
Earle Stanley Gardner	$1,795,092	- $636,705	$1,158,387
Al Jolson	$4,385, 143	- $1,349,066	$3,036,077
Gary Cooper	$4,948,985	- $1,520,454	$3,454,531
Walt Disney	$23,004,851	- $6,811,943	$16,192,908
Clark Gable	$2,806,526	- $1,101,038	$1,705,488
Humphrey Bogart	$910,146	- $274,234	$635,912
Henry Kaiser Jr.	$55,910,373	- $1,030,415	$54,879,958

What I can’t figure out is, if there is a way to pass the value of 100% of your estate to your heirs, a way to maximize or increase the legacy to your heirs, decrease the losses due to taxes, why wasn’t it taken care of better in the above estates?