Stanley Smith made his fortune by selling iron ore in post-World War II Japan. Before he passed away in 1968, he was very careful to make sure his vast wealth passed according to his wishes. He left three-quarters of his estate to a charitable foundation benefiting the homeless, veterans, and people with disabilities. The remaining one-quarter of the estate, totaling $100 million, went into a trust for the benefit of his wife, May Wong Smith. The trust was to be managed by three trustees. Unfortunately, one of the trustees, Mark Avery, decided to use trust assets to build a personal army equipped with helicopters, patrol boats, and vintage Soviet and U.S. fighter planes. In all, Avery stole in excess $50 million over a period of six months. Diane Dimond, an investigative journalist, cautions that trusts are rarely ironclad and may have loopholes. These issues are why she recommends appointing only trustees that have earned your complete trust.
See Scott Cohn, The American Greed Report: How to Control Your Money, Even After You Die, CNBC, September 2, 2107.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
