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Foundations

Family foundations and charities, and the fights over who controls the money after the founder dies.

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What do the foundations estate cases show?

A foundation funded with one stock must pay out 5% of its market value every year, so a share rally raises the bill and an unpaid shortfall becomes a tax. A pour-over will moves probate property into a living trust, and relatives who would inherit without a will can still contest it and force a settlement that changes the shares.

Stories
33
Years
1831 to 2025
Main regions
North America, Europe
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in foundations, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Elon Musk: Elon Musk - 54820081119 (3x4 cropped, Rule of thirds)2024 · Austin, TexasElon Musk gave his foundation $7.9 billion in Tesla stock in two years, and its filings show it paid out less than requiredElon and Kimbal Musk set up the Musk Foundation in 2001 with about $2.1 million in eBay shares. Its board is Elon Musk and two employees of his family office, Jared Birchall and Matilda Simon, and it has no staff.Cornell Law School, LII and 2 moreRosa Parks: Rosa Parks, November 1956 (cropped)2005 · Detroit, Michigan, USARosa Parks left almost all her estate to her institute, her 13 nieces and nephews contested the will, and a 2007 settlement gave them 20 percentRosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat. In 1999 she sued OutKast and its record labels over the 1998 song "Rosa Parks".law.resource.org and 10 moreBill Gates: Bill Gates at the European Commission - P067383-987995 (cropped) 52025 · Seattle, WashingtonBill Gates said in May 2025 the Gates Foundation will spend its endowment and close on 31 December 2045Bill and Melinda Gates built the largest US private foundation, holding its assets in the Gates Foundation Trust.The New York Times and 3 morePaul Newman: Paul Newman - 19582008 · Westport, ConnecticutPaul Newman left his food company to a foundation run by his adviser, his daughter said the family was pushed out, and Congress changed the law for itIn 1982 Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner started Newman's Own with $20,000 each, and all its after-tax profits went to charity.Cornell Law School, LII and 2 moreConrad Hilton: Conrad Hilton (croped)1979 · Santa Monica, CaliforniaConrad Hilton left his hotel shares to his foundation, and his son Barron spent 10 years in court winning them backConrad Hilton founded the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1944 and made it the principal beneficiary of his estate. His will also gave his son Barron, chairman of Hilton Hotels, an option to buy the hotel stock.Los Angeles Times and 3 moreRobert Rauschenberg: Robert Rauschenberg 19992008 · Captiva Island, Florida, USARobert Rauschenberg's art trust grew from $605.6 million to $2.2 billion, and a Florida judge gave his three trustees $24.6 million in feesRobert Rauschenberg died at his home on Captiva Island, Florida, on 12 May 2008, aged 82. His will left the residue of his estate to his revocable trust, whose sole remainder beneficiary was the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.flprobatelitigation.com and 6 morePress conference on litigations against Purdue Pharma (E5zaHzGXEAEaucB)2019 · White Plains, New YorkThe Sacklers drew $11 billion out of Purdue Pharma, museums removed their name, and the Supreme Court voided their release in 2024Purdue Pharma, owned and controlled by the Sackler family, began selling OxyContin in the mid-1990s and earned about $34 billion from 1996 to 2019, mostly from the drug. In 2007 an affiliate pleaded guilty to misbranding it.Supreme Court of the United States and 2 moreArmand Hammer: Armand Hammer 821990 · Los Angeles, CaliforniaArmand Hammer built his museum with Occidental Petroleum money and died with shareholders, his son and USC in courtHammer, chairman of Occidental Petroleum, sat on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board for nearly 20 years and had pledged his collection, valued at $250 million, to it. After a dispute over display he withdrew.Los Angeles Times and 2 moreAI illustration: The New York State Supreme Court building on Centre Street, 20182018 · New York, New YorkNew York shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2018 and Trump paid $2 million to eight charitiesDonald Trump formed the foundation in 1988. During the 2016 campaign, Washington Post reporting raised questions about its spending.ag.ny.gov and 1 moreJan Crouch: Jan Crouch TBN2013 · Orange County, CaliforniaA granddaughter accused TV evangelists Paul and Jan Crouch in 2012 of spending their network's donations on themselvesPaul and Jan Crouch founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1973. In 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported that TBN collected more than $120 million a year from viewers, more than any other TV ministry.Los Angeles Times and 2 moreHenry Ford and Charlie the Elephant at Universal City 1916 021947 · Dearborn, MichiganThe Fords put 90% of Ford Motor into a foundation and kept the votes, and Henry Ford II quit its board in 1976Edsel Ford and two executives chartered the Ford Foundation in Michigan on 15 January 1936. Henry Ford's will split his Ford Motor holdings into Class A nonvoting and Class B voting stock.Internet Archive and 3 moreAlbert Coombs Barnes: Albert Coombs Barnes (January 2, 1872 – July 24, 1951)1951 · near Phoenixville, PennsylvaniaA Pennsylvania judge let the Barnes Foundation move Albert Barnes's art to Philadelphia in 2004, against his indentureAlbert Barnes chartered the Barnes Foundation on 4 December 1922 as a school and opened its gallery in Merion on 19 March 1925.law.justia.com and 3 moreAI illustration: A Florida courthouse in the sun, 19841978 · FloridaJ. Roderick MacArthur sued his late father's $1.5 billion foundation in 1984 and asked a court to liquidate itJohn D. MacArthur owned Bankers Life and Casualty and land in Florida and New York. He died in 1978 worth more than $1 billion and left 92% of his estate to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.UPI and 2 moreIngvar Kamprad: Ingvar Kamprad Haparanda June 20102018 · Småland, SwedenIngvar Kamprad put IKEA into a Dutch foundation in 1982 that The Economist called the world's richest charity and one of its least generousKamprad founded IKEA in 1943. In 1982, with lawyer Linnea Walsh, he set up the Stichting INGKA Foundation in the Netherlands, with the stated purpose of promoting innovation in architecture and interior design.The Economist and 3 moreJane Stanford: Portrait of Jane Stanford1905 · Moana Hotel, Honolulu, HawaiiJane Stanford, sole funder of Stanford University, died of strychnine in 1905 and the university president said it was natural causesLeland and Jane Stanford founded the university in 1885 in memory of their only child.Internet Archive and 2 moreAI illustration: Orange groves and bean fields on the Irvine Ranch, Orange County, 1940s1947 · CaliforniaJoan Irvine Smith fought the foundation that controlled her grandfather's Irvine Ranch for 33 years and left with $256 millionJames Irvine II owned the Irvine Company and about 110,000 acres in what became Orange County. His intended successor, his son James Jr., died in 1935.Los Angeles Times and 2 moreMarie Robertson: Marie Robertson på filmpremiären av Jack Reacher i Filmstaden i Stockholm den 11 december 2012.1972 · New YorkMarie Robertson's heirs sued Princeton over her $35 million gift in 2002 and settled in 2008 with $40 million in legal fees repaidIn 1961 Charles and Marie Robertson gave $35 million to expand the graduate program of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. Marie was an heir to the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company fortune.princeton.edu and 1 moreThe Hershey Company: Hershey Factory1945 · Hershey, PennsylvaniaThe Hershey school paid $12 million for a failing golf course, and the attorney general twice demanded reforms of its boardIn 2006 the Milton Hershey School, funded by the trust that controls The Hershey Company, bought the money-losing Wren Dale Golf Club for $12 million, calling it "buffer land" for student safety, and added a $5 million clubhouse.philly.com and 3 moreRice University - William Marsh Rice statue1900 · New York CityA lawyer and a valet killed William Marsh Rice in 1900 to take the fortune he left to found Rice InstituteRice made his money in Texas land, cotton, lumber and railroads. The 1860 census valued his property at $750,000 and ranked him the richest man in Houston. From 1882 his wills directed most of his estate to an institute in Houston.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov and 2 moreBarry Munitz1976 · Sutton Place, Surrey, EnglandGetty Trust chief Barry Munitz resigned in 2006 and paid back $250,000 after reports on his spendingJ. Paul Getty left most of his fortune to the museum trust that became the J. Paul Getty Trust. It became the world's richest art institution, with a $4.2 billion endowment in 2009.Los Angeles Times and 2 moreAI illustration: A small private bank building with an unmarked facade in Vaduz below Liechtenstein's castle2008 · Bochum, GermanyDeutsche Post's chief hid money in a Liechtenstein foundation, a bank clerk sold the data, and he was convicted in 2009Klaus Zumwinkel ran Deutsche Post from 1990 to 2008 and sat on the board of trustees of the Bertelsmann Stiftung from 2001 to 2004. On 14 February 2008 investigators raided his home on suspicion of evading about €1 million in tax.Der Spiegel and 2 moreAI illustration: The green hills of Marin County above San Francisco Bay, 1970s1975 · Marin County, CaliforniaBeryl Buck left oil stock for Marin County, Shell's purchase made it worth $253 million, and a court kept it in MarinLeonard Buck, a pathologist whose father Frank Buck co-founded Belridge Oil, died in 1953.sfgate.com and 1 moreAlfred Nobel: Alfred Nobel31896 · Sanremo, ItalyAlfred Nobel gave 94 percent of his fortune to prizes, and his relatives and the King of Sweden tried to stop itAlfred Nobel made his fortune from dynamite and other explosives.nobelpeacecenter.org and 3 moreAI illustration: Office towers in Salt Lake City below the Wasatch mountains2023 · Salt Lake City, UtahThe SEC fined the LDS Church and Ensign Peak $5 million for hiding its stock portfolio behind 13 shell companiesThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints created Ensign Peak Advisors in 1997 to invest reserves built from excess tithing. It began with about $7 billion.sec.gov and 2 moreAI illustration: A power strip assembly line in a Chicago factory2022 · Chicago, IllinoisBarre Seid gave his company to a new 501(c)(4) run by Leonard Leo, a $1.6 billion political gift that avoided up to $400 million in taxBarre Seid ran Tripp Lite, a Chicago maker of surge protectors and data-center equipment, for more than half a century and owned 100% of it. His income reached about $157 million in 2018, ProPublica reported from tax records.propublica.org and 2 moreAI illustration: The Moody Mansion and the Strand in Galveston, Texas1996 · Galveston, TexasShearn Moody Jr. was accused of making Moody Foundation grants to himself, and the IRS sought $14 millionW.L. Moody Jr. and his wife Libbie chartered the Moody Foundation in 1942; Fortune put the initial endowment at $400 million.Internet Archive and 2 moreHenry Wellcome: Henry Wellcome 19301936 · LondonHenry Wellcome left his drug company to trustees in 1936, and in 1995 they sold it to its rival GlaxoWellcome, born in a log cabin in Wisconsin, founded Burroughs Wellcome & Company in London in 1880 with Silas Burroughs. Burroughs died in 1895 and Wellcome took sole control.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreThe Hershey Company: Hershey Factory1945 · Hershey, PennsylvaniaThe Hershey school trust voted to sell Hershey Foods to Wrigley for $12.5 billion in 2002, and a Pennsylvania court stopped itIn 1909 Milton and Catherine Hershey deeded 486 acres for a school for orphan boys. In 1918 Milton put most of his fortune, including his company stock, into its trust, about $60 million then.Internet Archive and 3 moreAI illustration: Villa Hügel, the Krupp family house above the Ruhr at Essen, 19671967 · Essen, West GermanyArndt von Bohlen und Halbach gave up the Krupp inheritance for 2 million marks a year so a foundation could own the companyAlfried Krupp, convicted at Nuremberg as a war criminal, ran Fried. Krupp as a sole proprietorship. His only child, Arndt, born in 1938, was not accepted by the family, according to his biographer.Internet Archive and 3 moreStephen Girard: Stephen Girard by JR Lambdin1831 · PhiladelphiaStephen Girard left $7.5 million for "poor white male orphans", and courts fought over the word "white" until 1968Stephen Girard, a French-born merchant, opened Girard's Bank in 1812 and underwrote up to 95 percent of a federal war loan. He died in 1831 with an estate of about $7.5 million.Cornell Law School, LII and 3 moreKamehameha Schools: First Graduating Class of the Kamehameha School for Boys, 18911884 · Honolulu, Kingdom of HawaiiA 1997 essay called "Broken Trust" led a Hawaii court to remove the Bishop Estate trustees, who were paid up to $900,000 a yearPrincess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, last of the Kamehameha line, left about 375,000 acres in trust in her 1883 will to run schools for Hawaiian children. Justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court chose the trustees.archives.starbulletin.com and 2 moreMaurice de Hirsch: Baron hirsch1896 · near Érsekújvár, Hungary (now Nové Zámky, Slovakia)Baron Maurice de Hirsch left his fortune to his widow, who gave it away and passed the rest to an adopted sonMaurice de Hirsch made his fortune building the Oriental Railway to Constantinople. His only child, Lucien, died in 1887 aged 30.jewishencyclopedia.com and 4 moreJ. C. Jacobsen: JC Jacobsen 1886 by August Jerndorff1887 · RomeCarlsberg's founder gave his brewery to a foundation after a feud with his son, who built a rival brewery beside itJ.C. Jacobsen founded the Carlsberg brewery at Valby outside Copenhagen in 1847 and named it after his son Carl. In 1875 he founded the Carlsberg Laboratory.Journal article (DOI) and 3 more