All posts tagged: estate

‘Fraud On A Mass Scale’ – Why Trump Should Repeal Real Estate Tax

Published by skeptic

Submitted by Mitchell Vexler, IN THE Texas House Of Representatives Ways and Means Committee BRIEF OF MITCHELL VEXLER AS AMICUS CURIAE SUPPORTING PROPERTY OWNERS ACROSS TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Bill to Repeal Real Estate Tax in favor of a UNIFORM STATES SALES TAX A Presentation to President Trump and Elon Musk 02/17/2025 This is the short version of the Amicus created for ZeroHedge. For the full print version of the Amicus Brief Supporting Property Owners and School Districts and Accounting Fraud, both of which are being delivered by hand to President Trump click here and here. Introduction of Argument The Home Affordability and Probability of Bankruptcy graphic below shows Taxation of Unrealized Gains, which is a violation of the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Market Value is the mechanism in Texas and most States in the Union, from which the Assessed Value is created. Under current Texas Law you can protest your Market Value but not the Assessed Value. If the Market Value is fraudulent, then so is the Assessed Value. …

Jack Nicholson’s secluded m estate he bought from Hollywood legend is his private haven

Jack Nicholson’s secluded $10m estate he bought from Hollywood legend is his private haven

Published by skeptic

Jack Nicholson has been a movie heavyweight for decades. He’s the recipient of three Academy Awards and six Golden Globes and is thought of as one of the most prolific and esteemed actors from the golden age of Hollywood. Having worked in La La Land since 1958 – the year he made his big screen debut at age 21 – it’s not surprising that Jack has a stunningly impressive home in the affluent area. The One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest actor bought a home on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills in 1969. Jack paid $5 million for the home at the time and, according to MailOnline, it’s now worth more than double. Recommended videoYou may also likeWATCH: Jack Nicholson’s private life and family explained Jack Nicholson’s private sanctuary in Beverly Hills The star was so keen to make the most of the high levels of privacy the property offers that in recent years he even bought neighbouring houses on the estate – one of which belonged to fellow Hollywood legend, Marlon Brando. The pair worked …

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Try to Wrangle the Leonard Riggio Estate

Published by skeptic

The secondary market today is driven by two things: quality and prestige. Often those two things are tied together; after all, the most well respected collectors are usually those with the best collections. When such marquee collectors die, it’s inevitable that Christie’s and Sotheby’s try to outmanuever each other for the estates’ business, as seems to be the case right now over the collection of Barnes and Noble co-founder and former ARTnews Top 200 collector Leonard Riggio, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Riggio, who passed away in August 2024, was a profound collector of the Minimalists and a driving force behind the establishment of Dia:Beacon in Upstate New York. It’s almost impossible to avoid mentioning that among the treasures Riggio kept at his Bridgehampton home was Richard Serra’s 300-ton steel sculpture Sidewinder (1999), which was visible from space thanks to Google Earth satellites. Related Articles Among the more than 20 sculptures that graced the lawn of Riggio’s Hamptons estate were Willem de Kooning’s bronze sculpture Seated Woman (1969–81), Mark di Suvero’s Caramba (1984–90), Black Standing Nana (1993-1994) by Niki de Saint …

Inside the Fight Over Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd’s 0 Million Estate

Inside the Fight Over Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd’s $400 Million Estate

Published by Sam

In Minerd’s last few years, he favored gingham shirts and purple ties. Often his complexion was pallid, eyelids slightly drooping and rapidly blinking, his slightly oversized lower lip giving him the appearance of a pouty man-boy. At one point he embraced a new look, sporting Moschino-style tortoiseshell glasses and a ginger dye job. “Who is that, Elton John?” cracked a colleague watching Minerd on CNBC. But just a few months before his death, he appeared to gain weight, looking more obese than muscular. His gravelly, halting voice made him sound like a man whose tie was too tight. He sometimes appeared unhealthy, and he was. Minerd suffered from scoliosis, heart disease, high cholesterol, and a red blood cell disorder requiring regular treatment, according to friends, his death certificate, and court filings. There was a consolation prize for Minerd’s “stepchild” status at Guggenheim: the rise of Scott Minerd, Wall Street influencer. Boehly, Schwartz, and Walter believed in staying off the media radar screen, prompting reporters to call Guggenheim “mysterious.” When one member of top leadership granted …

Real estate firms pivot to energy development amid booming data center demand

Published by skeptic

Brendan Wallace has a lot on his mind lately. Wallace is the co-founder of Fifth Wall Ventures, a nine-year-old proptech venture firm with $3.2 billion in assets under management. He’s also a homeowner in L.A., which continues to battle raging wildfires. While his place remains intact, many of his friends haven’t been so lucky. Wallace is becoming accustomed to external forces beyond his control. First, the pandemic drastically altered the landscape for many of Fifth Wall’s limited partners, a who’s who of real estate (CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Lennar). Unfortunately for many of those same players, office vacancy rates still stand at roughly 20% nationwide, and analysts don’t expect that number to budge as many companies abandon the idea of a full return to the office. Proptech has also taken its slings and arrows in recent years, partly owing to high-fliers whose fortunes turned fast, like WeWork, which emerged from bankruptcy last June following a failed IPO and massive restructuring. Change typically presents hidden benefits, however, and Wallace believes the industry is poised for a …

Alexander Brothers, Real Estate Agents to the Super-Rich, Arrested

Published by skeptic

Oren and Tal Alexander, major luxury real estate brokers in New York and Miami, were arrested Wednesday in Miami on federal sex trafficking charges. Their brother, Alon, who was not a broker, was also arrested. A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses the brothers of conspiring to “repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of women” for over a decade. “At times, the Alexander brothers arranged for these sexual assaults well in advance, using the promise of luxury experiences, travel and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations where they were then forcibly raped or sexually assaulted, sometimes by multiple men, including one or more of the Alexander brothers,” the indictment said. Related Articles The sex trafficking scheme allegedly dated back to 2010, according to the indictment. While the Alexander brothers were not art collectors, they orbited in the same ultra-wealthy New York and Miami social worlds. The brothers grew up in Miami and were sons of a wealthy real-estate developer in South Florida. Starting in 2012, the brothers began work at Douglas …

Watch: Billionaire Real Estate Investor Expects ‘One Or Two’ Bank Failures A Week, UK Economist Says “Entering A New Dark Age”

Published by skeptic

Billionaire Barry Sternlicht, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group has issued an ominous warning about America’s regional banks, which he says will fail at a rate of ‘one or two’ per week. Speaking with CNBC on Tuesday, Sternlicht says he thinks that primary real estate lenders – community and regional banks – are about to get whacked. “You’re going to see a regional bank fail every day, or not — every week, maybe two a week,” he said, adding that Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s ongoing rate hikes will continue to have consequences for the real estate sector. “He’s got a hard task with a blunt tool, and the consequence is the real estate markets are taking it on the chin because rates rose so fast. We could have handled this, but we couldn’t handle it this fast,” he said. “The 1.9 trillion of real estate loans, that’s a fragile animal right now.” Watch: As Schiff Gold notes, the fed must cut to avoid a banking crisis. Most at-risk firms are smaller banks representing …

Cleaning up lapses: Private estate residents look out for issues as part of NEA programme

Published by Sam

SINGAPORE: Concerned that fallen leaves clogging public drains outside her Siglap landed home would trigger a flood, Madam Koh Swee Keow alerted a National Environment Agency (NEA) representative who oversees the estate. Three years later, she continued to look out for issues – and her role became more official. Mdm Koh, who has been living in Siglap for about 30 years, joined NEA’s community auditor programme when it launched in 2020. The initiative enlists the help of residents across 53 private estates in the country. They help NEA spot check cleaning routes that the agency oversees, including pavements, drains, roads and bus stops. These residents also keep an eye out for dengue clusters, rat burrows, flood prone areas and littering hotspots. When NEA asked her whether she wanted to be part of the programme, Mdm Koh said: “My thought was: ‘I’m already doing what this programme wanted the volunteers to do, so why not?’” “You know Singapore is so clean and green. I just want to play a part. Just to contribute to it, for …

Redfin Agrees to Pay .25 Million to Settle Real Estate Broker Commission Lawsuits

Redfin Agrees to Pay $9.25 Million to Settle Real Estate Broker Commission Lawsuits

Published by skeptic

Redfin has agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle federal lawsuits that claim U.S. homeowners were saddled with artificially inflated broker commissions when they sold their home as a result of longstanding real estate industry practices. The online brokerage and real estate services company disclosed the proposed settlement Monday in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement, which Redfin agreed to Friday, would resolve pending class action lawsuits filed in federal court in the Western District of Missouri, and also shield the company, its subsidiaries and agents from similar cases around the country, according to the filing. “Resolving this litigation now and removing uncertainty is in the best interest of the company, our employees, and our investors,” the company said in a statement Monday. Seattle-based Redfin noted that it doesn’t expect the settlement, which must be approved by the court, to have a material impact on its future operations, adding it expects to record a $9.25 million pre-tax charge for the quarter ended March 31. Shares in Redfin were up 3.7% …

Skeptic Society Magazine

for honest conversations

Years

Authors

Filter by Month

Filter by Categories

Filter by Tags

All posts tagged: estate

‘Fraud On A Mass Scale’ – Why Trump Should Repeal Real Estate Tax

Jack Nicholson’s secluded $10m estate he bought from Hollywood legend is his private haven

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Try to Wrangle the Leonard Riggio Estate

Inside the Fight Over Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd’s $400 Million Estate

Real estate firms pivot to energy development amid booming data center demand

Alexander Brothers, Real Estate Agents to the Super-Rich, Arrested

Watch: Billionaire Real Estate Investor Expects ‘One Or Two’ Bank Failures A Week, UK Economist Says “Entering A New Dark Age”

Cleaning up lapses: Private estate residents look out for issues as part of NEA programme

Redfin Agrees to Pay $9.25 Million to Settle Real Estate Broker Commission Lawsuits