Safe Harbor Ep 2: "More Likely Than Not"
What's an opinion worth?
NFL teams don’t come up for sale very often. In 1999, the New York Jets did.
Leon Hess, a modern oil tycoon, had owned a stake in the team since 1963. He died in May 1999 at 85. His will ordered the team sold to cover his estate taxes. Shares of his oil company were to be sold only as a last resort.
Woody Johnson, a fourth-generation heir to Johnson & Johnson, won with a $635 million bid, the highest price ever paid for a New York sports team.
To fund it, he sold securities, which meant realizing a large capital gain.
Johnson asked his longtime accountant at KPMG to look for ways to minimize the bill.
The accountant had left KPMG for a firm in Seattle called Quellos.
If you need a refresher, last week, I introduced Quellos.
Anyway, shortly after, the accountant told Johnson he might have found an idea that would help.
Johnson invested.
It was only years later that the truth came to light.
